Urbanization and the Environment

Question: Does Urbanization occur at the cost of the environment? Answer: Urbanization is the increase in human population, industrialization and commerce leading to the increase on the boundaries of a settlement. As of 2014, 54% of the world lives in urban areas and by 2050, 66% of the world will be living in urban areas (United Nations, 2014). Urban settlements are the economic and innovation hub of a country, the industries and highly specialized human labour in the urban areas are what drive the growth of the economy. Human beings and the industries are highly dependent on the environment to function. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1750, human activities have contributed to changes in the environment and the climate (Environment Protection Agency,2017). Urban areas have a high standard of living compared to rural areas, (Wan, 2012) and higher life expectancy. As much as urbanization offer better standards of living for human beings, it has had detrimental effects on the environment. Urbanization has affected every faucet of the env ironment; the atmosphere, hydrosphere and the lithosphere. Urbanization affects air and water quality through the waste released from homes and the industries. More than 70% of green- house gases are released form urban areas, this leads to global warming (Fragkias, et al, 2013), which not only affects the present generation but also future generations. Global warming leads to leads to several negative effects such as increased sea levels and erratic weather patterns (Casper, 2010). Increased urbanization means more green-house gases will be released and more forests will be destroyed to pave way to settle the growing population. Forests are important for carbon sequestration and continued destruction of forests leads to increase in green- house gases. In addition to affecting the quality of air, water quality is the most affected by urbanization. Water runoff from the impervious surface of urban areas carries heavy metals and nutrients that change up the chemistry of rivers and streams close to urban areas (Riley, 2008). Day to day activiti es of man such as driving, car maintenance and lawn and small garden management are some of the sources of pollutants that are washed into water bodies. Fertilizers, oil spill from vehicles and exhaust fumes from cars are a source of heavy metals that are washed into water bodies (Barrios, 2000). Industries and homes discharge their effluent into water bodies increasing the amount of pathogens, and left over food or biological materials dumped into water bodies decompose in the water bodies reducing dissolved oxygen in the water this affects living organisms in the water body. For such waste mater to be produced raw materials have to be consumed and this is another area that urban areas have continually developed at the expense of the environment. Natural regeneration of environmental resources is important in sustaining life on earth. Cities consume more energy, water, food and other natural resources than rural areas. Urban areas consume 66% of the worlds energy, most of these being fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are finite resources that are rapidly being depleted due to the heavy consumption by urban centers. The world economy is totally dependent on fossil fuel and their depletion could lead to a crush of the global economy thus reducing the high standards of living in urban areas (Leng, 2009). The high demand of fossil fuel leads to extreme excavation and exploration which greatly impacts the overall state of the environment. Even though third world countries do not consume much fossil fuel as the first world, use of charcoal is prevalently high in urban areas. Rural urban migration is happening at a faster rate than development leading to poverty and cropping up of shanties in urban areas. Thus more charcoal and firewood is used in poverty stricken areas, this puts a strain on forests and woodlands due to illegal logging to meet the demands of the city dwellers. The increasing population also puts a strain on agricultural lands, continued use of fertilizer and poor farming methods have been known to affect soil quality. A lot of agricultural land is losing fertility due to the pressure to feed urban dwellers. Minerals are finite resources that have been exploited at an unsustainable rate; future generations might not have minerals such as copper or iron which are important in the industrialization of any society. It is therefore important that the present generation develops at a sustainable rate in order to leave behind a planet that is habitable for future generations. Even though the effects of rapid urban growth on the environment can evidently be seen and felt, research carried out in some areas has shown that urbanization is helpful to the environment. Wan (2012) list the benefits of urbanization: economies of scale that make urban areas more productive than rural areas, the public has access to environmentally friendly services such as clean piped water, innovative green technologies that arise from urban areas and the higher standards of living that improve the overall living and life expectancy of people living in urban areas. These findings by Wan show the benefits of urbanization to people living in the urban; the benefits aforementioned are mainly for urban areas in developed countries. The discussions forget that activities that occur in urban areas also affect the people and areas far away from the urban areas. Even with the green technology being developed in the cities most of the technology can not reverse the effects that urbanizati on has had on the environment. Even with the benefits that urban areas continually enjoy this is at the expense of the environment. Urban development is part of human development and that is here to stay, but this does not warrant the destruction of the environment. Urban development should be done in a sustainable way to meet the needs of the present and future generations. Urbanization has had devastating effects on the environment; cities are the main source of green house gases which have caused global warming and pollution of the atmosphere these have had effects on the climate. Solid and liquid waste disposed off in water bodies affect the quality of water bodies making, while the consumerism of the cities has greatly strained natural resources. The strain on natural resources has led to the depletion of natural resources in some areas. Urban centers have a higher standard of living than rural areas and they have shown increased human life expectancy. Green technology and sustainable development are the only way that urbanization will occur at a friendly rate that is not harmful to the environment. References Burrios, A. (2000, June). Urbanisation and Water quality. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.537.4544rep=rep1type=pdf Casper, J. K. (2010).Changing ecosystems effects of global warming. New York: Facts on File. Fragkias, M., Lobo, J., Strumsky, D., Seto, K. C. (2013, June 4). Does Size Matter? Scaling of CO2 Emissions and U.S. Urban Areas. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0064727 Leng, R. A. (2009, January). The impact of resource depletion is being overshadowed by the threat of global warming. Retrieved from https://www.lrrd.org/lrrd22/2/leng.htm Riley, M. (2008, May 12). Water Quality and Urbanization. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from https://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/es196/projects/2008final/RileyM_2008.pdf United States Environment Protection Agency. (2017, March 20). Causes of Climate Change. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/climate-change-science/causes-climate-change United Nations. (2014). World Urbanization Prospects. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.Pdf Wan, G. (2013, June 12). Urbanization can be good for the environment. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2012/12/urbanization-can-be-good-for-the-environment/