Major Problems of Urbanization - Essay Example

Following the alarming rate of the world’s population, the resulting trend is that people are shifting from rural areas to urban centers. As Elliot pointed (1999, p.145), this global trend of people’s movement towards city centers refers to urbanization. Therefore, urbanization is a phenomenon whereby people change their position, culture, and migrate to urban areas. However, with urbanization come major problems such as traffic congestion, housing shortages, unemployment, and environmental problems. In 1990, researchers revealed the sustainability concept, which aims at balancing societal and economical concerns with sustainable policies that has no negative environmental effects. Adams (1999, p.141) defines that sustainable development as a method of bringing growth to people’s lives without causing any environmental problems. This essay will examine major problems of urbanization, which are traffic congestion and housing shortages, and provide some solutions by use of sustainable development policies. Additionally, it will argue that the evaluation of solutions to problems of urbanization have a limited extent of implementation. Urbanization led to the uprising of many problems such as traffic congestion and joblessness. Traffic congestion arises due to inadequate road network within the town. In addition, there are other problems that automatically arise when there is congestion within the city. For example, parking ground inadequacy (Thisdell, 1993, p.124). This automatically leaves several vehicles on roads causing traffic jams or congestion (Thisdell, 1993, p.125). Several vehicles on the road implies high amount of chemicals. In terms of smoke, released from vehicle chimneys(Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p. 130) . The fumes released by vehicles on traffic jams consist of toxic chemicals that interfere with the natural environment (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p. 130). The practice is a trendsetter, reputational, to be lucid, but it is costly too as it make people to stay long on roads. Policy development is an appropriate strategy for offering solutions to most of the problems traffic congestion that arise due to urbanization. Governments should take a step to resolve the situation by constructing alternative highways, flyovers, passersby and subways (Thisdell, 1993, p.124). Having more roads than before is one easy way of relinquishing the problem of several cars using or passing through only one road making the road busy congested, especially during peak hours (Thisdell, 1993, p.125).Therefore, the policy development is necessary for the offset of the problems related to congestion in urban centers. Research findings point out that the other major problem caused by urbanization is poor housing. This problem traces its roots from inadequate housing since people in need of houses exceed the number of available houses (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.127). In less developed countries, the problems of urbanization started many years ago due to increased birth rates, less mortality, and reliance on white color jobs which in turn led to over populated cities (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.128-129). As people migrated to cities, there emerged cases of advent poverty because of a high number of unemployed people. These people establish these scrap houses illegally on public lands and in farmers’ estates and found in the city edges (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.129). They result to houses found in one place commonly referred to as shantytowns due to land and water pollution (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.128). This condition makes it clear that these people lack basic amenities, which adds up to the problems of urbanization and is common in Mexico City (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.128).Thus, the problems related to housing arise whenever population of an urban center increases. Policies of sustainable development usually attempt to come up with a solution to problems facing people within a locality without causing other problems in the process. Therefore, it has the necessary ability of boosting the lives of people in the rural areas (Newman, 1999, p.152). Most people move to towns and cities to search for jobs, if the rural areas are developed and job opportunities availed, rural to urban migration rate would definitely reduce as the jobs would be available to them next to their ancestral premises (Bilham-Boult at et., 1999, p.131). Thisdell (1993, p.24) argues that overpopulation in urban areas has negative effects on the environment. A good illustration of this point is earthquake. This is because of the existence of several machineries such as vehicles and others, which can possibly cause earthquakes. Policy of sustainable development can heed to solving the problem of traffic congestion and earthquakes in major cities such as Los Angeles (Thisdell, 1993, p.124). According to Thisdell (1993, p.126), setting up long-term funding programs through sustainable development policies can curb the problem of traffic congestion through the allocation of enough funds for enabling construction of alternative subways, flyovers, sidelines, and underground tunnels as well as pedestrians walk ways. One way of solving the problem of inadequate housing in towns is through building satellite new towns in order to disperse settlement within towns (Billam-Boult al et, 1999, p.129) . In cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong, there are high-density houses that have relevantly helped reduce their issues resulting from shortage of houses (Billam-Boult al et, 1999, p.129). Moreover, obtaining international support in order to repair the existing infrastructure can aid at solving the problem of inadequate houses (Billam-Boult al et, 1999, p.128). Therefore, providing educational services to street children and homeless adults can solve this menace through equipping these people with knowledge and skills essential for securing employment (Adams, 1999, p. 126-127). From this point of view, solving the problem caused by inadequate housing requires thorough comprehension of the society as a whole not just the congested part or city. Understanding the society enables planners and constructors to build more good houses in other areas other than the congested town (Billam-Boultal et, 1999, p. 130). Constructing houses in other areas encourages people to move to these areas too (Billam-Boultal et, 1999, p. 130). In addition, location of industries and other companies should not be localized. People usually move to cities in search of job opportunities. Job opportunities are in the cities. Therefore, delocalization of industries will bring the opportunities closer to them (Billam-Boultal et, 1999, p.128). When the people are congested in one city in search of jobs, some of them definitely do not get the opportunities. Therefore, they remain unemployed. Expansion or decentralization of the industries enables many to get jobs at easy at good places with less pollution or other congestion related problem. Observation of housing problems in cities, reveals that the major issues resulting to it are unemployment, lack of education, and over population. Adams (1999, p.139) argues that the offering of solutions to the problem will require the so-called sustainable development policies to do more than just setting of strategies. It will require enactment, formulation, and implementation of the set policies given the fact that failure to curb this issue presently will amount to paramount disasters in the future (Adams, 1999, p.128). According to Bilham-Boult et al.,(1999,p.129) implementing and monitoring improvement of rural areas with developed infrastructure and employment opportunities as well as quality social amenities can also aid to urbanization decrease. Formulation of all these sustainable development policies is a crucial factor towards solving shortage of housing problem in cities. Thus, establishing the main causes of people’s migration to towns and coming up with strategies that can stop the trend should be prioritized (Thisdell, 1993, p.129). In conclusion, it is clear that urbanization include several serious problems such as traffic congestion and housing shortages, which are main challenges in relation to urbanization. Traffic congestion can be linked with inadequate roads and parking as well as air pollution. On the other hand, housing shortages lead to land and water pollution. These challenges fail to adhere to the policy of sustainable development. On the other hand, housing problems have equal effects on the environment. Challenges of poverty, pollution, population growth and epidemic disease are linked to poor housing. Campaign to improve rural areas and outskirt towns is recommendable. There would be equal population within towns and rural areas. Issues of traffic congestion and inadequate housing would be a thing of history. This policy would prepare a suitable environment for the future generation. Bibliography Adams, W.M. (1999). Sustainability.In P. Cloke, P. Crang& M. Goodwin (Eds.), Introducing human geographies (pp. 125-130). London, UK: Arnold. Bilham-Boult, A., Blades, H., Hancock, J., Keeling W., &Ridout, M. (1999).People, places and themes. Oxford, UK: Heinemann. Elliot, J.A. (1999). An introduction to sustainable development.London, UK: Routledge. Newman, P.(1999).Transport: Reducing automobile dependence. In D. Satterthwaite (Ed.), The Earthscan reader in sustainable cities (p.p.67-92).London, UK: Earthscan Publications. Lowe, L., (2007) survive and thrive. Sustainable nation: Managing Australias future. Artarmon, NSW: Design Masters press. pp. 22-24 Thisdell, D. (1993). Can L.A. kick the car habit?.New Scientist, 138(1877), 24-29 Read More