whereas Latin America was only at 25.0%. In the year 2000, North America had 77.2% urbanization whereas Latin America had a comparable 75.3% urbanization level, a rate which demonstrates the marked speed with which Latin America has urbanized in comparison to a much more gradual process seen in other regions throughout the world (Cerrutti and Bertoncello). This speed at which this urbanization occurs creates problems in and of itself, as often governments are not able to provide adequate infrastructure and services to keep up with such a rapidly expanding urban population. One of the most important determinants for urbanization in the 20th century—largely between 1930–1970—was the adoption by many countries of the Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) method of development following the economic downturn of the 1930’s (Cerrutti and Bertoncello). New jobs began to bloom in the industrial sector, attracting many of the regions rural population to relocate to the cities. Accompanied by burgeoning population growth in the countryside due to advances in medicine and public health and decreased child mortality, as well as improvements in agricultural technique and innovation that led to a decreased need for manual labor and an increased productivity, many were not only enticed to move towards the cities, but were forced to do so out of necessity.
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