Industrialization and Urbanization: An Intrinsic Relationship in the Global South

Abstract

Considering that the defining element of contemporary society is money, capitalist logic sees industrialization as an essential element. Industrialization transforms various aspects of territoriality, and it is part of the process of converting rural to urban environments. Urbanization is a global phenomenon that occurs spatially in culture, behavior, and lifestyle, but there are sensible distinctions in how it proceeds in the global north and the global south. Industrialization in developing countries took place unevenly and did not translate entirely into improved economic standards. In Brazil's case, the territorial occupation model was based on domination, ignoring environmental aspects, similarly to what happens in metropolises, in which management is often guided by the logic of neoliberal globalization, ignoring local realities. Another characteristic is that the processes of industrialization and urbanization occurred simultaneously. Such a perspective, focused on industrialization to foster urbanization, weakens other actors. The importation of transnational models effectively converts traditional production models into forms appropriate to market capitalism. However, the imposition of a hegemonic logic of domination comes with several social and environmental costs.