Urbanization Trends, Challenges, and Environmental Impact

• Urban growth in developing countries is occurring at a slow, progressive rate over time; it has never been explosive during the last century.

• In recent years, some cities are losing population, even by the tendency of people to live outside major urban centers due to the high price of housing.

• Large cities have tended to grow, absorbing old towns in their surroundings, forming large metropolitan areas where the limit is not perceived from one city to another. When those comprising metropolitan cities extend, they are called megacities, which sometimes occupy very large areas.

• In general, in developed cities, predominant economic activities are those of the service sector: commerce, banking, restaurants, business headquarters, utilities, etc. Industry continues to lose space in these cities.

• Developed cities usually have a high level of equipment and varied functions.

• Developed cities tend to regulate urban growth and planning through plans that should generate more livable and rational urban spaces. For that, there exist in Spanish law the General Urban Plans (PGOU).

• Although the rate of urbanization in these countries is low, in recent times, it is growing at a rapid pace due to heavy migration from rural to urban areas. This is called an urban explosion.

• Slum or shantytown neighborhoods in these cities occupy large spaces. In some extreme cases, they may occupy the majority of urban space.

• Despite the widespread poverty of the majority of the population, these cities have upscale neighborhoods where the elite and rich of the country dwell, along with staff of foreign companies working in these countries.

• Growth in Third World cities is taking place in a disorderly manner and without much planning.

• Public services in these cities are too few to serve the entire population. Sewerage, electricity, garbage collection, paved streets, and many other things are services that do not reach much of the population.

• Although industry and services are the main activities that occupy the urban population of developing countries, a large part of that population makes a living on an irregular basis, without a steady job.

Air Pollution

It is caused primarily by the emission of gases and particles that produce urban traffic, gas heaters, thermal power plants that supply the cities, and factories near the city.

It affects both the cities of the developed world and developing countries.

Gas emissions from urban activity are one of the factors of increased atmospheric greenhouse effect, which is causing global warming.

More responsible habits in terms of heating and transport can help to reduce air pollution in cities.

Water Pollution

Is mainly due to discharges of untreated wastewater into rivers and seas near the city. These discharges may be of domestic or industrial origin. It is also produced by the leakage of harmful substances that accumulate in the soil of the city and reach groundwater.

The problem of water pollution is now worse in cities in developing countries. Developed cities, with their network of water treatment, partly alleviate the problem.

Water pollution has a very negative impact on animal and plant species, and it can be a source of numerous diseases.

We can all work together to reduce water pollution by being careful not to remove pollutants through drains and toilets. But the problem should be controlled mainly by the authorities, investing in better water treatment networks, taking care that no individuals or companies break the law on water discharges of prohibited substances.

Pollution by Solid Wastes

The urban population growth is the main cause of the increase in solid waste. If you increase the population of a city, you increase the consumption of products, and therefore, you also increase the waste.

The trash problem is compounded by the lack of a culture of recycling that makes us reuse the goods consumed better, or at least sort the waste for further processing and recycling.

The solid waste problem is much worse in the cities of the developing world, where many people live near landfill sites and spend their time rummaging through recyclable materials to earn a living. This seriously affects the health of those affected.

The disposal of solid wastes has negative consequences for the environment in all its forms. Therefore, the best that can be done to reduce this problem is to try to reduce the amount of trash we generate and, above all, try to separate waste for recycling. The latter depends largely on the interest that the municipal authorities put in maintaining a recycling network suitable for the size of the population to attend.

• The Price of Housing

• Traffic Jams

• The dispersal of urban functions in space requires that city residents have to travel long distances between their place of residence, work, shopping, and leisure.

• The layout of the streets, especially in urban centers, does not facilitate traffic because it was designed at a time when it was much less dense than today.

• Sometimes, the abusive use of private vehicles creates a traffic density higher than may be strictly necessary.

• The absence of a good public transport network helps to increase traffic problems.

• The lack of civic consciousness and citizenship in driving and parking in the city increases traffic problems.

• Saturation and Lack of Equipment

• Uprooting and Social Exclusion: Despite the large number of people living in cities, social relations between them tend to be less strong than in rural areas. Loneliness and marginalization are driven through the streets of the city.

• Insecurity: One of the problems of greatest concern to the inhabitants of cities. The city, much more than rural areas, is the favorite scenario of crime.

• Conflicts Between Recreation and Relaxation: This problem, related not only to alcohol consumption, particularly affects areas of the city where leisure functions are concentrated. People living in these areas often have serious problems resting, sleeping, and strolling through the neighborhood.