Urbanization and its hazards

Outline

A) Introduction
I. Level of pollution
II. What is urbanization
III. Thesis statement
B) Why people migrate from rural area to urban areas
1) In search of economic opportunities
2) To receive quality education
3) For better life standard
C) What hazards urbanization have caused
1) Growth of slums area
2) Surge in crime rate
3) Rise in ethnic conflicts
4) Increase in pollution
5) Limited portable water
6) Rise in Health problems
7) Agriculture is being disturbed
8) Effect on eco-system
D) Means to control Urbanization
1) Enhancing education institutes
2) Increasing income sources
3) Up grading life standard of rural areas
E) Conclusion

“Himalaya peaks visible from 200-Km away………” was popular news in April 2020. It was time when
there was strict lockdown ,because of covid-19 pandemic ,across the country due to which air
pollution of urban cities decreased significantly. This shows how much pollution urban areas have. It
is one of the major hazards of urbanization. Urbanization refers to general increase in population
and the amount of industrialization of a settlement. It includes increase in the number and extent of
cities. Urbanization usually occurs when people move from villages to cities to settle, in hope of a
higher standard of living. This usually takes place in developing countries. Because in rural areas,
people have less job opportunities, less quality education and low life standard . Due to urbanization
population of cities is increasing day by day which has created many slums areas. Furthermore,
industrial growth and traffic also increase with population influx that results in increased pollution.
Moreover, it becomes very difficult for Municipal Management to keep city clean. Not only this, but
crime rate also surges due to urbanisation. In addition to these, demographics of country also
changes and country becomes unevenly populated. Considering these hazards, it is mandatory for a
country to limit urbanization. This can be done by fulfilling basic needs and providing equal
opportunity to people residing in rural area. In a nutshell, people migrate from rural areas to cities to
accomplish their dreams which result in urbanization, and it creates lots of hazards in cities, so it is
necessary to take measures to stop urbanization.

Firstly, people migrate from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment. As, the urban areas
offer better wage-labour opportunity than the rural areas due to the conglomeration of industrial
and service sectors - primary and secondary economic activities. On the other hand, the rural
economic structure is waning because of a variety of reasons like fragmentation of cultivation land,
erratic monsoon and failure of crops. So, the rural people head towards the urban areas to get
employed as wage laborers in industries or construction sites or as maid servants, in case of females.

Secondly, the premium institutes of higher education’s are mainly located in the urban areas. So,
search of higher education results in migration to urban areas. Though on the surface it seems to be
a temporary one but after education people don’t want to go back to the villages again and they
settle in the urban areas for the lucrative job offers they provide. So, the temporary migration
becomes a permanent one

Lastly, the life standard of urban areas appears more lavish to rural people. Apart from availability of
basic commodities in cities, they also have great place of entertainment such as : recreational areas,
cinemas, stadiums and shopping malls. Furthermore, supply of power, internet and natural gas in
cities is more compared to villages which enables people to perform their day to day task more
easily. These resources also help people to live a comfort life.

In above paragraphs it was discussed why people migrate to urban areas and following paragraphs
will be about hazards caused by urbanization.

One of the earliest results of urbanization is growth of slum. The increase in population leads to
massive housing problems as most people who migrate to cities are unable to find an affordable
place to stay. Ultimately, this results in creation of slums and occupying of streets. According to
United nation world cities report 2016, Karachi the capital of Sindh is home to world largest slum-
orangi town. Moreover, other hazards of urbanization mainly start from slum area.

These slums are a breeding ground for various crimes. This is because people who have settled down
are contractual labourers and hence do not have a permanent source of income. Hence, uneven
income drives them to do illegal work through which they can earn a quick buck. Besides that, crime
rate of urban also surges because number of people exceeds from number of jobs which forces
people to get involved in crime. Also, there is high competition in every field in urban areas , so
people use improper ways to get their work done. Hence it can be concluded that urbanization leads
to surge in crime rate.

As in urban area there is mix up of people hailing from different regions having different culture
which leads to another problem that is ethnic conflict. The prime examples of such ethnic conflicts
can be seen in Karachi. In Karachi there are people from all over the country having different sets of
cultures which doesn’t go well with each other. There are monopolies in different sectors of
different sect, when other groups try to enter in their business generally then conflicts erupt.
Another reason of conflicts can be marriage. As there is reduced communication gap in urban area
one can easily find their suitable life partner. But these relations are often discouraged by families
and gives birth to conflicts. This is how ethnic conflicts increases due to urbanization

Moving ahead another serious hazard of urbanization is pollution. There is no doubt in that the more
the population is the more will be the consumption and the more the consumption the more will be
the pollution. As mentioned above slums is chief hazard of urbanization. And the foremost
characterises of slum is pollution. Slums area of urban cities produces much waste. According to
report published by centre of diseases and control and preventions 35.67% of urban residents
perceived air pollution in their daily life, 18.91% higher than the rate of their rural counterparts;
17.96% of them perceived water pollution, 5.5% higher than the rate of their rural counterparts.
Furthermore, the large-scale traffic is responsible for air pollution ultimately affecting the quality of
air the people breathe. Thus, urbanization increases pollution.
Another, big effect of urban agglomeration is that it increases the demand as well as consumption of
water. The limited access to potable water has serious health hazards including water borne
diseases which result in taking lives of millions of people including children. Pakistan where there is
already shortage and mismanagement of water, urbanization further adds fuel to this problem. In
addition to that as urban area are full of industries, the portable water often gets mix with black
water and becomes unusable. This is clear that in urbanization the distribution of water is grave
problem.

Yet another serious hazard of urbanisation are the health hazards. The contamination of water, air
and land spread disease. The amount of waste generated in the cities is also a matter of grave
concern which governments across the world have been trying to address. However, the
government’s efforts have not been able to match the steady migration and increasing filth added to
the cities. The toxic wastes ultimately cause diseases such as malaria and dengue. Furthermore, the
mass dwelling in cities lives very close to each other. So, the chances of spread of contagious
diseases is more in cities is more. It was evident from covid-19 pandemic that it spread more in
urban area. In the end this could be said that urbanization is unhealthy.

As the rurales are mostly agrarian their migration to urban areas present yet another hazard that is
decreasing of agriculture. The rapid renouncing of agriculture by subsequent generations whose
ancestors were engaged in farming also presents a challenge to food production. After all, food
production is the most essential aspect of any economy and if every person starts migrating to urban
area or towards industries, who would grow crops? In case of Pakistan which heavily depends on
agriculture for its export, urbanization presents a serious threat.

Lastly as the people migrate from one place to another it changes the demographics and land
pattern of country and ultimately disturbs eco-system. Urbanisation has been one of the leading
causes of displacement of habitats. Since large amounts of forests have been cleared for urban
dwelling and where high-rise buildings have come up, it has disturbed the natural habitat of various
fauna. Besides this, the increasing number of buildings as well as greater population has resulted in
increase in temperature. Moreover, the left-out areas by time becomes barren and remains of no
use. So, in this way a country couldn’t fully utilize their resources.

Above paragraphs were about hazard of urbanizations. Following paragraphs will talk about how to
limit urbanization.

Firstly, as people move to cities to receive better education , so if this problem is settled this
movement of public towards urban cities can be decreased. It can be done by improving the quality
of education in village. One of the ways of doing this is by offering higher salary packages to teachers
for working in the village. Another method can be by improving online education plate-forms. There
are two good distant learning universities in Pakistan namely: Allama Iqbal open University and
Virtual university, but the number of courses provided are few in number. However, the foremost
method will be opening of universities in these areas. In this way the urbanization can be minimized
by improving education

Secondly, the lack of income sources drives rural people to urban areas if there are more economic
opportunities in villages, urbanization can be minimized. As main source of income of rural area is
agriculture. So, modernization of agriculture could increase wages of the farmers. It could be done
by using latest machineries and fertilizers. By adapting methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation
to save water. Furthermore, as village side is full of natural beauty, one way of increasing economy
of rural can be by boosting tourism. Moreover, small factories such as of cotton, rice, wheat and can
also enhance earning of rural areas. So, it is concluded that creating jobs in rural areas can be a tool
to control urbanization.

Finally, rural people seem to migrate to urban area for better standard of life. If villagers are
provided with better life standard in village itself their movement can be halted. The day to day life
of a villager is tedious and at times boring. In order to make their life easy and joyful these steps can
be taken. Firstly, upgrading the infrastructure of villages, and improving public places such as
hospitals, bank and courier service. Secondly, they should be facilitated with power, natural gas and
internet so they could perform their daily task using modern methods. Thirdly, for the entertainment
of villages, cinemas and stadiums should be opened and various programs of racing, gaming and
concerts should be organized.

To conclude, it could be said urbanization is causing lots of hazards and there is need to halt the
process of urbanization. One of the biggest hazards of urbanization is rise in crime rates, as people
do not readily find job so they use illegal way to feed their families. Moreover, as people of different
culture mingle with each other often ethnic conflicts rise. But the most crucial hazard that takes
place is of health, as urban areas have big slums which are very polluted and unsanitized so they give
birth to various diseases, and these spread across whole city. In addition to that as people move to
cities, they leave rural areas- places of agriculture- behind. This hampers the production of food.
That is why the main focus should be on reducing the stress on the urban regions and repopulating
the villages. This helps evenly spread the population density which reduces urban clog which can
control the CO2 emission hotspots that the cities have become. A healthy mind, resides in a healthy
body; A healthy body, resides in a healthy environment. One way of doing this is to match education
level of villages to their counterpart cities. Other includes by creating more job sources. It can be
done by modernizing agriculture and advertising tourism. Also, by improving the life standard of
villagers they can be convinced to stay in their native villages. It is true that urbanisation is causing
huge economic growth, but the hidden impact that it is inflicting is very dangerous for the future of
planet Earth. This is very aptly described by an old Cree Indian saying from the highlands of America,
“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned,
will we realise we cannot eat money.”