what challenges do people in cities face? Flashcards
Challenges
Increased environmental pollution
Water pollution
Air pollution
Competition for natural resources
Land resource
Water resource
Increased environmental pollution
Cities are major pollutants of air and water. Large amounts of fossil fuels are being consumed in the cities due to the high concentration of people, businesses and transport networks. This is the leading cause of environmental pollution. Contaminants are produced and released into the physical environment. Thus harms human health
Water pollution
Water is essential for human life. Water supplies in cities are often affected by improper management of household and industrial waste due to inadequate or broken sewage systems. Waste is disposed directly or leaked into waterways, water quality is reduced. Pollution threatens human health and aquatic life.
Air pollution
The World Health Organisation’s survey of cities worldwide conducted in 2016, less than 20% of the world’s urban population live in areas with clean air. Prolonged exposure to air pollution can lead to respiratory infection, lung cancer, heart disease and even death. Poor health would subsequently lead to increased demand for healthcare services.
Geo-fact on water quality in Singapore
Singapore has done well in minimising water pollution. Singapore’s tap water is safe to drink without boiling. Our national water agency, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) oversees the treatment and distribution of water. Samples of water are collected from reservoirs, waterworks and distribution systems , and then tested at laboratories. Online sensors also monitor the water quality at each stage of the treatment process and service reservoirs. Over 400,000 test are conducted annually.
Competition for natural resources
Land resource and water resource
Context on competition for natural resources
With an increase of the number of people making their homes in cities, they require large amount of natural resources to build infrastructure and supply materials for industrial use. Competition for natural resources such as land and water arises when there is a high demand by cities for the limited amount of natural resources.
Land resource
Need land to accommodate their large and growing populations for different purposes. Cities may expand towards rural areas, replacing forests and farm-lands or levelling hills if the land area of the current city is insufficient. Parts of the current city could be rebuilt to use land more intensively, such as by replacing low-lying buildings with taller ones. Competition for land also causes unhappiness when existing residents are relocated to make way for new buildings for other uses.
Water resource
Cities need to ensure a continuous supply of water to mee the needs of people and businesses. This is compromised by competition for land, which limits the construction or expansion of reservoirs. Water catchment areas and groundwater are also affected as more natural vegetation is converted to concrete surfaces.
Example of water
In July 2018, the city of Cape Town in South Africa turned off the water taps for homes and businesses. This was because the water levels in the reservoirs has dropped to dangerously low levels. City officials pointed at high population growth, people’s consumption habits and prolonged drought to be the reasons.
