The goal of urbanization is typically to create prospering centralized regions that offer employment and housing while limiting commuting needs. Local access to leisure and a sense of neighborhood are essential benefits of urban development.
Conversely, urbanization may boost traffic jams and loudness, increase crime rates, and impose poorer inhabitants out of their homes.
According to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, the 2014 Revision, cities house more than half of the world’s population, and by 2050, this figure is expected to rise to 66%.
From what urbanization is to how it affects the folks around you, you should educate yourself on both the positive and negative aspects of this system.
This will assist you in developing a well-rounded viewpoint on whether urbanization is worth the drawbacks or whether the perks are insufficient.
The trend of urbanization is not going away. It may slow down, but it will not come to a halt soon. Learn more in this essay on the benefits and drawbacks of urbanization.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Urbanization
There are numerous advantages to urbanization that have catapulted the world forward as civilization has progressed. People are convinced that there will be additional advantages as science and technology advance.
1. Speedy Infrastructural Development
Urbanization stimulates economic growth, allowing cities and towns to invest in enhanced infrastructure.
Cities and towns can afford better architecture because they generate more money to boost buildings and roads. Infrastructure upkeep and preservation are critical for areas to undergo economic growth.
Inhabitants in rural areas are frequently victims of poor infrastructure because their communities scramble to generate sufficient revenue to sustain and design more vital infrastructure.
2. Better Transportation
On the one hand, concentrating many enterprises in one location fosters walkability and reduces the need for automobiles.
In contrast to rural and suburban areas, where proximity often prevents individuals from strolling from one destination to the next, urban development places businesses close to one another.
However, cities like New York are known for their bumper-to-bumper traffic because too many people crammed into small urban areas cause traffic congestion. Thus, many urban development areas rely heavily on public transportation for success.
3. Better Career Options
People move to cities like Los Angeles or New York for various reasons, including better job opportunities.
There are numerous ways to kickstart your career if you have recently graduated from urban locations. You can start your own business, work for someone else, or do both.
4. Economic Growth
Growing urban areas frequently result in an influx of emerging enterprises and elevated clientelism of existing businesses. Businesses, particularly in urban areas, pursue population growth.
For instance, if a company constructs or refurbishes an architecture that houses many employees, eateries may relocate to the region to nourish the company’s employees.
Those restaurants’ victory inspires other companies to consider relocating to this location, such as dry cleaners, an auto repair shop, a supermarket, and a drug store. As a result, the economic development of the city expands.
5. Better Education
There aren’t many Educational facilities to choose from in rural or suburban areas, leaving parents with few options for their children’s education.
Major cities have more comprehensive educational options, such as public, private, and trade schools. Your children can learn using modern learning techniques with the assistance of highly trained teachers.
If you have started a family and want to send your children to top schools, you can do so in a city effortlessly.
Most schools in urban locations have websites where parents can contact and seek advice from the management.
6. Better Health Care
Urban areas provide better health facilities and technologies, attracting migrants from remote regions. But, medical facilities in rural areas will be inferior to those in urban areas.
In urban areas, you can book an appointment with the nearest healthcare service by phone or online. In addition, you can contact the emergency hotline and paramedics in a medical emergency.
7. Social Integration
In cities, people from various faiths and cultures reside and work together. Interaction between people of different backgrounds fosters reconciliation and peace among the diverse factions. It also aids in the dismantling of social and cultural impediments.
For instance, many cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities are appreciated and accepted in Toronto. People in cities can sample cuisine from various cultures and learn about different belief systems.
Challenges of Urbanization
While urbanization has many advantages in business, education, health, and housing, it has some major challenges. The following are some of the significant weaknesses of urbanization.
1. Pollution
Elevated pollution and illnesses will have the most significant impact on urban areas. Due to population growth, the civilization will undergo industrial development.
The industrial will be discarded so that the chemicals will pollute fresh water, land, and air. Water pollution might cause the spread of infectious diseases at a faster rate. An overall depletion of natural resources!
These plants emit gases and other toxins that are harmful to humans. With more automobiles on the road, including gasoline and diesel vehicles, urban cities are experiencing increased air pollution. Smoking, too, degrades air quality.
The pollution will only worsen when more individuals reside in heavily populated areas. If you are concerned about the environment and want to do your part to safeguard it, you might want to consider opposing urbanization.
2. Densely Populated issues
Overpopulation is a significant issue in urban areas that do not exist in rural locations. Many urban populations residing in the city work daily, shop, go to university, and do other things that an individual from the countryside would find difficult to cope with.
Overcrowding and a lack of proper sanitary conditions in cities exacerbate living conditions. Infection flare-ups may occur as a result of poor sanitation. This causes a shortage of clean water, pollution, and other problems.
The massive population will also have an impact on the environment. It also puts more strain on drinking water and sewage disposal resources.
3. Increase In Unemployment And Crime
Although many people relocate to cities in search of work, the number of people looking for work exceeds the number of available positions. Because of the high job competition, urban areas have many unemployed people.
To begin with, the city has a large population, and everyone is looking for work, so you may be jobless for a long time when you relocate.
Because of high unemployment and extreme poverty, some people are forced to engage in criminal activity.
Overpopulation makes it difficult to maintain law and order in urban areas, mainly slums. Break-ins, carjackings, and store theft are all common problems for city dwellers.
4. High-Cost Lifestyle
The cost of living in cities will be higher than in rural areas. This expense is higher due to a lack of housing and open space for migrants. Because housing is scarce, the cost of housing and lodging rises.
If there isn’t sufficient space for everyone to have a place to live during rapid urbanization, it can imply that more individuals have to make do with less-than-ideal living conditions.
It also implies that low-income areas will expand, implying that there will be a massive difference between people who have enough money to support themselves in an urban environment and those who must live on the streets.
Wanting to satisfy your requirements in a city where tens of thousands of others are doing the same thing can be tricky, especially if you lack the necessary resources.
5. Environmental Concerns
Urbanization destroys ample natural vegetation to expand cities and cater to more people. As a consequence, flora and fauna’s natural habitats are impacted.
Many densely wooded areas are devastated by the construction of an urban areas that would otherwise be natural ecosystems for many wildlife and birds.
As populations grow, the demand for land to build houses and industries grows, reducing the land available for agriculture. The remaining agricultural land uses a lot of fertilizer to boost food production, depreciating the quality of farmland.
6. Natural Disasters
Rainwater infiltration into soil is challenging in urban areas because of the widespread concrete and asphalt coverage.
Rains in large quantities cause a large influx of water, and rain downspouts cannot soak up the flood, which infiltrates residences, public buildings, and underpasses, and compromises traffic.
7. Declining Rural Population
Urbanization forces individuals away from rural and suburban areas, resulting in a population imbalance.
One of the problematic disadvantages of urbanization is the loss of the rural population due to migration to urban areas. There will be less rural economic expansion if fewer people live in rural areas.
A rural population shift means fewer people working in the farming sector. This impacts the nation’s agricultural market and demand and supply, including urban areas.
Summary (urbanization pros and cons)
| Pros |
|---|
| Speedy Infrastructural Development |
| Better Transportation |
| Better Career Options |
| Economic Growth |
| Better Education |
| Better Health Care |
| Social Integration |
| Cons |
|---|
| Pollution |
| Densely Populated |
| Increase In Unemployment And Crime |
| High-Cost Lifestyle |
| Environmental Concerns |
| Natural Disasters |
| Declining Rural Population |
Although urbanization has many advantages, it has a cost on residents who do not have direct exposure to the same employment resources and opportunities that may be accessible in carefully regulated and developed cities.
Structured Urbanization is an ideal new world policy to promote and take place in the global economy, but it leaves sustainability a question.
It is the promise of growth for any country, and even when it has drawbacks, there should be measures in place to manage rather than stifle its concept.
(Last Updated on October 26, 2022)
