Although cities can be traced back 5,500 years, only very recently has urban existence begun to define the life situations of great masses of people. Between 1800 and 1950, while the world’s total population increased two and a half times, urban populations increase twenty-fold. Few if any major cities in developing nations are growing fast enough in terms of job opportunities, urban services, infrastructure, facilities, and governmental capabilities to absorb current population growth. This chapter analyzes the phenomenon of urbanization and its controversies in Brazil.
