On Urbanization and the Economic Development in the West

From the view of economic development history home and aboard, the process of urbanization and economic development has mutually influenced and promoted. The paper suggests that speeding the process of urbanization has the strategic function to the economic development in the West. The West with relative lagging economy, in the process of economic development, should not choose the road of industrialization in advance and urbanization behind, but choose the road of harmonious development of industrialization and urbanization. At the same time, we also should take notice of many difficulties when we push the process of urbanization in the West. Besides the common difficulties with other areas, the capital gap, weak industry base, imperfect market system, absent human capital and the distant between cities will limit the process of urbanization in the West. Aiming at these problems, the paper proposes interrelated countermeasures.