The country has been a major growth market for Caterpillar over the past decade and its increasing urbanization is expected to continue to drive its top-line growth over the coming years.

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The hillside was once covered in rich vegetation but trees had been felled over time to make room for urbanization and small-scale agriculture.

UNESCO: Ecological Sciences for Sustainable Development

This chart compares levels of urbanization among major regions over time.

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Santai is but one example of the urbanization that is taking place all over China.

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Moreover, urbanization is hardly the only demographic trend sweeping over China.

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The Japanese auto market has already been declining steadily over many years due to its aging and shrinking population, rapid urbanization, leading to space constraints in many Japanese cities and high tax burden on car owners.

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He also raised the issue of the competition over water, which is increasing worldwide and will deepen with population growth, urbanization and the impacts of climate change.

UNESCO: THEMES

Urbanization, he points out, is expected to attract more than 400 million farmers to cities over that period, sustaining demand for housing.

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