Proces urbanizacije zahvatio je sve zemlje svijeta bez obzira na stupanj razvijenosti i uzrokovao brojne probleme u društvenom i ekonomskom razvoju. Problemi i ciljevi rasta u razvijenim su zemljama različiti od onih gdje je urbani proces u začetku. Prebrza migracijska kretanja iz sela u gradove u nerazvijenim su krajevima izazvale probleme „preurbanizacije“ koji se bitno razlikuju od problema gradova u razvijenom svijetu gdje je današnji stupanj urbanizacije odraz stoljetnog kontinuiranog migracijskog procesa. Takva situacija rezultat je nedovoljno ekonomske moći gradova da apsorbiraju pridošlo stanovništvo. Nedostaje ekonomska dinamičnost grada, koja je bila povijesna karakteristika procesa urbanizacije u razvijenim zemljama. Osnovni cilj razvoja urbane sredine je smanjenje nejednakosti među stanovništvom unutar grada, kao i između gradova i njegove ruralne okoline. Razvojem urbanih aglomeracija potrebno je dosegnuti zadovoljavajući stupanj životnog standarda za sve ljude u društvu, što istovremeno znači smanjenje siromaštva i razlika među ljudima. Prostorno se planiranje razvilo iz urbanizma kad su urbanisti, početkom 20. stoljeća, uvidjeli da je nemoguće raditi generalni urbanistički plan iole većih gradova a da se ne promotre problemi okolice grada, tj. regije koja ga okružuje.

The urbanization process has affected all the countries of the world regardless of the level of development and has caused many problems in social and economic development. Problems and growth targets in developed countries are different from those where the urban process is at an early stage. Excessive migratory movements from villages to cities in underdeveloped regions caused problems of "pre-urbanization" that differed significantly from urban problems in a developed world where today's degree of urbanization reflects the existing ongoing migration process. Such a situation is the result of the insufficient economic power of cities to absorb the newcomer population. There is a lack of economic dynamism in the city, which was a historical feature of the urbanization process in developed countries. The main objective of urban environment development is to reduce inequalities between the population within the city as well as between the cities and its rural environment. By developing urban agglomerations, it is necessary to reach a satisfactory standard of living for all people in society, which at the same time means reducing poverty and differences among people. Spatial planning developed from urbanism when urbanists, at the beginning of the 20th century, realized that it was impossible to work on the general urban planning of big cities without looking at the problems surrounding the city, ie the surrounding region.