consequences of rapid urbanisation Flashcards
consequences of urbanisation
- urban sprawl (expansion of cities into rural areas)
damage to ecosystem and biodiversity
by 2030 urban land will have expanded by as much as 3.3 million square km
this is 5x the amount in 2000
consequences of urbanisation
- lack of planning (vision)
infrastructure (roads, water connections, waste disposal) lag behind demand
residents forced onto marginal land (flood risk)
>550 million urban Asians at risk of flooding in 2010
this is rising to 760 million in 2025
consequences of urbanisation
- creation of slums
rise in crime
rise in pollution
overcrowded urban streets inhabited with poorer people
around 1 billion people live in urban slums in poor countries
62% of Africa’s urban population live in slums
how does urbanisation lead to slums
More people live in slums
- not enough housing being built for the number of people, high levels of overcrowding
- many low-income families are evicted and forced to live in marginal areas and make homes from scratch
- don’t have tenure of the land, can be evicted
- can’t access official employment
- not many job opportunities
other consequences in detail
- lack of housing
due to extremely high demand in a very short space of time, meaning property developers and landlords cannot provide new housing stock. This may lead to high levels of overcrowding in houses due to large family sizes, or migrant workers sharing rooms to lower costs. It may also mean that there is growth in slums built on marginal land.
other consequences in detail
- unhygienic living conditions
due to lack of sewage treatment, meaning that there are often open sewers and this can lead to vermin, mosquitoes and the spread of disease. Communal toilets are often overused, and can be rife with disease due to a lack of cleaning. The smell, particularly in hot weather, can be quite acute.
other consequences in detail
- lack of education and health services
due to high demand, there are not enough services or enough professionals to run these services
other consequences in detail
- competition for jobs
low pay and low availability of full time jobs. Employers can offer unattractive and dangerous shift work, or can hire and fire without going through ethical procedures due to the constant flow of new workers.
other consequences in detail
- overused natural resources
deforestation, desertification, loss of ecosystems and species extinction. This all contributes to further environmental hazards such as flooding, famine and the collapse of food webs.
other consequences in detail
- starvation and malnutrition
25,000 people die daily from hunger and related issues due to insufficient resources to support population. This is accentuated if rural-urban migration is occurring at a high rate, meaning that the farmers cannot keep pace with demand
other consequences in detail
- higher crime rate
desperate people who have been unable to secure accommodation or employment steal food and other resources to survive. Young people who grow up in these areas, with fewer life opportunities, may be drawn into gang related crime particularly in slums where police presence is almost non-existent.
other consequences in detail
- natural disasters
like flooding and landslides are more likely as more marginal land is used up to accommodate the new arrivals. Flooding becomes increasingly likely due to deforestation to clear space and for material use, as well as the increase of tarmac and concrete.
other consequences in detail
- inadequate drinking water
due to the unplanned nature of the settlement, this leads to diseases in water for example cholera
other consequences in detail
- pollution of land, air and oceans
improper waste disposal means that there are often exposed rubbish dumps close to peoples living areas, due to unplanned roads which won’t accommodate waste disposal trucks, vermin are frequently sighted which spreads disease and pollutes the area around
