E me r g in g T h o u g h t s o n E n v i ro nm

a n d Ph y si c al co n seq u e n c e s o f U r b a n iz a
presented by
S
Chandrasegaran

rging Thoughts on Environment

Introduction
Thenatural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment,
encompasses alllivingand non-living things occurringnaturallyonEarth or some
region thereof.
The concept of thenatural environmentcan be distinguished by components:
Universal naturalresourcesandphysical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries,
such asair,water, andclimate, as well asenergy,radiation electric charge,
andmagnetism, not originating from human activity.
The natural environment is contrasted with thebuilt environment, which comprises the
areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is
regarded as a natural environment , if the human impact on it is kept under a certain
limited level.

rging Thoughts on Environment

Environmental impacts :
Some of the chief forces driving urban area today are shifting of jobs from
agriculture to industry and the concentration of economic opportunities in the urban
areas.
Urban is associated with higher incomes, improved health, higher literacy,
improved quality of life and other benefits. Yet along with the benefits of
urbanization come environmental and social ills.
Since with urban the concentration of people is increasing in cities so there is the
demand for basic necessities like food, energy, drinking water and shelter. The
result is in terms of poor quality housing, lack of water supply and sanitation
facility and lack of proper waste disposal facility leading to spread of
communicable diseases.
So , we will discuss about the ten emerging thought/technologies to improve the
environment.

Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages,

global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say
need to be addressed for humans to achieve sustainable living on this planet.
By the year 2025, an additional 2.9 billion people will strain tightening water supplies,
and the world's energy needs will go up 60 percent by 2030, according to the United
Nations. Live Science looks at 10 technologies - some old, some new, some a bit
offbeat - that might help make the future a little brighter.
- Sara Goudarzi
1. Make Paper Obsolete
2. Bury The Bad Stuff
3. Let Plants and Microbes Clean Up
After Us
4. Plant Your Roof
5. Harness Waves and Tides
6. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
7. Sunny New Ideas

8. The H ' Power

9. Remove the Salt
10.Make Oil from Just about Anything

rging Thoughts on Environment

Urbanization and the Environment
Urbanization is the process in which green space (fields, trees, wetlands, etc)
is converted into black space (concrete and asphalt).
There are a lot of local consequenses of this but nothing global (yet) Alters
heat balance andheat exchange to environment
Urban Heat Island:
Stored heat in buildings, asphalt, etc.
Increase nighttime convective circulation.
Urban Wind Alleys but overall reduction in wind speed (10--30%)
Pollutants in Atmosphere: Increase condensation nuclei!

sical consequences of urbanization

Introduction:
Urbanization is a form of social transformation from traditional rural societies
to modern urban communities. It is long term continuous process. The
objective of this paper is to understand the extent, trend and pattern of
urbanization and also the consequences in the socio-economic context in
India
It is an attempt to outline urban growth process and its consequences which
have severe implications on policy issues. Before attempting an analysis of
pattern and trends in urbanization in India, it becomes imperative to trace
the process of urbanization in India
In ancient and medieval times it was a cultural phenomena and many a times
it happens due to political development because the rise and fall of new
dynasties and kingdoms but in recent times,

sical consequences of urbanization

Urbanization is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.
Urbanization occurs because people move from rural areas to urban areas .This usually
occurs when a country is still developing.
Causes of Urbanization
Rural to urban migration is happening on a massive scale due to population pressure
and lack of resources in rural areas.
People living in rural areas are PULLED to the city. Often they believe that the
standard of living in urban areas will be much better in urban areas.
Natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates while birth rates remain high.
Effects of Urbanization
A range of economic, political, social, cultural and environmental factors affect
urbanization.

sical consequences of urbanization

Socio-cultural impacts
Cities have a strong socio-cultural impacts on their surrounding rural areas. The mass
media depicts city life as superior to rural life, the STANDARD language is deemed
that of the national capital, and better services are received in the city due to its
wealth.
The fertility rate in cities is often lower than in rural areas due to the absence of
agriculture, the cost of children, foodand living space in cities, and family planning.
Socio-economic impacts
As a city grows, the cost of housing and infrastructure also grows, since there are less
water, land and building material available,andgreater congestion problems.Asa city
decays in this way, governments often do not meet the service needs of residents and
urban development is dominated by private capital.
Unemployment grows, asdo drug abuse,crimeand homelessness.

sical consequences of urbanization

Environmental impacts
Waste are a major problem in large cities.
Air pollution results from over-dependence on motorised transport and from burning of
coal to supply energy.
Water pollution results from poor sewage facililties and disposal of industrial heavy
metals into waterways.
Vast quantities of solid waste are produced in industries.
Traffic congestion and noise pollution are major environmental impacts of large cities.
Benefits of Urbanisation
Improvement in economy
Growth of commercial activities
Social & cultural integration
Efficient services
Resources of utilization

sical consequences of urbanization

Adverse effects of Urbanization
There is increasing competition for facilities due to the high standard of living in urban
areas, which has triggered several negative effects:Slums and its consequences of overcrowding.
Lack of sanitation,
Poverty,
Illiteracy,
Unemployment and
Crime is the worst impact of urbanization.
Global warming, air ,pollution, water scarcity and pollution and loss of forest cover,
agricultural land and depletion of wildlife as a result of urban sprawl, pose serious
threats to the environment.
CONCLUSION
The challenge facing the world today is to minimize the negative effects and build the
benefits .
Infrastructure needs to be improved. Opportunities should be created within rural areas

sical consequences of urbanization

Importance of Study of Urbanization:
It is pertinent to identify the main issues which are concerned with the process of
urbanization in India and other developing countries as well. These are

Economic:
Demographic:
Political:
Social and Cultural:

The four main component of urban growth are

Natural Increase:
Migration:
Boundary Change:
Declassification:

sical consequences of urbanization

Consequences of Unbalanced Urbanization
The consequeuences are more severe and it lead to The process of urbanization is
preceding a pace without commensurate growth in industrialization and the rise in the
level of overall economic development. Unplanned urban growth, for instance causes
growth of slums and squatter settlements, varying affects on environmental
degradation and increased burden on existing infrastructure. The general problems
which are the by product of certain kind of urbanization characteristic of low income
countries are:
1. Shortage of houses
2. Critical inadequacies in public utilities viz, power, water, health facilities, sanitation
etc
3. Deteriorating urban environment, urban unemployment, congestion etc
4. Acute poverty
5. Slums proliferation.
Shortage of Houses: The problem that perhaps causes the most concern to a
majority of urban dwellers is
that of finding an appropriate place to live in.

sical consequences of urbanization

some metropolis to live in slums, all these severely decrease the quality of life and
lower the well being of urban population(Approach Paper for 11th Plan- Govt. of India).
Critical Inadequacies in Public Utilities:
Massive problem have emerged due to rapid growth of urban population without a
corresponding increase in urban infrastructure like safe drinking water, preventive
health services, sanitation facility, adequate power supply and provisioning of basic
amenities. Minimum basic facility is also not available for many cities.
The existing urban health services are under tremendous pressure to meet the
demands of all needy people. The quality of life for the bulk of urban population
involves many avoidable hardships. Poor urban infrastructure, congested roads, poor
public transport, improper treatment of sewage, uncollected solid waste are the general
feature of urban settlements.
According to Urbanization report of World Bank only fifty eight percent of urban
population of India has access to improved sanitation facilities.

sical consequences of urbanization

Deteriorating Urban Environment:
India is the world's fifth-largest producer of global warming gas and emissions (USA
leads the race). The problem of pollution is more severe in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi,
Kolkata and Chennai. In India,
Urban areas are more developed and industrialized than the rural areas, and this
attracts still more people to the urban areas.
Thus there is more pressure on facilities like transport services, housing and drainage
facilities, as well as more production of other goods required by the urban population,
which in turn results in the release of large amounts of wastes and pollutants.
The rapid growth in urban population, which affects patterns of production and
consumption, is a principal source of pressure on the environment.
The environment has to sustain the basic human needs for survival and also the
conversion of raw materials into products and services.

sical consequences of urbanization

Deteriorating Urban Environment:
Urban centers and mega-cities in particular cause many environmental problems like
the declining and contaminated water supplies, accelerating atmospheric pollution,
severely inadequate sanitation facilities and enormous quantities of solid and liquid
waste for disposal.
A common and general instance that can be cited here is the contamination of water
and rising level of toxins in almost all major rivers of India due to heavy disposal of
sewage wastes, excreta and chemical wastes.
Due to large migration of population to urban areas the threat to the environment
becomes inevitable and it not only leads to environmental degradation but also the
increasing vulnerability to infectious disease and congestion.
Poverty:
Poverty in India can be defined as a situation only when a section of
peoples are unable to satisfy the basic needs of life. According to an expert group of
Planning Commission, poverty lines in rural areas are drawn with an intake of 2400.

sical consequences of urbanization

calories in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. If the person is unable to get
that minimum level of calories is considered as being below poverty line.
In the cities people are suffering from acute poverty and the living conditions is so poor
that in one small room all family members are staying and this is common feature of
people who are living below poverty line.
The speed of population growth and levels of poverty in mega cities such as Mumbai,
Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad pose immense infrastructural problems.
Percentage of Population below Poverty line-India
1993-94

2004-05

Rural

27.1

21.8

Urban

23.6

21.7

Total

26.1

21.8

Source: 60th Round of NSSO Survey (CSO-Govt. of India)

sical consequences of urbanization

Slums Proliferation:
Rapid urbanizations with lack of adequate housing led to proliferation of slums across
cities. The pace of urbanization is not matched by adequate housing and other basic
facilities and this resulted in rapid proliferation of slums and slum population.
Resulting emergence of uncountable slums and slum dwellers across the mega cities
need utmost attention from the government and policy making bodies. In 1981 about
thirty million people were living in slums
which increased to fifty-five million in 1991 and in 2001 the total number of people
living in slum reached to about seventy five million and it is about twenty six percent of
total urban population in 2001.
People who are living in slums are under conditions of multiple deprivations. They tend
to experience the highest rates of unemployment, under-employment, malnutrition,
morbidity and mortality. Some other facts are that the crime and social unrest is high in
the slum areas.
In consequence, the long standing presumption that living conditions are better in
larger cities than in the countryside is only true where efficient city management and

sical consequences of urbanization

Conclusion & Policy Implication:
According to the UN-HABITAT 2006 Annual Report, in regard to future trends, it is
estimated 93% of urban growth will occur in Asia and Africa and mainly in two Asian
countries, India and China. By 2050 over 6 billion people, two thirds of humanity, will be
living in towns and cities.
The blind forces of urbanization, flowing along the lines of least resistance, show no
aptitude for creating an urban and industrial pattern that will be stable, self-sustaining,
and self-renewing.
Rather, it is the farsighted and provident balancing of city populations and regional
resources so as to maintain in a state of high development all the elements (social,
economic, and agricultural) necessary for their common life.
In India policies towards urbanization have traditionally been negative and since
independence no government has ever made any sincere effort to implement a uniform
and coherent urban reform policy for better management of this concurrent issue.

sical consequences of urbanization

Conclusion & Policy Implication:
Policies concerned with urbanization and urban development must pay special
attention to increase the
access of the poor to urban incomes and amenities so that they also take advantages
of urbanization.
There should be a mechanism for sustainable urban environmental management so
that the urban environment will be supportive to the needs of a rapidly increasing
urban population.
The urbanization is always a supportive force for economic and social development
and it should be welcomed, indeed we must seek out creative and sustainable ways to
accelerate it in the interest
of both common masses and our environment.

sical consequences of urbanization

Problem Focus - Challenges of Urbanization
Environmental Implications:
It should be noted that urban growth has a number of positive impacts on the
environment
and human well-being, i.e. higher population densities man lower per capita
costs of providing energy, health care, infrastructure and services. Also,
urbanization has historically been associated with declining birth rates, which reduces
population pressure on land and natural resources. Despite all these positive impacts,
almost all major cities of the region are increasingly plagued by environmental
problems. Some major aspects are as follows:
As a direct result of urbanization, great threat to health and safety in cities comes
from water and air pollution, especially at the households and community levels.
While ambient air pollution impairs the health of almost all urban residents in many
cities,
Waterborne diseases are found most commonly in low-income neighborhoods as a

sical consequences of urbanization

Problem Focus - Challenges of Urbanization
Environmental Implications:
The productivity of many cities is adversely affected by traffic congestion and
water pollution. The rising costs of treating polluted water for industrial and domestic
purposes are damaging the productivity of urban economies. Fisheries are also being
severely harmed by water pollution.
Uncollected and improperly handled solid waste can have serious health
consequences. They block drainage systems and contaminate groundwater at
landfill sites.
In many cities, particularly those in Pacific island countries, it is difficult to secure
land for waste disposal facilities, especially onshore landfill sites. Most cities in
the region are also unable to manage the increasing amounts of hazardous
wastes generated by rapid industrialization.
Conversion of agricultural land and forest, as well as reclaiming of wetlands, for

sical consequences of urbanization

Problem Focus - Challenges of Urbanization
Environmental Implications:
Urbanization in coastal areas often leads to the destruction of sensitive
ecosystems and can also alter the hydrology of coasts and their natural features
such as mangrove swamps, reefs and beaches that serve as barriers to erosion and
form important habitats for species.