Commerce Foundation Urbanization

Question: Does increasing urbanization occur at the cost of the environment? Answer: Urbanization refers to a phenomenon where the population move from rural to urban area. It is also referred to as a progressive increase in the number of people living in towns and cities as they have benefits such as health care, sanitation, education and transportation facilities. Urbanization helps in the overall economic development of a nation as the local talents get opportunities to explore their talent (Li, Wang, Zhao, 2016). This essay aims at exploring the benefits and cost of urbanization on environment. It is argued that urbanization occurs at the cost of the environment. According to Satterthwaite (2010), cities have a poor reputation for development or ecological sustainability. One of the common issues found in the cities is high density. The urban people interact with the environment. The consumption pattern of food, water, energy and land change thereby affecting the health and quality of life of the people living in urban areas. The urban population have high consumption of resources in comparison with the rural population (OECD, 2013). Also, the energy consumption such as transportation, electricity, heating and cooking is higher than that of the rural village (Fragkias et al., 2013). With higher consumption of energy, the emission rate of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere shall be higher. Also, higher usage of resources can lead to shortage thereby affecting environment sustainability adversely. With the increasing urbanization, it is difficult to find blue skies as the smo g level has increased (Wei et al., 2015). Taking the example of China, the per capita consumption of resources in the cities and towns are higher than that of the rural areas. According to Cui and Shi (2012), Shanghai experiences the greatest change in land cover and use in the last three decades. There has been increase in buildings changing the proportion of grassland and water body. The expansion of cities has lead to significant climate change. The mean surface temperature over Southeast China has increased by 0.05C due to increased urbanization (Cui, Shi, 2012). Also, urbanization has affected the urban atmosphere and water quality. The water quality has degraded in Shanghai with 94% variability (Cui, Shi, 2012). The garbage production amount has increased to 8900 thousand tons in 2010 from 960 thousand tons in 1950 (Cui, Shi, 2012). Public health has deteriorated and the people have got health issues like asthma, lung disease and heart issues due to growing urbanization. It was reported that the patients increased f rom 5.4 person-times to 9.1 person-times from 2000 to 2010 (Cui, Shi, 2012). The vegetation coverage has decreased in Shanghai, especially around the towns and urban areas (Cui, Shi, 2012). Therefore, urbanization is considered as one of the most powerful forces on Earth. Urbanization poses several environmental threats, as seen in the case of Shanghai related to climate, ecology and human health. As argued above, urbanization degrades the environment. However, there are a number of reasons and situations where urbanization has been proven good for the environment. Most of the literature is based on the negative effects of urbanization on the environment in the cities. However, there are positive environmental advantages of urbanization as it brings higher productivity. The Asian urban productivity is reported to be more than 5.5 times than that of rural areas (Wan 2012). It is argued that urbanization reduces the carbon footprint. The service sector is less polluting than the manufacturing sector, and requires urbanization so that it offers benefit to the environment. It is also argued that with high urban density, the public transport becomes more viable thereby reducing length of trips. Urbanization drives innovation and green technologies to adopt energy-efficient products (Wan 2012). Increasing urbanization has also lead to the crucial introduction and enforcement of the laws and regulations related to the environment (Wan, 2012). For instance, the amount of waste generation is increasing in urban India. Landfills are not considered as a viable solution. However, the nation is innovating technologies and infrastructure to manage waste efficiently (Waste Management Review, 2016). Further, urbanization allows people to utilize land efficiently. Research and development efforts taken in Brazil have substantially changed the land use. In case of Uganda, the policy makers are acting to ensure that the rapid urbanization can add to sustainable growth (Worldbank.org, 2015). It is argued that the close proximity of water consumers have higher scope for re-using wastewater or recycling. Also, the cities have scope to limit the usage of motor vehicles and use public transport. There is green innovation in the Asian cities that is massively supported by the vast market. The people are more likely to buy energy efficient products (Fragkias et al., 2013). Conclusively, it is argued that urbanization comes with cost and opportunities. The industrial activities such as construction, poor waste disposal, and carbon emissions from transportation harm the environment. Therefore, the cities must lower the carbon emissions and particle pollution to minimize the impact on the environment. The cities must improve energy efficiency and incorporate social costs and benefits. The consumption pattern of food, water, energy and land change thereby affecting the health and quality of life of the people living in urban areas. Urbanization drives innovation and green technologies to adopt energy-efficient products. There is a need to introduce laws and regulations in an efficient manner to avoid poor coordination on air and water quality. References Cui, L., Shi, J. (2012). Urbanization and its environmental effects in Shanghai, China.Urban Climate,2, 1-15. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2012.10.008 Fragkias, M., Lobo, J., Strumsky, D., Seto, K. (2013). Does Size Matter? Scaling of CO2 Emissions and U.S. Urban Areas.Plos ONE,8(6), e64727. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064727 Li, T., Wang, Y., Zhao, D. (2016). Environmental Kuznets Curve in China: New evidence from dynamic panel analysis.Energy Policy,91, 138-147. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.01.002 OECD. (2013). Urbanisation and Green Growth in China.OECD Regional Development Working Papers. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k49dv68n7jf-en Satterthwaite, D. (2010).The Role of Cities in Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/2010/04/UNsdkp004fsingle.pdf Wan, G. (2012).Urbanization can be good for the environment | Asia Pathways.Asia Pathways. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2012/12/urbanization-can-be-good-for-the-environment/ Waste Management Review. (2016).Addressing Indias waste management challenge - Waste Management Review.Waste Management Review. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/addressing-indias-waste-management-challenge/ Wei, Y., Bao, L., Wu, C., He, Z., Zeng, E. (2015). Assessing the effects of urbanization on the environment with soil legacy and current-use insecticides: A case study in the Pearl River Delta, China.Science Of The Total Environment,514, 409-417. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.111 Worldbank.org. (2015).Managing Rapid Urbanization Can Help Uganda Achieve Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.World Bank. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/03/03/managing-rapid-urbanization-can-help-uganda-achieve-sustainable-and-inclusive-growth