Global problems affect various aspects of society: interethnic and interstate relations, the world economy, and politics. These problems are very acute and complex in the modern world. The modern community meets the problems of war and peace, the environmental problem, the problem of terrorism. Each of these problems is relevant for the present time, and almost all of them are caused by poverty. This phenomenon is especially characteristic of third world countries, on the example of which the complexity of such phenomena as poverty and backwardness will consider.
Poverty
The results of previous scientific papers confirm the relevance of this problem: firstly, the study of this problem requires an integrated approach and comprehensive study. It is due to the interconnection of global problems with various aspects of human society, for example, urbanization and technological development. It means that each country is interested in considering these problems and participating in their solution. High levels of poverty, especially in developing countries, pose a severe threat to national and global sustainable development.
Urbanization
Poverty is characterized by different parameters and manifests itself in different forms, but most of all, it is a lack of interest in life. The social sphere manifests itself in a sharp differentiation of income by country and population groups, especially between the city and the countryside (Bahrini and Qaffas, 2019, p. 21). Today, three-quarters of the world’s poorest inhabitants live in rural areas, but urbanization fundamentally changes the scope and nature of poverty. In 1950, the number of urban residents accounted for a third of the world’s population in the 2000s – half, and by the middle of the XXI century, according to forecasts, it will reach two-thirds. In 2005, 30% of the world’s citizens – 1 billion (Saleem et al., 2021, p. 550). People lived in slums, the highest proportion of slum dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where in many cities exceeds 70% of residents (Saleem et al., 2021, p. 553). If the current rates of urban population growth and the nature of income distribution continue, then by the mid-20s, the number of slum dwellers will reach 2 billion.
Poverty is diverse; it changes in time and space; human needs are assessed differently in different countries and historical periods. For the least developed countries, poverty is a shortage or lack of vital resources. Urbanization is closely related to the problem of poverty and the presence of social inequality (Chen et al., 2019, p. 7). Inequality implies that the resources available in short supply are distributed unevenly among people.
Technological Development
In the field of technological development is significantly lower average labor productivity. High technologies are designed to help people reduce inequality between poor and rich countries. The way developed countries exploit the labor of the population of underdeveloped States leaves much to be desired. Rich countries open factories and enterprises in developing countries, pay people pennies and harm the environment; it is especially difficult for South Asia and Africa (Bahrini. and Qaffas, 2019, p. 21). It is essential to understand that the technologies themselves harm third-world countries, but the authorities have allowed rich countries to open their production facilities in the last 15-20 years.
Conclusion
Extensive consolidation is necessary to get rid of poverty and improve the internal situation in third-world countries. Providing humanitarian assistance to developing countries will be an insufficient contribution to their future prosperity. In addition to financial assistance, it is equally essential to develop the scientific potential within these countries exchange technologies and experience. It is essential to establish cooperation in all spheres of human life and competently use the resources of existing countries. In the future, this model will help developing countries find support within themselves and develop in the trends of European states.
Reference List
Bahrini, R. and Qaffas, A. A. (2019). Impact of information and communication technology on economic growth: Evidence from developing countries, Economies, 7(1), pp. 21–22.
Chen, M., Sui, Y., Liu, W., Liu, H., and Huang, Y. (2019). Urbanization patterns and poverty reduction: A new perspective to explore the countries along the Belt and Road, Habitat International, 84(1), pp. 1–14.
Saleem, H., Farooq, F., and Aurmaghan, M. (2021). How do Poverty and Income Inequality affect Economic Growth in Developing Countries, Applied Management and Social Sciences, 4(2), pp. 547-558.
Change within a society may have political, social and economic effects on the society. In some cases, the effects may either be positive or negative. This essay examines the negative economic and social impacts of changes that are associated with urbanization.
Negative Social and Economic Impacts
Urbanization can be defined as the growth of a given city centre occasioned by the migration of individuals from rural areas. This represents a change from a rural-based to urban-based society. Urbanization changes are considered to take place as a result of social, political and economic developments. It is important to note that these changes have negative economic and social effects on society.
It is argued that urbanization has specific negative effects on society as a whole. The process results in rising numbers of poor residents who form a part of the low-income class. Besides, urbanization also negatively impacts the supply of water, food security and people’s health. This claim is supported by Li’s text.
Besides, people living in urban centres are susceptible to diseases and natural calamities, which are inherently social challenges that face overpopulated areas. The increasing number of people migrating to urban areas exert pressure on limited state resources. This leads to coordination problems that directly affect the administration and planning processes.
Urbanization has also had negative economic impacts. The urbanization process creates an unprecedented increase in urban populations; this puts much pressure on the already limited natural resources and infrastructure. Also, the process of urbanization has necessitated the use of land for residential rather than production purposes.
This means that the land used for production purposes may be used for residential purposes to provide accommodation for the growing urban population; the consequence of this is a rise in the poverty levels among urban residents. The crises emanating from the growing urban population have raised the economic costs of taking care of urban residents’ problems.
Conclusion
Urbanization is defined as a change from a rural society to an urban society. Urbanization is associated with changes that may have either positive or negative impacts on society. However, this essay has taken the position that it has negative economic and social impacts, which include the threat to health, food insecurity, poverty, high economic costs, and environmental pollution.
References List
Hu, J, ‘Socio-Ecological Impacts of Urbanisation’, Reading/ Writing Examination, 2006.
Li, M, ‘Urbanisation and the Environment’, Reading/ Writing Examination, 2006.
Megacities are cities that can host more than 10 million inhabitants at the same time. In the early 1950s, Tokyo and New York were the only existing megacities around the globe. However, “while the proportion of people living in small cities is expected to decline, the million-plus cities accounting for about 40% of the total urban population in 2011 is expected to increase to 47% percent by 2025” and by 2030, there will be 41 megacities in the world.
On the surface, this development seems like a positive achievement on human organization and development, but if analyzed critically, an unusual pattern emerges. The new dwelling areas are developing faster. However, the focus is shifting from the original American and European regions to the entire Asian continent. By 2010, Asia alone hosted 17 of the world’s 31 megacities. Additionally, the biggest population growth rates estimated to occur are in these newly formed Asian cities.
This paper looks at the urbanization process of Asian megacities for the past decade. It then looks at urban overpopulation as an issue that affects the megacity concept. The paper then analyzes how this issue affects the people and some of the underlying questions that promote the problem. Lastly, it discusses the main finding of the analysis with the focus on Hong Kong.
Hong Kong as a Megacity
Marcotullio notes that within “the Asia-Pacific region, over the past few decades, cities have undergone massive transformations.” As modern age megacity, Hong Kong is famous for its openness and dynamism. Just like the other enumerable upcoming cities in Asia, it has discovered that it functions under the western economic system based on rich social and economic diversity. The country has faced some setbacks in the original ongoing economic development endeavors.
In Asia, Hong Kong ranks among the top advanced economic systems, so it is strategically placed at the heart of the region. As a megacity, Hong Kong stands out due to its low tax rates, economic freedom, the adaptation of western social and economic models, transparency, the rule of law, and increased use of the English language.
By the year 2011, Hong Kong had over seven million inhabitants, but unlike the western nations where systematic government planning existed, the country is currently facing a housing shortage. Besides, the western development plan that the country copied has led to some serious negative results.
Apparently, the main cities like London allocate huge resources and energy to mitigate and prepare for any eventualities that might arise from population increase. On the other hand, Hong Kong does not have such unlimited energy and resources to spend on its planning.
As the city of Hong Kong expands, it places increased stress on the quality of environmental resources like air, forest, and water. To the city inhabitants, this issue is urgent since it has a direct impact on their well-being. This aspect shows the main difference between this Asian city and its western counterparts where adequate measures are in place to prevent the human population from exerting too much impact on the environment.
In 2010, the urban population in the Asian-pacific region amounted to 754 million people, which is more than the combined population of the EU and the US. Currently, approximately half of the inhabitants live in urban areas. The Pacific and Asia urbanization rates vary widely with sub-regions – approximate 34 percent of the citizens reside in urban regions. According to the UN estimates, by 2026, the urbanization rates in Asia will be as high as 50%.
Urban overpopulation
Globally, seven of the ten most populated cities are located in the Asia-Pacific region. Overall, megacities are home to 11 to 29 percent of Asia’s urban inhabitants. It may account for only 11 percent of Asia’s urban population, but they are “a driving force for regional and global economies [constituting] hubs of knowledge, centers of cultural diversity and poles of attraction for business and industry seeking to benefit from economic efficiency through economies of scale.”
As the surface areas and the population of Asian mega-cities keep expanding, inefficient infrastructure leads to underdevelopment of the areas outside the megacities. This assertion holds because the majority of urban dwellers prefer living in areas with the best infrastructure and other facilities, which leads to the abandonment of areas bordering the cities. This scenario leads to overcrowding as people scramble to occupy the limited space in areas with the best infrastructure.
Nevertheless, the megacities’ growth pace can exceed the national average it can only happen in the case of a higher level of poverty and social discrimination. The urban primacy rate, i.e. the number of people residing in the largest and most developed city in a country, over time has undergone a decline in relative terms. Apparently, the percentage of people living in major cities is increasing by the day, and this trend is expected to persist into the future.
Main Factors Behind the Issue
Rural communities adopted migration as methods of enhancing their household livelihoods and capitalizing from better urban area services. This strategy is a good way for them to invest in various economic and rural housing projects. Individuals migrating to urban areas eye the employment opportunities and improved lifestyles, which cannot compare to countryside scenario where little economic endeavors take place.
In Asia, megacities also gain from the constant supply of human labor that comes from rural areas. Women empowerment also benefits from internal migration as women get direct access to employment outside the traditional home confines.
However, some countries choose to constrain internal population movements so that the governments can monitor population movements in the urban areas. This governmental policy can help reverse or reduce the migration flows through establishing “rural employment creation programs, anti-slum drives and restricted entry to urban areas.”
Nevertheless, despite the barriers, rural populations continue to migrate to cities. A majority of those who moved from rural to urban parts of the country become employed in the informal sector for lengthy periods, and thus they are excluded from obtaining the extensive economic growth benefits in the megacities.
In some cases, acts of God displace people, which are then forced to move to urban centers. For example, when the cities are located near areas affected by natural disasters, they very often become the recipients of the displaced persons who were forced to move due to environmental changes. These predicted numbers are expected to increase in the future as the disasters become more frequent. Moreover, in many Asian countries, sudden outbursts of the population were often caused because of the conflicts.
Underlying factors
Eighty percent of Asia’s gross domestic product comes from just 40 percent of the population that resides in cities. Conventionally, urbanization creates avenues for improved GDP and increased productivity, as industries and services are mostly concentrated in cities. However, not all of those who live in urban areas can enjoy equal benefits from economic growth. Over half of the world’s slum dwellers reside in the Asian megacities.
What is more, in some areas, the levels of inequality and discrimination have reached alarming rates. The urban population percentage living in slums, i.e. “households with no durable housing, insufficient living space, no access to water nor sanitation,” has escalated since 1990, and by 2010, it reached 30.8 percent, which is approximately 500 million people.
The pace at which Asian megacities are developing is unsustainable in the long-term, which may cause serious problems in all aspects of living in the areas including pollution, overcrowding, and global warming among others. Environmental unsustainability lies at the core of the expected challenges that may hinder the growth and sustenance of Asian megacities.
For example, “the World Health Organization ranks outdoor air pollution as the 13th greatest contributor to disease and death worldwide, causing an estimated 519,000 premature deaths every year, especially in urban areas.” Apparently, Asian cities are highly likely to experience acts of God based on the available data on natural disasters.
Implications
Approximately more than a sixth of the global populations reside in just 700 cities, which combined generate half of the global production. However, most of these cities have little influence over their policies, budgets, and planning. Reports show that by 2025, 60 percent of Hong Kong residents will reside in megacities, but the question remains on how they can cope if they cannot obtain useful sources and autonomy over the funds.
Many Asian cities have little authority to charge their citizens or tax them for electricity or water let alone provide meaningful public transport, improved sewerage services, or roads that might enhance the residents’ life. People are stuck in thinking regarding the nation-state aspect.
However, globally, many people who move to megacities often remain administratively powerless. Regardless of how people approach the issue, it will be impossible to tie down a vast bulk of humanity in agriculture in the near future. Three-quarters of the global population by 2025 will be urban. This assertion implies that more people will mean more megacities. These projected cities are an integral part of humanity’s future, and the implications should be both fascinating and scary.
The examples of Seoul, Hong Kong, and Tokyo prove that megacities do not always have negative consequences. For a majority of the residents, the megacities are their livelihoods. Going forward, the focus should be on how to manage that uncertain future as opposed to shying away from its impacts.
The general social behavior may also affect a city’s sustainability. Most likely, the development of megacities will reflect the citizens’ consumerism culture. This assertion holds because as wealth grows, income matches consumption. Therefore, even though consumerism may aid in uplifting the economy, it also signifies that more energy is needed to produce the necessary goods. Heightened public awareness and education, as well as policymakers on the developmental and environmental problems faced, are the first step towards the struggle to alleviate the current situation.
Production processes and consumption patterns of the masses will also inevitably have to experience transformation for the long-term sustainability of the Asian megacities. Currently, sustainability seems far-fetched as current environmental challenges change regularly, but experts tend to remain powerless in influencing policy change. With the establishment of more Asian megacities in the possibly near future, the new century beginning should be an appropriate time for planners, politicians, and citizens as a unit to renew their resolve to establish a more sustainable environment for them and the future generations.
Conclusion
As a new century and millennium dawns, humanity is facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges arising from the acceleration of urbanization and the emergence of megacities mainly in Asia. The changes that revolve around these megacities have been monumental, but the development patterns and models are not sustainable.
Different aspects of urbanization need to be addressed including elevated resource depletion, population growth, global warming, poverty, and pollution growth if hazard vulnerability and environmental degradation are to be managed sustainably.
The current signs indicate extended natural and good balance problems in Asia’s large coastal cities and the rate at which people are expanding as they migrate. The view that the Asian coastal regions are in problem underscores the current trends of development widely embraced in these areas. One underlying issue is that there is less concern about possible sea-level rise and overpopulation despite the view that these aspects will be a bigger challenge in the future.
Bibliography
Marcotullio, Peter John. “Globalization, urban form and environmental conditions in Asia-Pacific cities.” Urban Studies 40, no. 2 (2003): 219-247.
Ong, Aihwa. Neoliberalism as exception: Mutations in citizenship and sovereignty. Durham Duke University Press, 2006.
Singh, Raju. Urban Development Challenges, Risks, and Resilience in Asian Mega Cities. New York: Springer, 2015.
Spence, Michel, Patricia Annez, and Robert Buckley. Urbanization and Growth. Washington D.C: World Bank Publications, 2008.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision. Highlights. New York: United Nations, 2014.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Urbanization Trends in Asia and the Pacific. New York: United Nations, 2014.
Urbanization refers to the development of urban areas. It involves population growth as well as physical development in such areas. Many global south countries like India, Brazil and Nigeria have high rates of urbanization than northern countries like England, Canada and Japan.
This can be attributed to the natural increase in population of these areas through birth or migration of people from rural areas to urban areas. Most of these countries are developing countries. They have potential for industrialization and people migrate from rural areas to urban areas to offer labor to the growing industries.
There is also rapid development of rural areas in these areas that transforms them into urban centers. On the other hand, in developed countries, there is little migration to urban areas due to decentralization of the countries’ economies. This gives the rural people favorable conditions to stay there. There is also reduced natural population increase through birth than in most of the southern countries.
People move to cities for various reasons. Cities provide employment opportunities to people because of the growth of industries that takes place in them. Most cities also offer people better social facilities and services like entertainment and health care. There are also better economic and market opportunities in cities than can be found in most rural areas of most countries.
People therefore migrate to cities so as to come closer to these opportunities and exploit them for improving their economic status and living standards (Knox, Marston & Nash, 2007). Most rural family farms also produce hardly enough to support their family members with the required food and other basic needs. As a result, some members of such families move to cities and work hard to earn extra income which they send back home to support the needs of their family members.
Most of the rural population in most countries depends on agricultural production in order to survive. Therefore, the importation of similar low priced food materials as those produced in these countries lead to general reduction in the crops’ prices. This leads to low benefit for the farmers. Such farmers in most cases abandon their farms and move to urban areas where they look for jobs mostly in the industrial areas. Population increase in rural areas is another factor that leads to rural- urban migrations.
Increasing population in most cities of the world comes with many problems associated with settlement, infrastructure, environmental issues and service delivery. The urban poor stay in slums where there are poor infrastructure especially housing and other associated services like electricity, running water, sewage system, and roads. To make these cities livable, some of these situations and services have to be improved. The cities of the world should address issues of urban planning, urban development and urban governance.
If these three aspects are well addressed in the cities, then they will be comfortable places to stay in. Urban planning should involve proper laying out of water distribution patterns and networks in the cities, planning sanitation systems and methods of waste management, transport network as well as health systems. Each city should also develop urban development strategies that adequately address the circumstances surrounding its regions.
Urban governance is also important as it directs the way the city is administered and directs the service delivery within the city. The city governance is responsible for urban development and planning and ensures that the residents live in a sound environment by providing them with essential services like rubbish collection and disposal. The city governance should be able to transform the city slums into legitimate residential areas and improve the living standards of its urban poor.
There is lack of food security in most countries of the world. Despite enough production of foodstuffs in many parts of the world, still there are high levels of food insecurity even in countries that produce more than they need. According to UN’s FAO and USDA, a country is food secure when all its citizens have physical and economic access to enough, safe and nutritious food at all times to meet their needs and provide them with a healthy life.
Through this, we understand that in order for a country or a region to be food secure, there must be enough quantity of food, high quality of food, food access for all people and food use by the people. Over 920 million in the world are starving while a good percentage of people in some countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are facing obesity epidemics.
Various stakeholders in food issues react differently and contribute to this problem either positively or negatively. These stakeholders include food producers, markets and trade unions and blocks, governments, non-governmental organizations, various policy makers and food users.
Food producers ensure that there is enough production of food to feed the population of a country and there is surplus for export. Agricultural mechanization in many countries has made it possible to produce large volumes of food substances with little labor requirements. However, cheap foreign imports of food lead to low prices of food products in the local markets making farmers in some countries to put their land to other uses like cash crop production.
This leads to reduction in local production, which can lead to high levels of starvation in these countries. The low farm produce prices discourage some people; consequently, they abandon their farms and move to urban areas to look for other jobs. Even though this is the case, there is generally high food production in the world enough to feed its population.
Individual consumers also play an important role in this scenario. The economic status of individuals determines whether they access food when it is available. Those individuals with enough money are able to buy food in the quantity and quality they desire while those who are limited financially are unable to buy what they need and end up depending on relief food. The high prices of food in some regions of the world make most of the people to starve.
Most of the people in developed countries like in US, UK, Canada and Australia are well endowed financially and get access to food in high quantities. Their high consumption rate leads to many cases of obesity. High rates of food wastage by individuals also contribute to food scarcity, which in the end lead to starvation of some people.
Individual countries’ governments also play an important role in distributing food to their citizens. They also set important policies that govern imports and exports of food. Importation of low price food commodities may lead to reduction of local food production. The governments are also responsible for food distribution to its citizens. If there is poor food distribution, then there is a likelihood of increased starvation in the country.
The governments also offer services of educating its people on the appropriate use of food so as to avoid wastage and disorders associated with food misuse. Various Non-governmental organizations and international organizations such as the UN, FAO, World Bank, and WHO also help in educating people on appropriate food use as well as aiding in their distribution to the needy. In addition, they give financial assistance to other organizations to distribute food to people.
In conclusion, people generally move to urban centers where they seek for better living conditions and increased economic and social gain. This migration may constrain the infrastructure and facilities available in the towns. The migration also deprives the rural areas of farm labor, which is important for food production. Low food productivity and distribution to all parts of the world lead to starvation of a number of people. Food wastage and misuse also aggravates this problem and creates other problems such as the rising cases of obesity in the world.
Reference List
Knox, P. L., Marston, S. A. & Nash, A. E. (2007). Human Geography: places and regions in global context. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Urbanization, or the growth and increasing prominence of cities in the international sphere, has been a continuous process throughout the recent decades. With the development of industry and technology, the world is becoming more interconnected than ever, with cities working as central hubs for business and leisure. With the development of many global firms, cities become points where wealth aggregates, and the new emerging business opportunities gather (Rosling, 2010). Therefore, more people come to life in the city, in order to be able to take advantage of the many opportunities it offers. While not all people are able to afford city life, the existence of suburbs offers increased opportunity for those who need it.
Rise and Fall of Cities
The rise in population and economic opportunities have caused certain people to move into cities. However, the recently emerging global problems, wage stagnation and pricing also forced some city-dwellers to move to the suburbs, which are more affordable (Griffiths et al., 2017). Generally, wealthy individuals or large business owners are more capable of living in urban areas, while families and people with lower income live in the suburbs. Historically, this means an over-representation of people of color or other marginalized groups in suburban neighborhoods (Argeros, 2019). An increase in population and wage stagnation contributes to wealth inequality and an increased inability to afford housing. Therefore, more and more people move into the suburbs. In this move, the initial populations of suburban areas can become priced out of their living conditions, or find it increasingly unable to find sustainable housing in a market dominated by people of higher income levels (Markley, 2017). Similarly, level of investment into cities is unequal in focus, and the shifting focus away from the industrial sector puts a heavy toll on people in the lower income brackets.
A Naturalistic Outlook
With the prominence the city model has gained in people’s lives, it has become possible to discuss cities as types of natural environment, ones possessing their own traits and exerting certain influence over people. In the modern age, a growing population means that the urbanization process will develop even quicker than in the past, affecting the natural world and the balance of resources as well (“What is urban ecology?”, n.d.). It is crucial for humans to understand their life as intimately connected with nature in order to be capable of protecting it in the face of growing population numbers.
My Own Experiences
Personally, I was raised in a suburban area with low-to-middle income, with earlier generations of my family coming in from the countryside. Presently, I live in a more affordable part of the city, because housing costs were difficult to handle. I think people have stereotyped thoughts about those living in urban/suburban/rural areas, most of which have ties to income. Residents of suburban or rural areas, in my experience, were more often described as potentially violent or criminal, for example.
References
Argeros, G. (2019). As immigrants and people of color move to the suburbs, life there isn’t as promising as it once was. Urban Transportation and Housing News. Web.
Griffiths, H., Keirns, N. J., Strayer, E., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Sadler, T., Vyain, S., Bry, J. D., Jones, F., & College, O. (2017). Introduction to sociology 2e. Openstax College, Rice University.
Markley, S. (2017). Suburban gentrification? Examining the geographies of new urbanism in Atlanta’s inner suburbs. Urban Geography, 39(4), 606-630. Web.
Rosling, H. (2010). Global population growth, box by box. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. Web.
What is urban ecology?: Indiana University southeast. (n.d.). IU Southeast: Indiana University Southeast. Web.
Urbanization is here to stay. It might slow down but stopping it is not something that will come any sooner. Discover more in this this pros and cons of urbanization essay.
Urbanization is a process where people move from rural areas to urban areas to seek higher standards of living. People living in rural areas are faced with unpredictable weather conditions which affect their livelihood; therefore, these people move to cities to seek a better life.
Contrary to rural areas, cities give these people opportunities to live a better life; there are industries, learning institutions, and social services which attract these people more (Andersen, 2002). As these people gain from these essential services, they also face problems caused by their increasing number; therefore, this paper will explore the advantages and disadvantages of urbanization.
Advantages of Urbanization
The cities are known to be efficient in that less effort is required to supply basic amenities, for example, electricity and fresh water. People who migrate to the cities enjoy these amenities, which are difficult to access in rural areas. The cities also make considerable use of space; there are a lot of flats which accommodate a lot of people in a small land area. There are also recycling programs which make use of waste material such as tins and waste papers; this helps in cleaning the city and providing jobs to those coming from rural areas.
Cities have a lot of social facilities such as health facilities, education centers, social services, as well as cultural activities, these facilities are essential for the development and healthy being of a population (Tolley and Vinod, 2006).
People leave from rural areas to cities to have easy access to these facilities; with all the social facilities, education and cultural activities, people in cities live a sophisticated and comfortable life. Cities also have advanced transport and communication networks which make movement and communication much easier.
During the development of cities, people settled in areas which had well established natural resources; therefore, most cities have a lot of resources around and within (DeBlij et al., 2010). These resources are easily exploited because of the availability of facilities and labor in the cities, which leads to economic development and improvement of living standards of the city dwellers (Varthoulakis, 2008).
The availability of these resources and labor from the city leads to the development of manufacturing and service industries around the city, creating employment for the population from rural areas (Savage, 2005).
Cities have well-established universities, colleges, and schools; these make them the best place for developing human resources. There are varieties of courses from different fields and levels, and students who move to cities have a wide choice of careers to choose from; this means that most of them will pursue careers of their choice, making their levels of success high.
After completing college and university education, students have a lot of job opportunities, also, for those who want to create job opportunities they have better prospects of starting businesses or projects (Andersen, 2002). Also, there are varieties of financial institutions for people to deposit their savings and borrow money for investments. This creates a favorable environment for investment and development.
People move to urban areas from different regions, religions, and castes, and despite these differences, they live and work together. As they live together, they learn and understand each other, and this assist in getting rid of social and cultural barriers, which is always the center of conflicts; since many people live in cities, a country with many cities will have less conflict.
People living in rural areas also benefit from urbanization; most of these people are engaged in farming, and their farm produces need to market. They always appreciate the existence of cities because they consume their farm produce in exchange for money, and this helps them to improve economically (Potsiou, 2010).
Imagine a country where everyone lives in rural areas and has land. There would be a lot of wastage because everyone will have enough for himself or herself. Urbanization also helps to ease pressure on agricultural land; as people move to urban centers, they give more space for agriculture and, therefore, the agricultural industry is boosted (Potsiou, 2010). The country will produce more agricultural goods, and this will ensure food security.
Disadvantages of Urbanization
As people continue to move to urban areas, pollution becomes a major issue in cities. Energy becomes inadequate, and some people resolve to illegal electricity connections and others address to the use of inefficient cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal, which increases the number of carbon emissions (Marchand, 1998).
An example is Kozani in Greece, which is the most polluting city in Europe. The population of cars also increases as the number of people in cities increases, and this leads to the rise in the use of diesel and hence, the increase in carbon emissions
The population increase in cities brings about problems in transportation as well as traffic management. This is evident in cities such as Mumbai, which has close to 18 million citizens, with 55.5% of the population going on foot and 21.9% use train (Potsiou, 2010).
This city has few people with cars; however, over 20,000 have died because of the overcrowded train with a minimum of 10 people per day (Potsiou, 2010). Vietnam is another case, with over 18 million motorbikes and one million vehicles, and with narrow roads, the number of accidents associated with traffic has increased.
Urbanization leads to an increase in the number of people on limited land in cities; the rise in number exceeds the supply of water, which results in water shortages; hence, hygiene is compromised. Also, the population, after using water, it disposes of the wastewater on land which creates overburden disposal; this creates a less appealing sight, lousy odor emanating from the sewage and flies which are attracted by the dirty water (Arnaud et al., 2004).
As the population increases, fresh water in urbanized cities becomes expensive, and some of the people opt to take water from the nearby streams; this water is untreated and can cause diseases such as cholera.
Also, the water in these rivers are contaminated with untreated discharged in them, and these rivers drain their water into the sea where drinking water and water for irrigation is drawn; this can cause diseases for people using the sea water for drinking (Marchand, 1998). In New Delhi, sewerage was used for watering agricultural lands without care of the effects it can cause on human beings.
Cities with high populations face problems of garbage management. An example is the city of Athens, which has produced six thousand tons of garbage daily; the disposal of this garbage has become a problem for the city as the population continues to grow. Many countries have resolved to use landfills for disposal of waste, which is yet another way of contaminating the soil. Greece got into problems with the EU for operating 1,102 open landfills; however, they have reduced the number of operating landfills to 400 (Potsiou, 2010).
The increasing number of people in the cities has led to the need for building affordable houses; most cities with high population lack development policies and this has led to informal development (Arnaud et al., 2004).
The people cut down trees and built on land without any authorization from the landowners, and sometimes these people are evicted from the land and left to look for another place to settle. Slums have been built in urban areas, and they are characterized by poor sizing and quality construction, violation of land-use and no access to essential services. These are areas which crime develops because most of the people living in slums have insufficient job opportunities; they choose to engage in criminal activities for their survival.
Conclusion
Urbanization is here to stay, it might slow down but stopping it is not something that will come any sooner. Therefore, the primary way to minimize the problems caused by urbanization is to plan for all amenities and resources available for the comfort of the public without putting more pressure on society and the environment.
The cities should use the cardinal rule, where their growth is planned, rather than letting them grow on their own. As the local government plans for the city, it should make sure that there is adequate infrastructure to support the growing population and residential areas should be located near civic bodies to improve service provision.
To reduce rural-urban migration, job opportunities can be created in rural areas. This will reduce stress exerted on cities by the increasing number of people. Restricting people to move to cities cannot be used to solve problems associated with urbanization. This is because each citizen has a right to move and settle anywhere as long as he or she is not infringing on other people’s rights.
Reference List
Andersen, L., 2002. Rural-urban migration in Bolivia: advantages and disadvantages. Web.
DeBlij, H. et al., 2010. Global geography. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Marchand, Y., 1998. The challenges of urbanization. Web.
Potsiou, C., 2010. Rapid urbanization and megacities: the need for spatial information management. Copenhagen: The International Federation of Surveyors.
Savage, M., 2005. Globalization and belonging. New York: SAGE.
Cities are considered integral elements of modern life, but it was not always the case. Ancient people were nomads, and they did not have to create stable settlements. However, specific phenomena and development processes changed this state of affairs, and the first cities began to emerge. Various scholars agree that two requirements should be present for a city to be created. Firstly, there should be a sufficient surplus of food and other resources (Hutter 37). Secondly, the people require a specific form of social organization, which implies that this surplus should be distributed among all inhabitants (Hutter 37). The two are necessary conditions, but they are not the only determining ones. The division of people into various social classes, increased education, and particular religious beliefs contributed to the emergence and development of cities.
Discussion
To begin with, one should explain that various social classes promote the emergence and growth of cities. People initially were nomads and relied on hunting and gathering to find food. However, appropriate development processes resulted in the spread of agriculture, which allowed people to produce food and settle in limited areas. In these settlements, there was a division of labor because specific skills were necessary to cope with agriculture, warfare, trade, and other activities. That is why there emerged various social classes, including artisans, farmers, workers, merchants, priests, and officials (Hutter 40). The significance of the latter two cannot be overestimated because they represent a ruling class that is responsible for distributing the resource surplus. Thus, when a person masters a specific skill, they can offer their services or products to others who need them. This statement denotes that people were interested in living together because their cooperation resulted in mutual benefits. That is why there is no doubt that the emergence of social classes and the distribution of labor significantly contributed to the rise and growth of ancient cities.
An increasing level of education was another factor that promoted the spread of cities. The Industrial Revolution that took place in the 19th century perfectly proves this statement. During the Revolution, many educated and skillful persons invented multiple innovations, including the steam engine, cotton gin, spinning jenny, and other machines (Hutter 60). These innovative equipment pieces drastically increased production rates and resulted in the fact that more people were needed to operate them. As a result of this process, the existing cities experienced a period of extensive growth and development. For example, Hutter demonstrates that the population of Berlin increased from 172 thousand in 1800 to 2,424 thousand in 1900 (61). Many other European cities, such as London, Madrid, Paris, and Rome, witnessed the same processes during the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, scholars started drawing more attention to cities and investigating their structure, composition, and density (Hutter 77). Research activities allowed scientists to identify inefficiencies and find ways to solve them, which would contribute to more intense growth. This information demonstrates that there is a robust and positive correlation between people’s increased education levels and urbanization.
In addition to that, one should not ignore the impact of religion on the formation of cities. According to Hutter, Gobekli Tepe, archeological discovery in Turkey, “contains massive carved stones about 11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery” (50-51). Numerous scholars are unanimous in assessing that this structure was a religious site or a temple for ancient people. Hutter stipulates that people’s religious beliefs had made them create primitive cities even before the division of labor and social classes emerged (51). One should admit that Gobekli Tepe is not the only argument to support the impact of religion. Other researchers indicate that Paleolithic humans had a strong fear of death and the unknown (Hutter 52). This belief made them stick together as well as form and develop their settlements. Since these people shared particular religious customs and had social solidarity, they created cities (Hutter 52). This information demonstrates that shared beliefs were crucial for urbanization because when individuals had the same religion, they were more willing to live together with others and develop their settlements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no doubt that urbanization is a complex and exciting process. Numerous factors are combined to create conditions that are favorable for cities to emerge and grow. The present paper has analyzed and focused on three contributing phenomena. They are distinct social classes, increased education levels, and particular religious beliefs. Each of these factors promoted urbanization in different periods and various parts of the world. Even though the paper has revealed an evident connection between these factors and the growth of cities, it is impossible to state that a single condition is more important. As has been mentioned, urbanization is a complex process that relies on multiple phenomena. That is why it is reasonable to draw attention to all the identified processes and adequately analyze their contribution. According to the paper, social classes, education, and beliefs significantly promoted the spread of cities.
Urbanization is a complex technological process that depends on social, political and environmental factors peculiar to the region. The Aegean region comprises of the Mediterranean region and Greece. Urbanization of this area cannot be attributed to the mere presence of raw materials such as copper and tin. For urbanization to happen there also needs to be fertile land close by, to produce the agricultural products necessary to feed the people involved in production and processing activities.
There are many theories regarding urbanization in the Aegean region. Some early diffusionist accounts felt that the concept of urbanization took root in the Near East and spread eastwards to the Indus Valley and south-east Asia and to the west, to Crete, Greece and Rome and thence to Europe as a whole (Chant and Goodman 48). Archaeologists feel that the emergence of cities was the result of interacting, indigenous developments in technology, culture and social organization.
The first European Neolithic communities were established around 7000 BCE in Greece and the Balkans; their agriculture was based on crops such as emmer wheat, and animals such as sheep and goats, brought from Western Anatolia. Copper metallurgy flourished in the Aegean region during the late Neolithic period. A sudden growth in the metal industry spurred by the use of bronze and other copper alloys dates from about 3000 BCE (Colin 49). During the same time, the Aegean region experienced rapid population growth, the domestication of grape and other tree fruits and the development of a more ranked or hierarchical society. Agriculture and bronze metallurgy created opportunities for trade.
Cities first developed as a result of intensive trading in the eastern Mediterranean region, including the Aegean Sea. As bronze become more and more widely used, the first Aegean civilizations looked for other sources of copper and tin as local deposits were exhausted. The intense trading activity in the Aegean region was also supported by the geographical positioning of the region near to the ocean so as to be accessible to the urban civilizations of the Near East.
The Aegean region was abundant in building stone, clay for pottery, good quality timber and iron ore from Greece, and copper in Cyprus (Chant 50). Encouraging sea trade, the main coastline was full of natural harbors and groups of accessible islands. One such group of islands in the Aegean region stretched from the Peloponnese through Crete and Carpathos to Rhodes near the mainland of Anatolia (Chant 50). This was where urbanization first took place.
The first Bronze Age civilization was called Minoan after Minos, the ruler of Crete. The Minoan civilization existed between 2600 and 1400 BCE. The Minoans were skilled in making of pottery, metalworking, weaving and dyeing and building in local stone, especially limestone, gypsum and alabaster. They built palaces of monumental stone. Sea and land communications were well developed. The main southern port was connected with the palace of Knossos by a stretch of road.
Each palace controlled a network of villas in the countryside and together they could store agricultural surplus. This storage of crops facilitated the living of potters, weavers and metal workers. Gournia was a small town in which artisans lived around the palace (Chant 50). After the first palaces were destroyed in about 1700 BCE, by an earthquake, the successors became more elaborate in design. Technology was advanced and the new palace at Knossos had running water and a flush drainage system. Its first storey was built from mortared rubble reinforced with wood and second storey was built of brick.
There were also nearby settlements or towns such as Palikastro and Mallia populated by craft specialists, priests and administrators. With the decline of the Minoan civilization, the domination of the Aegean region passed to a Bronze Age civilization called Mycenaean. (Chant 51) The Mycenaens traded in textiles, olive oil and metals. They built palaces with massive rectangular hall or megaron overlooking a courtyard. They built roads around the main settlements and also bridges and culverts. The palaces at Mycenae and Tiryns had stone defensive walls. Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were also skilled in the technologies of city-building.
In the thirteenth century BCE, the walls of Mycenae were extended to protect the city’s supply of water and a stepped passage from inside the extension led to an underground cistern outside the walls, fed by an aqueduct from a nearby mountain spring. However, all of this was destroyed in 1200 BCE. It must be noted that Aegean building tradition was essentially indigenous and emerged independently out of the diffused technological and social conditions. It contributed to the urbanization of the region in a huge way.
The later Aegean Bronze age and the early Greek Iron Age also promoted urbanization (Chant 54). During the time of the urban civilizations of the Aegean there lived nomadic pastoral people on the Asian Steppes. These pastoral people invented the wheeled carts and wagons and subsequently the military chariot around 1600 BCE. They also domesticated the horse and developed the bridle and bit to control it. The technologies had obvious military applications. The northern agriculturalists and pastoralists also developed iron metallurgy. Iron became widely preferred for weapons and tools. Iron tools and implements were vital in extending agriculture to areas of forest and clay soils. Iron metallurgy was one of the technological conditions for the spread of urbanization.
The Greeks had close contacts with Sardis the capital of Lydia in Western Anatolia. They took the idea of coinage from the Lyridans and this indirectly led to urbanization (Chant 55). However, the Greeks were influenced by Phoenician traders from Sidon who traded in luxury goods from the East. The Semitic Phoenician traders developed biremes, or ships and established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean trading and transport system influenced the pattern of Greek urbanization. The Greeks too conducted trade by sea. They also built warships to partake in military activities and cargo ships for trade.
Thus we find that technology was a major driving force behind urbanization in the Aegean region. Technology in the form of agriculture, invention of wheels, construction, architecture, metallurgy, ship-building, coinage, etc propelled urbanization and technology also promoted trade which brought greater influences to the process of urbanization in an indirect manner.
Bibliography
Chant, Colin and Goodman, David (1999). Pre-industrial Cities & Technology. Routledge Publishing.
This paper revolves around the peculiarities of the U.S. urbanization and migration trends at the end of the 19th century. This period is characterized by the rapid growth of cities due to the income of new individuals. It discussed the factors leading to successful urbanization, the challenges of urban life, and the effects this trend caused on the history of the state and its further development. The African American Great Migration and New European Immigration are also discussed as events playing a critical role in shaping the nation and its demographics.
The first point I think is critically important is the four innovations that serve as the keys to successful urbanization. The introduction of electric lighting and its growing availability provided cities with opportunities to cover greater areas and provide people with better quality of life. In big factories, electric lights allowed employees to work 24 hours per day, which boosted productivity and demanded new individuals to meet the growing need for human resources. Moreover, street illumination altered people’s lives and made them less dependent on natural light. It preconditioned the income of people in big cities. Second, the telephone and its fast spread improved communication between individuals and increased demand for various products. It contributed to the growing need for people to perform different activities and help businesses to evolve. Following this trend, thousands of people arrived in cities to find new jobs and remain here. Urbanization was also stimulated by a developing transportation system as the creation of electric trolleys provided people with an opportunity to reach various destination places and avoid delays because of the size of the city. It created the basis for their further growth. Finally, skyscrapers helped to disregard some geographic barriers, such as lack of space or rivers, and construct buildings for various purposes. These inventions became the central factors boosting urbanization in the USA.
The second important point is the challenges of urban life. It is vital to realize that a significant change in the demographics and structure of cities promoted the emergence of numerous problems in all spheres. The high density of the population triggered the growth in crime rates, the spread of diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, and deterioration in the living conditions and the quality of life. The overpopulation also demanded a radical alteration in planning and organizing city life. The fire hazards required better fire management, while new systems for waste management were also necessary. This complex situation resulted in the growing role of the Church with the idea of the social gospel. It presupposed people’s cooperation to improve their living conditions and help each other to avoid further deterioration of the situation and critical outcomes. These challenges became significant factors leading to the reconsideration of the approach to planning and organization to ensure no serious diseases or fire hazards. Moreover, a settlement house movement became a response to these problems aimed at helping the working class. It included child daycare, libraries, evening classes, and health care vital for representatives of this class.
The third critical aspect is the wave of African Americans going to the Northeast and Upper Midwest and called the Great Migration. In general, about two million black people moved from their places and abandoned the rural South hoping for a better life and new opportunities. They mainly arrive in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, and Indianapolis. In other words, the wave of African American migrants moved to urbanized and highly industrialized areas hoping to find new jobs and earn higher wages. From another hand, they have been pushed away from the South because of some racial tensions and discriminative attitudes. Although the Civil War ended, black people were still treated differently and experienced multiple hardships and threats, also linked with the Ku Klux Klan. For this reason, the combination of push and pull factors influenced this group and made them move to new areas. This aspect is vital as it demonstrated the racial tensions in the state and this Great Migration altered the demography of big cities leading to the emergence of significant black communities.
The fourth important aspect is the change in the nature of European immigration. The USA had always been affected by this factor because people from Germany, Great Britain, and other Western European countries constituted a significant part of the population and impacted the evolution of the nation. However, at the end of the 19th century, the income of immigrants from southern and eastern areas of Europe significantly increased compared to other traditional channels. It resulted in the change of big cities’ demographics as the new wave was characterized by poor education, or its absence, and limited finances. For this reason, they stopped in places where they arrived and looked for opportunities there. Because of this trend, most port cities were full of migrants from Greece, Russia, and other Slavic cultures. In New York, about 80% of its population were foreign-born. This fact is vital as this tendency caused a significant impact on the evolution of the state. The USA acquired new ethnic groups with their cultures and contribute to the nation’s formation.
The fifth important issue is the culture of people living in urbanized cities. Multiple hardships combined with the poor living conditions introduced the need for ways to release tension and stress levels. It resulted in the emergence of new elements of culture and entertainment. For instance, amusement parks became essential elements of that period offering a chance to have wild rides, animal attractions, and stage shows to escape the hard reality. Vaudeville also became a popular show with singing, dancing, and comedy elements. Finally, baseball became a popular sport helping to distract and spend time playing. First clubs transformed into professional teams giving rise to the fast development of this sport in the USA. Today, it remains one of the most popular and well-known American games. Thus, this aspect is vital as it shows the formation of the modern U.S. culture, including the emergence of various sports and they’re becoming an important element of the lifestyle.
Finally, the sixth important aspect is the emergence and evolution of the middle class with its peculiarities. The traditional division between the wealthy and poor citizens peculiar to past epochs was replaced by a new one with a significant role for people with a middle income and different habits. This group consisted of managers, salesmen, engineers, doctors, and professionals better educated compared to the working class. They lived in the suburbs, which provided them with the opportunity to enjoy a better quality of life and avoid the problems of big cities. Middle-class women also acquired new roles because of the change in the environment. Although they function as housewives caring for husbands and children, they also could enroll in colleges to work as teachers or professors. It contributed to significant empowerment of their positions and the evolution of multiple feminist movements. Educated women wanted to take a more active part in the life of communities, which resulted in the attempts to reconsider their positions and provide them with additional rights. This information is vital as it shows the transformation of people’s mentality and the establishment of tolerant values.
The innovations, African Americans, and European migrations created the basis for a radical change with the emergence of new challenges, such as density, illnesses, crime, and fire hazards, and new opportunities because of jobs. These shifts formed a new culture with specific amusements and ways to reduce stress. Moreover, this period is characterized by the rise of the middle class, and it’s becoming a serious factor affecting the nation’s life. This data is vital for a better understanding of the history of the USA and how certain events in the past formed citizens’ mentality and worldview.
The term urbanization can be looked at from diverse perspectives. First, urbanization can be explained to be the convergence of populations. Secondly, urbanization can be described as the process in which the movement of people into a given city translates into an urban way of living. Thirdly, it is the diffusion of the urban living to agricultural oriented regions.
Fourthly, urbanization is the progression in which the magnitude of people residing in urban places multiplies (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Due to its quantitative nature, the last definition is the mostly applicable. Urbanization can therefore be generally defined as the process in which the magnitude of people residing in urban places increases with the growth in economy (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Urbanization in light of Taiwan
In Taiwan, cities with at least 50000 people are considered as urban centers. Administratively, Taiwan is partitioned into central municipalities, provincial cities and prefectures that are two five and sixteen in number respectively (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Each prefecture encompasses at least one central city, a number of towns and several rural districts.
Whereas both central municipalities and provincial cities are bigger in size, prefectures are of standard sizes, each with their central cities acting as their respective administrative centers. On the other hand, prefectural rural towns comprise of rural regions and mid-urban townships.
Furthermore, Taiwan has been partitioned into four main parts: the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central parts for planning purposes (Yeung and Lo, 1996). The ratio of the urban population to the total population determines the degree of Taiwanian urbanization.
Statistically, the level of urbanization in Taiwan has escalated over time, that is, from 24.1% in 1950 to over 74.1% in the twenty first century (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Statistics also indicate that the gap between annual population growth rate and the urbanization growth rates has narrowed over time, since 1950 to most recently. This shows that the movement of people from the agricultural regions to urban cities had started to ease. Primarily, industrialization was the main cause of the high urban growth rate (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Apart from industrialization, a high birth rate emanating from mass flow of youth to the urban areas is also another determinant of high growth experienced in urban centers. Administratively, cities in Taiwan are in four groups: “Central municipalities, provincial cities, prefectural cities and towns plus rural areas” (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Statistics show that between 1961 and 1989, the yearly average growth rate of the central municipalities was more than the annual growth of Taiwan itself. Prefectural cities had the fastest growth, towns and rural areas had the lowest rate of growth compared to the natural population growth rate.
This shows that there has been much out migration. Most of the intermediary prefectural cities are located close to the metropolis, and in this way, they contribute towards metropolitan development (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Statistics also indicate that the rate at which small and medium sized cities are expanding is higher than that of the bigger ones. After 1980, majority of the Island’s (Taiwan’s) major cities have been located mainly in the central, southern and northern regions.
This can be attributed to the accompanying spontaneous rate of development in these regions. The Eastern part has lagged behind in development mainly due to its mountainous nature that renders both transportation and communication cumbersome. Since 1960, the spatial distribution of cities has been inclined towards the north and south. Although there is a metropolitan area in each region, the Eastern part is devoid of any.
Taiwan’s urban system
“An urban system is defined in terms of size, function, and service area (or area of influence), and by differences in the social, economic, and cultural activities of cities within a specific region. Spatially speaking, a hierarchical relationship is formed. Cities higher in the hierarchy are larger and have a higher functional level.
They also have a more expanded sphere of influence and complex social, economic, and cultural characteristics. Cities within the hierarchy perform functions according to a division of labour. These close ties create an orderly relationship within the system” (Yeung and Lo, 1996).Taiwan can be classified into five hierarchical levels.
The first level is agricultural villages that are found after about every 2-5 kilometers and have an estimated population of 4000 people. General towns are in the second level with a minimum and maximum population of 10000 and 50000 respectively. They are found between like every 10 kilometers. Local centers are found in the third level. They are independent towns, with majority being located in metropolitan regions. Their population can range between 100000-500000 people.
They are interspersed between 15-40 intervals within a sphere of influence of between 2000000-800000 persons. The third level is occupied by the regional centers, which are mostly located in metropolitan areas, although some like Taitung and Hualien, are independent towns with a population of up to and exceeding two million people. They are located about 80 kilometers apart. Level five comprises of the political, cultural and economic center of Taiwan – Taipei.
It has an area of influence covering about 5 million people. The whole Taipei metropolitan region is Taipei’s sphere of influence. The time required to travel between the northern and southern regions has been greatly reduced over the last four decades. This has been enhanced by not only the installation of the railway electrification, but also by completion of the Sun Yatsen Freeway (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Population and employment in Taiwan
The population of Taiwan exponentially skyrocketed between 1950 and 1990. This one of the world’s biggest growth in population was determined mainly by high birth rate since there was no international in-migration by then. However, with time, the birth rate has been reducing to an increase in the level of education and introduction of population policy that requires fewer children per family.
Population in Taiwan has been classified into three: the youth, working class, and the elderly (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Over time, the working class has been the leading in number, Due to the presence of a metropolis (Taipei), the northern region has attracted majority of the population. Being the first city on the island to be globalized, Taipei has employed many people than any other city. The population in the Central, Eastern, and Southern parts has on the other hand been declining over time (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
The secondary industry has been the main leading in providing employment to Taiwan people. The primary industry, though responsible for provision of employment through agriculture, forestry, and fishery, has declined. Tertiary employment has been rising gradually (Yeung and Lo, 1996).
Expanding urbanization in the urban areas to minimize water pollution
Taiwan like other Low Economically Developed Countries, experiences three main challenges. These are high population growth rate, reduced income levels, ineffective planning, and administrative mechanisms to handle the high population (Boult, 1999). The northern region is loaded with many industries that contribute to both water and air pollution.
There is raw sewage from the households, increased application of fertilizers and pesticides, and contamination of clean water sources resulting to water pollution (Shambaugh, 1998. p.190). Besides industrial fumes, the use of automobiles such as buses, cars, and motorbikes has contributed to air pollution in Taiwan for decades (Shambaugh, 1998. p.192).
There are also cases of soil pollution due to use of heavy metals and pesticides (Shambaugh, 1998. p.191). Taiwan is therefore faced with the hurdles of containing the impacts of economic growth and ensuring there is a sustainable dependency of its citizens on the Island’s economic resources (Elliot, 1999).
To minimize pollution, Taiwan ought to initiate some legal requirements and fines. For example, companies found to be disposing wastes illegally should be fined, enlightening citizens on environmental aspects, directing all new vehicles to be fitted with catalytic chambers, among other restrictions (Boult, 1999).
Strategies that can be implemented to help minimize rural-urban migration include creating job opportunities in the rural, introducing better educational and social services, and developing good transport network to encourage people to commute and live out of the city (Boult, 1999).
Expanding urbanization to solve congestion and overpopulation
As stated earlier, urbanization entails two key aspects. These are proportion of people residing in urban areas and growth in economy. In Taiwan, even though there is overpopulation within its urban centers, the growth in economy has not yet reached the level of sustaining the already increased population.
Taiwan’s concentration of cities within the northern region has led to an increase in the rural urban migration. Just like other developing countries like China, Mexico, and Brazil among others, Taiwan is still a hub of overpopulation and poverty. This is due to the fact that, many people migrate from the rural districts to the urban areas in such for employment and better standards of living.
Given that not all of them can be absorbed in employment, there are cases of congestion strain on available resources and anonymity that eventually leads to a reduction in the value system. Vices like crime and other conflicting social values set in.
Generally, effects of overpopulation include: unemployment, overcrowding leading to depletion of resources, reduced living standards that curtail economic development, land fragmentation that impedes agriculture, and slum development resulting to air and water pollution, inability of the affected city to offer equitable and quality education and medical care to all and poverty, misuse of free land and deforestation (Boult, 1999).
Given that Taiwan’s urban areas are more populated than its rural districts, expanding urbanization in the rural areas demands that the Taiwan government comes up with mechanisms to de-congest the urban centers.
This may include investing in the health industry, limiting car use, introducing lead-free fuel and putting up self-contained residences to help elevate people’s quality of life (Boult, 1999). As it has been the case in Los Angeles, railway transport can be spread to the agricultural areas to help development of such regions (Thisdell, 1993).
The success of the development of new towns and industries in the southern region will be enhanced by efficient transport network between the rural parts and the metropolitan regions (Chaffey, 1994). There has been a decline in the agricultural (primary) industry and this could be one of the ways to revive it. To encourage employment, the informal sector should be established (Boult, 1999).
Like other cities like Los Angeles, Taiwan ought to undertake some measures in the transport sector to minimize traffic congestion.
For instance, creating an integrated underground route for passage of trains and other vehicles (Thisdell, 1993) or minimizing dependency on automobiles by developing a transport means that is pedestrian/cycle oriented, like has been done by other cities around the world (Newman, 1999).
Conclusion
Taiwan like other developing nations is experiencing industrialization and urbanization. This has led to a rise in rural – urban migration resulting to overpopulation, congestion, and pollution, which are a threat to sustainable development (Adams, 1999).
These effects have in turn hampered economic growth, which is a vital ingredient in true urbanization. To disentangle itself from this problem, Taiwan should expand urbanization by spreading its industries to rural areas and technologically contain the situation in its northern region.
This will help decongest the northern region. Investing more in education and health sectors and restructuring the transport system like other cities in the world have tackled it will help Taiwan stand the challenge of urbanization. This is the only way to ensure that there is sustainable development on this island.
References
Adams, W. N. (1999). Introducing Human Geographies: Sustainability. London: Arnold pub. (Attached material).
Boult, B. et al. (1999). People, places and themes. Oxford: Heinemann. (Attached material).
Chaffey, J. (1994). Core Geography: The challenge of urbanization. London: Longman publishers. (Attached material).
Elliot, J. A. (1999). An introduction to sustainable development. London: Routledge. (Attached material).