Assistant Lecturer (Alia Abdullah Hantoush), Secretary of the College of Education for Pure Sciences Council at the University of Karbala, obtained a PhD from the University of Karbala, College of Science for Humanities, for her thesis entitled (Urban Growth of Urban Centers and Its Impact on Rural Urbanization of the Cities of Karbala and Al-Hindiya). The study aimed to identify the concept of the phenomenon of rural urbanization witnessed by rural settlements in the center of Karbala District and the center of Al-Hindiya District, and to identify its causes and repercussions. And to study the geographical characteristics that affected the expansion of urban centers towards their agricultural region, such as the weak productivity of agricultural lands, and the short distance between them, in addition to the response of rural areas to more manifestations of urbanization issued by the city. The study also included the study area of the rural districts adjacent to urban centers, including rural villages. The rural districts in Karbala district center were represented by (7) rural districts, while the rural districts of Hindiya district center were (13 rural districts). The study recommended improving the conditions of families in rural settlements by paying attention to the community services network that comes from a noticeable shortage and deterioration in the villages, as well as improving the drainage networks by lining the drainage and benefiting from it and making it an attractive tourist landmark in the villages. And working on developing an integrated agricultural plan to reclaim agricultural lands in all rural settlements. The student received a very good rating.
