Here are some options to help you explore urbanization:

• Library Resource List – includes books that are available in the library and websites that are related to urbanization
• CIA World Factbook – provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
• UN World Prospects – The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations has been issuing, since 1988, every two years revised estimates and projections of the urban and rural populations of all countries in the world and of their major urban agglomerations.
• SciDev.Net – This awesome infographic shows the scale of urbanization. There are also additional resources available on their website.

And here are some case studies of the effects of urbanization:

• Detroit – Journalist Scott Martelle details how the city – felled by one of the great innovations of the industrial era, a grave lack of official foresight and swirling poverty and prejudice – has come to redefine urban collapse.
• Bangladesh – The people of Bangladesh have much to teach us about how a crowded planet can best adapt to rising sea levels. For them, that future is now.
• Brazil – How a mix of female empowerment and steamy soap operas helped bring down Brazil’s fertility rate and stoke its vibrant economy.
• Africa’s Albertine Rift – As the global population soars toward nine billion by 2045, this corner of Africa shows what’s at stake in the decades ahead. The Rift is rich in rainfall, deep lakes, volcanic soil, and biodiversity. It is also one of the most densely populated places on Earth. A desperate competition for land and resources—and between people and wildlife—has erupted here with unspeakable violence.
• The City Solution – Why cities are the best cure for our planet’s growing pains