Migration of population - Urbanization is now mainly a trend in Africa and Asia, where only about 40 percent of the population is urban today. Driven by continued high population growth and economic growth in parts of the regions, the urban population is expected to double between 2000 and 2030, reaching 54 and 55 percent respectively.
Pressure on infrastructure - There is an immense pressure on land, water and infrastructure like public transport, places, health care, law and order etc. The growth of infrastructure will be unable to cope with the rapid urbanization.
1.Housing Problems - Urbanization leads to an increased demand for land bank which pushes the property prices. It’s no wonder that alarge percentage of city-dwellers are poor, with an estimated 1 billion living in slums. Unable to find affordable houses leads to encroachment of pavements and creation of slums.
2.Water - Increase in the urban population increases the demand and consumption of water. It becomes a challenge to supply drinking water for humans living especially in the slum areas. In 1985 there were 100 million more people without water service than in 1975. Limited access to drinking water poses serious health hazards and easy spread of water borne diseases across the masses.
3.Public Transport & Traffic - Cities and towns have depended heavily on ground transport for the movement of people and goods. Thus, the increase in urbanization throughout the world has been accompanied by a sharp growth in urban traffic and the public transport system of the urban cities is choked. However, such a situation has generated a large number of accidents. Some 500,000 people are killed in traffic accidents each year, two-thirds of which occur in urban or peri-urban areas. In addition, according to many studies in different countries, for every death there are ten to twenty persons injured.
Urbanity and health - Though urbanization allows more accessibility to health services, it also creates health hazards. In such urban areas the air, land and water are often contaminated, spreading disease. Health hazards resulting from urbanization are mainly connected to air pollution, as well as crime, traffic and lifestyle. The burning of fossil fuels from transportation, industry and energy production is the main culprit regarding outdoor urban air pollution. Another health hazard common the cities is connected to lifestyle and consumption patterns, including dietary changes and obesity.
Sanitation and Drainage - Globally some 2.4 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation. Everyday as many as 30,000 people die from preventable water- and hygiene-related diseases and the children are most prone to the water bourne disease. The recent floods and heavy torrential rain shows how inadequate is the present urban drainage. Wastewater collection, ventilated and improved human pit latrines, shallow piped sewerage systems, waste water treatment and re-use of waste water for agriculture and aquaculture are some of the steps towards good sanitation.
Increases in prices - Due to rising income levels, the disposable income also increases which drives the consumption and the consumption patterns. The increased consumption trend pushes the price of essential items and services.
Pollution - The hazard generated by the expansion of urban traffic is air and noise pollution. Health problems include acute and chronic respiratory diseases, malignancies and hearing deficiencies.
Waste management - 30 to 50% of solid waste generated within urban centres are left uncollected. More than two billion people still have no sanitary means to dispose of human waste (Hardoy, Cairncross and Satterthwaite 1990; WHO Commission on Health and Environment 1992b). Due to environmental considerations recycling and reuse of wastes are of utmost importance in the urban area. Large amount of toxic waste are also produced in the urban areas.
Spread of Disease - Urban areas have usually high density of population, a fact which facilitates the spread of communicable diseases like urban malaria, dengue and yellow fever.
Psychological - Urbanization has often had psychosocial consequences such as stress, alienation, instability and insecurity; which, in their turn, have led to problems such as depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Marital instability and thus high number of divorce cases in the urban areas are common symptoms of the psychological disturbance of the urban mass.
Urbanity and food - In most societies, agriculture is the backbone of the economic foundations for development, whereas urbanization lays the foundation for the next step in economic development, industrialization. Industrial activities are mostly located in urban areas, or the establishment of industrial enterprises spurs development of urban centers. Where land and water are scarce, urban areas compete with agriculture. Farmers can suddenly find themselves outbid for land by industrial firms, jeopardizing the production of food. Food security is a major challenge closely connected to urbanization. The impact of urbanization on agriculture is also connected to the consumption patterns of city populations. Rising incomes lead to higher consumption and increased pressure on natural resources, especially in developed countries. Urban consumption may be a more imminent problem than the actual urban concentrations, causing a substantial urban footprint.
New opportunities, and challenges
1.Urbanization creates opportunities and challenges, not least regarding sustainability.
2.Concentrations of people make it easier to offer basic infrastructure and public services such as education and health services.
3.Urbanization and growth go together, and no country has ever reached middle-income status without a significant population shift from rural to urban areas.
4.Urban environments, with close human interaction, also tend to spur innovation and economic development.
5.Urbanization affects economic relations and social structure throughout the world. It contributes to the globalization trend, with increased cross-border trade and cross-cultural ties bringing the world closer together.
Increased urbanization will also drive the development of mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants or more. It is estimated that by 2025 there will be 27 mega-cities, 20 of these in the developing world.
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