UPSC Previous years question:
- Describe how urbanization creates air and water pollution in India. (2013)
- Describe the causes and effects of urbanization in India and explain its impact on the rural landscape and urban ecology. (2016)
What is urbanization?
- An increase in the proportion of the urban population as well as urban geographical areas is called urbanization.
Urbanization is good for countries as it is the main driving force for countries' development in the following ways:
- Through urbanization, agglomeration of industries, skills, knowledge, facilities, etc developed in urban areas, leads to :
- Increase in profitability through economies of scale
- Transformation of low-income people to high-income people
- Forward and backward linkage of industries developed.
- Since the urban settlement provides better opportunities for people hence people migrated to the city for jobs and civil amenities.
Urbanization is not at all problem, but unsustainable and unplanned urbanization creates the following problems:
- Urban Sprawl
- Congestion
- Shortage of houses
- Vertical expansion
- Growth of slums and substandard houses
- Illegal settlements
Urbanization problems can be categorized in the following ways:
Economic Problems:
- Decreasing job opportunities in rural areas.
- The smaller town creates push factors; leading to the overcrowding of skilled and semi-skilled laborers in cities.
Socio-economic problems:
- Insufficient financial resources fail to create adequate social infrastructure for catering huge population.
- The urban poor is not able to get quality education and health facilities.
- Selective sex migration disturbs the demographics of the urban center.
- Lack of job opportunities increases the crime rate
Environmental problems:
- Very difficult to get sufficient potable water for domestic and industrial uses
- Improper sewage systems create unhealthy conditions
- The massive use of traditional fuels for domestic and industrial uses increases air pollution
- Lacking treatment facilities for domestic and industrial waste dumped into water creates water pollution.
Remedies of Urbanization:
- Rurbanization:
- Provide like urban facilities in rural areas or making rural areas smart is called rurbanization.
- Sustainable development of urban planning needed
- Migration needs to be regulated
- Scientific town planning needed
- Population control
- Innovation needed to control pollution and waste handling
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