Editing Land use (section)

=== Urbanization ===
[[File:Delhi_aerial_photo_03-2016_img2.jpg|thumb|An aerial image of [[New Delhi]], India, one of the world's largest urban areas]]
Broadly, [[urbanization]] is the increasing number of people who live in urban areas. Urbanization refers to both urban population growth and the physical growth of urban areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urbanization |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/urbanization.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113094611/https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/urbanization.htm |archive-date=2021-01-13 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations]], the global urban population has increased rapidly since 1950, from 751 million to 4.2 billion in 2018, and current trends predict this number will continue to grow.<ref name=":13">United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Urbanization Prospects 2018: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/421).</ref> Accompanying this population shift are significant changes in economic flow, culture and lifestyle, and spatial population distribution.<ref name=":13" /> Although urbanized areas cover just 3% of the Earth's surface, they nevertheless have a significant impact on land use and land cover change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Zhifeng |last2=He |first2=Chunyang |last3=Zhou |first3=Yuyu |last4=Wu |first4=Jianguo |date=May 2014 |title=How much of the world's land has been urbanized, really? A hierarchical framework for avoiding confusion |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10980-014-0034-y |journal=Landscape Ecology |language=en |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=763–771 |bibcode=2014LaEco..29..763L |doi=10.1007/s10980-014-0034-y |issn=0921-2973 |s2cid=207209868}}</ref>

Urbanization is important to land use and land cover change for a variety of reasons. In particular, urbanization affects land change elsewhere through the shifting of ''urban-rural linkages,'' or the [[ecological footprint]] of the transfer of [[goods and services]] between urban and rural areas.<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal |last1=Lambin |first1=Eric F. |last2=Turner |first2=B.L. |last3=Geist |first3=Helmut J. |last4=Agbola |first4=Samuel B. |last5=Angelsen |first5=Arild |last6=Bruce |first6=John W. |last7=Coomes |first7=Oliver T. |last8=Dirzo |first8=Rodolfo |last9=Fischer |first9=Günther |last10=Folke |first10=Carl |last11=George |first11=P.S. |last12=Homewood |first12=Katherine |last13=Imbernon |first13=Jacques |last14=Leemans |first14=Rik |last15=Li |first15=Xiubin |date=2001-12-01 |title=The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |url-status=live |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=261–269 |bibcode=2001GEC....11..261L |doi=10.1016/S0959-3780(01)00007-3 |issn=0959-3780 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705082119/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |archive-date=2020-07-05 |access-date=2021-04-09 |last16=Moran |first16=Emilio F. |last17=Mortimore |first17=Michael |last18=Ramakrishnan |first18=P.S. |last19=Richards |first19=John F. |last20=Skånes |first20=Helle |last21=Steffen |first21=Will |last22=Stone |first22=Glenn D. |last23=Svedin |first23=Uno |last24=Veldkamp |first24=Tom A. |last25=Vogel |first25=Coleen |author25-link=Coleen Vogel |last26=Xu |first26=Jianchu}}</ref> Increases in urbanization lead to increases in consumption, which puts increased pressure on surrounding rural lands.<ref name=":11" /> The outward spread of urban areas can also take over adjacent land formerly used for crop cultivation.<ref name=":11" />

Urbanization additionally affects land cover through the [[Urban heat island|urban heat island effect.]] Heat islands occur when, due to high concentrations of structures, such as buildings and roads, that absorb and re-emit solar radiation, and low concentrations of vegetative cover, urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding areas.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-02-28 |title=Heat Island Effect |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407190916/https://www.epa.gov/heatislands |archive-date=2021-04-07 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=US EPA |language=en}}</ref> The high temperatures associated with heat islands can compromise human health, particularly in low-income areas.<ref name=":14" />