An urbanized nation is the one where a majority of its population lives in urban centers. More than half the world’s population lives in cities, according to the UN. Amidst all this, its limitations and issues it creates have been severely neglected. Come find out about what are drawbacks of urbanization and situations that lead the way to several other issues.
1. What is Urbanization?
The process of increasing proportion of a population living in urban areas is known as urbanization. It involves migration of people from rural areas to towns and cities. Urbanization is associated with economic development. Improvement in standards of living of the people, and modernization. It is also the cause of social, environmental, and economic challenges like pollution, inequality, and overcrowding.
2. What were 6 Major Urban Problems?
More than half of the world’s population now resides in urban areas, a phenomenon that has been accelerating in recent decades. Before learning about what are drawbacks of urbanization let us take a look at its major problems.
- As the world’s fastest-growing cities get bigger, they do have housing shortages.
- It’s a fact that the drawbacks of urbanization create poor work prospects.
- A metropolitan population becomes overcrowded, and most cities experience an overpopulation rate higher than usual.
- The massive migrant population creates an oversupplied pool of unskilled and semi-skilled laborers in urban areas.
- There is not enough funding for social infrastructure to meet the demands of the vast population.
- Urban populations have a large amount of water shortage. In some developing countries, sanitation is highly dependent on the amount of water available.
3. What are the Economic Effects of Urbanization?
Urbanization affects the economy in a positive as well as negative way. Some of its positive economic impacts are as follows.
- More employment – A lot of people took urbanization in a positive way. There are a number of employment opportunities that emerged after the migration.
- Business – There are better business opportunities and returns compared to rural areas.
- Better standard of living – Urban areas offer better living standards, housing, and sanitation conditions.
- Infrastructure development – People believe they can live a happier life in cities and enjoy better education, hospital, and other benefits.
- Poverty Eradication – Urbanization reduced poverty because of the more job opportunity in the urban areas.
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4. What are Drawbacks of Urbanization?
The disadvantages of urbanization are:
- Living in urban regions is more costly. Both the price of real estate, goods and services are rising rapidly.
- In metropolitan regions, homes are smaller. In order to maximize space, flats and smaller apartments are constructed.
- There aren’t many green spaces in a city. Nature is one thing that might not always be easy to enjoy.
- Parking in many cities and towns may be difficult because of the lack of space.
- The cities have higher pollution, particularly noise pollution due to their bigger populations.
5. What are the 4 Main Negative Impacts of Urbanization?
After learning about what are drawbacks of urbanization here are the four major negative impacts of Urbanization. They are:
- Water and Sanitation problem
- Traffic Congestion
- Air pollution
- Poor Health conditions
Do you know how does urbanization negatively impact the lives of people? Poor nutrition, pollution-related illnesses, contagious diseases, and unsanitary living situations are some of the major health issues brought on by urbanization. Do not forget to read about What are Competition Relationship Examples?
6. What are 7 Different Problems that Existed in the Cities?
City development is always the major factor that is taken into consideration when we talk about civilization. These 7 drawbacks of urbanization still dwell in cities.
- Urban Sprawl or over-urbanization
- Overpopulation
- Slum creation
- Transport facilities hampered.
- Water and Sewage problem
- Poor roads
- City crime rate shoots
7. What are the Effects of Urbanization on Society?
Urbanization expands cities to the extent that they mostly create problems. Let us discuss about effects of urbanization on society:
- Increased industrialization in urban areas caused people to move from rural areas, for better job opportunities.
- Trade and commerce have increased which expanded business opportunities for individuals.
- Society gets modernized with the current trends and that happens due to sophisticated living, medical facilities, clothing, and liberalism.
- The society also becomes more educated because of the establishment of more health facilities, banks, proper housing, etc.
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8. What are the Challenges of Urban Development?
Many issues with urbanization are attributed to poor-quality housing and urban pollution. A lot of urban areas are sprawling. There are more peasant or irregular settlements in developing nations. Have you read about types of settlements?
The challenges of urban development area faced are yet to be overcome. Cities are always a center of attraction for many such issues and here are the four challenges of urban areas.
- Social Inequality – Major cities in many countries are more unequal than the rest of the nation. Women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities make up around two-thirds of a city’s population. They are affected by urban service delivery the most.
- Pollution – Pollution has a high impact on human health. Air pollution increase rapidly by growing motorized transportation. The main causes of water pollution are untreated sewage discharge into bodies of water and the disposal of solid waste in open landfills.
- Low Urban Productivity – It is a situation where economic efficiency and situation of an urban area is relatively low. poor infrastructure, inadequate public services, weak governance, Limited access to financing and capital, low levels of education and skills among the workforce, and inadequate innovation and entrepreneurship are the major factors leading to it.
- Poor Governance – The efficiency of emergency responses to all types of disasters, health emergencies, environmental hazards, and climate change is reduced by the lack of coordination between cities and national governments.
Now you know what are drawbacks of urbanization that have emerged so much in society that it has affected our social life. People also face problems such as poor sanitation and sewage problems. The number of people will expand as the twenty-first century goes by. Urban areas will see a lot more population. Discover What is Mesopotamia Social Structure?