(upbeat music) Living in an urban community brings a wealth of opportunities.

Lots of transportation options.

I love that I don't always have to rely on my car to get around.

And many of the region's biggest companies are right here in the urban center.

That's good for jobs and the economy.

(crowd chattering) And there is no lack of entertainment options.

Batter-batter-batter-swing!

Batter.

And it's a melting pot of different cultures.

I love how different people experience life.

Cities are political, economic, and social centers, but what does it mean to really live in a city?

We explore urban living on this episode of "Spotlight Earth".

(upbeat music continues) Living and working in an urban environment is really appealing to lots of people here in Virginia and all over the world, and we're literally going to town to learn what that means.

Let's head to the studio for a deeper dive.

[Presenter On Left] Thanks, Jarrell.

Living it up in the big city, have fun.

When you think of city living, what comes to mind?

Do you think of a day like Jarrell had?

With new technology like electric scooters, public transportation, a lot of different cultures living together?

Well, city living hasn't always looked that way.

In fact, some of the earliest urban areas date back to 7,000 years to the Neolithic period, or Stone Age in human history.

As early civilizations relied more on stationary agriculture and less on nomadic hunting and gathering to eat, they settled in densely populated areas.

With a more reliable food source, ancient people could stay in one place and develop laws, technologies, and careers.

And after the industrial Revolution in the 1800s, cities continued to grow faster.

So where do you wanna live?

In a fast-paced city or the quiet countryside?

Well, countries worldwide are experiencing increased urbanization today.

In fact, the 21st century marks the first time that more people in the world are living in cities than in rural areas, and by 2050, more than two-thirds of people in the world will live in cities.

But what does it mean to be urban?

In the United States, an urban area is a dense area of human habitation and activity with more than 50,000 people.

These urban areas can be associated with terms like city, town, or suburbs.

Rural areas are smaller and can be referred to as villages or hamlets.

Different factors attract or pull people to cities across the world.

Features like public transportation, more job opportunities, a vibrant mix of cultures and increased entertainment opportunities are just a few.

By gathering large numbers of people of different backgrounds, cultures, ideas and experiences, cities foster innovation and creativity.

But cities can also be areas of high resource consumption and pollution, higher crime, high real estate costs, general congestion, light pollution, and a lack of natural areas and parks.

In some cities, the cost of real estate has increased dramatically and people who have lived there within city centers their whole lives are forced to relocate to lower cost areas.

This situation is known as gentrification.

Major cities can also give birth to urban sprawl.

Urban sprawl occurs when populations spread out from cities into lower density areas and take up larger pieces of land per person.

In modern times, urban sprawl is a serious issue.

Suburban areas or sprawl areas are usually zoned for only residential use and the layout of these areas makes it difficult to put in any public transportation.

This creates the necessity for residents to own one or more vehicles, contributing to the congested roadways and air pollution.

As people sprawl into surrounding areas, cities' tax bases decrease, causing economic issues for the city.

Sprawl often favors new construction and massive resource use, instead of redesigning or rehabilitating existing spaces.

This increased land use destroys native ecosystems, natural areas, and farmland.

So what do we do when our communities change?

One Virginia town, incorporated for more than 100 years, dissolved a quarter of a century ago when economic realities made it impossible to continue on.

Our "Spotlight Earth" co-host Michael is in the now-unincorporated town of Clover to find out how a once-bustling small municipality is now just a geographical locale with no mayor, no city services, and an uncertain future.

Welcome to Clover.

(laid-back music) Might not look like much now, but during the last century, its Main Street has included a restaurant, hardware store, train station, movie theater and service station.

But that was a long time ago.

What happened?

I'm gonna do a little sightseeing to see if I can figure that out.

(laid-back music continues) (music fades) The town of Clover changed dramatically when a bypass was built, taking traffic around the city instead of through it.

360 came right through town.

It was a main line between South Boston, Danville to Richmond.

A lot of commerce coming through.

There were businesses along both sides of the street.

When they opened up the bypass in '68, a lot of that just kind of went away.

So the bypass was the biggest thing that started the decline of Clover.

Here where the trucks are now is where the train station used to be.

It was torn down some many years ago.

Does the train still come through Clover?

Yeah, we still have a train come through, but it hauls coal down to the power plant here.

That's the only train that comes through now is one that hauls coal.

How long ago did passenger lines stop coming through?

Probably back in the probably '50s.

So it's been a while.

It's been a while since we had the passenger train, yes.

So how many grocery stores were there?

It was three grocery stores in Clover at one time, yes.

The Shell Station on one side of the street.

A movie theater which I (indistinct).

On the other side of the street was a seamstress grocery stores.

Drug store.

We had Parks Cleaners.

Grocery store.

The funeral home, Melvina Apartments.

Appliance store.

And the little retreat hospital.

Yeah.

But the bypass changed all that, and eventually Clover ceased to be incorporated, rolling all city functions into the county.

Clover was a town until he gave up its charter, '97, '98, and so now we're just part of Halifax County.

I think it will continue to be less and less.

(upbeat music) We keep hearing we're gonna get a Dollar General, but we've been hearing that for 10 years, but- (chuckles) All right.

So that's the story of Clover.

Residents here saw the issues ahead of them and made the best decisions they could.

It's one of three cities in Virginia that decided to forego their incorporated status.

These are just some of the issues cities and towns face and the consequences of those issues.

(upbeat music) Thanks, Michael.

Really fascinating what's happened in Clover.

When you picture what a day in your life looks like, do you see something more like Jarrell in a vibrant and busy city?

Or maybe you're like Michael and you crave a quiet rural community with lots of natural habitats.

Well, it's easy to think that every town and city has the same issues.

However, each area has its own unique history, culture, politics, and economics, and each one faces its own problems.

[Presenter On Left] Cities, local governments, communities and individuals like you are helping to increase green spaces, protect urban populations, and grow smarter.

No matter where you live, you can do your part to build a conscious community that cares.

Thanks for joining us today.

See you next time on "Spotlight Earth".

(light atmospheric music)