Which problems are likely the result of urbanization

In developing countries, including Ethiopia, many rivers in urban areas are more like open sewers Figure 5. The lack of sanitation and sewerage systems has a dramatic impact on urban watercourses. People use the rivers to dispose of all their wastes from homes, industries and commercial businesses. Wastewater from human settlements contains organic material and nutrients; industrial wastewater contains many different types of toxic pollutant.

These make the water unsafe for humans to use for many purposes including drinking and irrigation, as well as harming the fish and other animals and plants living in the water. Any changes to the quality of surface water also affects groundwater because they are linked by the processes of the water cycle so pollutants from the surface will infiltrate down and contaminate soil and groundwater as well.

In many towns and cities solid waste management is inefficient or non-existent. Solid waste management means the proper collection, transfer, recycling and disposal of all the solid material we throw away, including plastics, paper and cardboard, food wastes, electrical waste, etc.

It also includes industrial, hospital and institutional wastes which often contain pathogens as well as hazardous and toxic chemicals, which need special care. Urban waste often ends up in illegal dumps on streets, open spaces, wastelands, drains or rivers. This is frequently a problem in peri-urban areas, which are convenient for dumping wastes because of the availability of open space and ease of access from central urban areas.

This can lead to the pollution of groundwater and surface waters which may be used as a source for drinking water. Sometimes the wastes are collected and taken to legalised waste disposal sites but these are not always properly managed to protect water bodies and groundwater. The combustion of solid waste creates yet another environmental problem. People want to get rid of the wastes and they will burn them in their backyards if there is no collection system Figure 5.

Air quality in towns and cities is frequently very poor as a result of air pollution from many different sources Figure 5. These include:.

Poor air quality has a significant impact on the health of many urban residents as well as leaving a damaging and unsightly layer of dust on plants, buildings and other surfaces. Urbanisation can have both positive and negative effects on health. The main benefits are associated with easier access to hospitals, clinics and health services in general. If you live close to these services you can reach a doctor in minutes rather than hours or days, so this improves emergency care and general health.

There are also benefits from easier access to sources of information such as radio and television which may be used to communicate information about health to the general public. For example, women living in towns and cities are more likely to be informed about family planning, which results in reduction in family size and less frequent childbirth, with consequent benefits to general health.

However, urban life can also damage your health. Poor environment, housing and living conditions are the main reasons for poor health in urban areas. Contamination of water sources can cause epidemics of waterborne disease. Close proximity to other people can make the spread of many types of infectious disease more likely. The polluted air can also cause respiratory disease and contribute to premature deaths among more vulnerable sections of the population such as older people and children.

Population movements also put pressure on food supplies and on food distribution. As people migrate to the cities, they tend to use purchased food instead of their own crops and this makes them more vulnerable to changes in food prices.

As the population grows and the demand for water and land increases, it becomes difficult to increase food production in a sustainable way. The increase in urban demand, combined with a loss of agricultural land, means more pressure on rural people to produce food for the growing number of urban people. Furthermore, pollution from urban areas can disrupt food supply.

For example, fisheries are often damaged by urban domestic wastes and liquid effluents from city-based industries. Effluent is another word for wastewater that flows out from a source. In several Ethiopian cities, such as Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Bishoftu and others, untreated wastes are dumped into nearby lakes, which can damage the fish stocks Figure 5.

The process of urbanisation has positive as well as negative economic and social changes. The positive effects include economic development, and education. However, urbanisation places stresses on existing social services and infrastructure.

Crime, prostitution, drug abuse and street children are all negative effects of urbanisation. Also there tends to be a lack of social support for children in school and home by their hard-working, usually poor, parents.

Inadequate income, overcrowded housing and poor living conditions create a fertile ground for the development of violence. Crime in the city can create a sense of insecurity in its inhabitants. This unsafe feeling in city streets separates residential areas into higher-income and lower-income groups, which reduces the sense of community and forms areas with dissimilar incomes, costs and security levels.

In the next study session we will look at some of the ways in which these problems and challenges can be addressed by considering the future demands for urban living and by taking a planned approach to the development of new urban areas. Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.

Urbanisation is an ……………… in the number of people living in towns and cities. The two causes of urbanisation are natural population increase and ……………… Urbanisation affects all sizes of settlements from small villages to towns to cities, leading up to the growth of ……………… which have more than ten million people.

Rapid urbanisation often means that ……………… areas immediately around a city grow more rapidly than urban centres and this can lead to development of ………………. The two causes of urbanisation are natural population increase and rural to urban migration. Urbanisation affects all sizes of settlements from small villages to towns to cities, leading up to the growth of mega-cities which have more than ten million people. Rapid urbanisation often means that peri-urban areas immediately around a city grow more rapidly than urban centres and this can lead to development of slums.

Both push and pull factors drive the migration that leads to urbanisation. In your answer you should state one push factor and one pull factor. Pull factors in migration are factors that attract people to urban areas, e.

Push factors in migration are factors that drive people from the countryside, e. Other pull factors that encourage migration to urban areas include better education opportunities, better health care, improved access to social services and opportunities for social and cultural activities. Other push factors that drive people away from rural areas are poor living conditions, lack of paid employment, poor health care, limited educational and economic opportunities and environmental changes.

Is urbanisation increasing faster in developed or developing countries? How does the rate of urbanisation in Ethiopia compare with other countries? Urbanisation is occurring faster in developing countries, with Africa and Asia showing the highest rates of urbanisation. Do you think that urbanisation is a bad thing or a good thing? With industrialization comes the creation of jobs. Usually making a shift from an agricultural economy, industrialization paves the way for modern industries and will need more people to perform various jobs.

Rural jobs such as farming and mining may be labor-intensive that is, if they have not been taken over by machines or automatic devices , while urban employment opportunities — such as healthcare, business, and education — will need a considerable amount of people with a variety of skills to fill many jobs.

Modern technology provides for a better city infrastructure. With modernization, cities can adapt to cultural needs and provide support systems for future development. For example, in advanced cities, mobile technology can assist large businesses in advanced mobility hubs for vehicles — significantly reducing the amount of traffic in growing cities.

The very presence of the Internet and IoT technology can expand communication to nearly any corner of the globe, and has the capability to efficiently run utilities and lighting for a whole city.

These are just a few illustrations of how technology and modernization can provide efficient solutions to many facets of life, facilitating a better standard of living. Industrialization coupled with modernization brings an ample amount of access for a city and the citizens within it. Accessibility to the Internet, better healthcare, education, recreational activities, social services, and more all improve livability. Additionally, modern cities have the potential to better plan their city for sustainability and boost their economy.

In theory, urbanization is a brilliant concept. However, urbanized cities are running into major problems as a result of a rapidly growing population.

Many urban cities have seen a population explosion that can be hard to plan for. As a result, employment opportunities may dry up quicker than expected — leading to unemployment.

Additionally, housing problems may arise with a very high population density and can lead to poor housing conditions. These housing conditions are only exacerbated by unemployment issues.

Unemployment and poor housing or, the unattainability of adequate housing is creating an influx of crime in urban cities as well. As it stands today, urbanization has several major drawbacks. With so many people moving from rural areas, many urbanized cities are starting to see an overcrowding issue. Major cities such as New York and Hong Kong are dealing with major congestion problems.

Overpopulation is contributing to extreme traffic, the depletion of resources, pollution, and unemployment among many other issues. This presents a range of additional unwanted side effects that impact the parking industry as a whole. Water and sanitation issues are surfacing because of rapid population increases. With so many people needing resources such as food, water, fuel, and waste management, the population of urbanized cities are suffering from a lower quality of life due to environmental reasons such as water scarcity, pollution, and sanitation.

Additionally, this is leading to the spread of disease and poor health in heavily populated areas. Urbanization is a double-edged sword. Experts are finding successfully reaping the benefits of urbanization while minimizing its major drawbacks may lie in the reconsideration of several aspects. Answer: water shortages, housing shortages, air pollution, increased population growth. Explanation: Urbanization is considered to be a process of the change of people shifting from rural areas to urban areas, with a gradual increase in the urban areas as compared to rural areas.

The problems associated with urbanization are: High population density, inadequate infrastructure, lack of affordable housing, flooding, pollution, slum creation, crime, congestion and poverty.

Poor air and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste-disposal problems, and high energy consumption are exacerbated by the increasing population density and demands of urban environments. Commercialization and trade offers town and cities better business opportunities and returns compared to rural areas.

Higher life expectancy and low child and women mortality rate in the urban areas of developing countries sound like one of the blessings of urbanization. Education is a powerful motive for moving to the city. Urban growth gives rise to economies of scale. Large cities also provide big differentiated labor markets. While rapid urbanization has greatly accelerated economic and social development, it has also engendered numerous environmental problems, manifested in local climate alteration [2,3,4,5], carbon storage [6], increased air and water pollution [7,8,9], increased energy demands [10], a major reduction in natural ….