Rus Anda Iulia MSP, anul 1

 Characterized by an increasing proportion of economic activity and population in a country concentrates in a limited number of rapidly growing primate cities.  This phase has 3 stages: First is an early primate city stage, followed by an intermediate stage which is also followed by an advanced primate city stage.

 The slowing growth rates of the primate city and spatial deconcentration of urban population are often accompanied by growth of intermediate-sized centres close to the primate city.  There are 2 stages here: An early intermediate city stage and an advanced stage.

 This represents a continuation of the previous stage during which deconcentration takes place.  By the end of this phase the urban system has reached a saturation point where the rural population cannot be reduced much further and rural-urban migration is not a major factor in the urbanisation cycle.

 Re-urbanisation is usually a government initiative to counter the problem of inner city decline.  Inner city decline is brought about when problems such as inadequate housing, transport problems, pollution and over- population occur in the city.  There are signs of renewed growth or reduced population decline for larger metropolitan areas as well as a polpulation recovery for urban cores

 Counterurbanisation is a demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural areas. It first took place as a reaction to inner-city deprivation and overcrowding.  Many factors can come into account when someone decides to move from an urban area to a rural area including: housing density, housing prices, pollution levels, crime levels, peaceful retirement, and a wish to improve quality of life.

 Suburbanisation is a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. Many residents of metropolitan areas no longer live and work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs and commute to work via automobile or mass transit.

 The term exurbanisation is simply defined as "The migration of urban residents to rural environments"  The factors to explain this are: continued deconcetration of employment and the rise of exurban industrialisation, the improved technology that makes exurban living possible

 Although there is a close relationship between the level of urbanisation and national levels of economic development, the range of potential influences suggests that different factors may be of importance in different national settings.