Is urbanization affecting or benefiting us?

Urbanization is the process of making an area more urban. Over the years, urbanization has been increasing a lot. It is estimated that 83% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, compared to the 64% in 1950. Some studies show that urbanization in the U.S. will increase to 89% by 2050, and worldwide it is predicted to be 68%. There are both positive and negative effects of urbanization in our society and it has been a big debate over the years. 

 

Some positives of urbanization are the creation of job opportunities which many people benefit from and has improved the economy. There is better quality and improved standards of living thanks to improvements in technologies and industrial development. To end, urbanization has increased social interaction between people and cultural diversity around the world.

 

The main negative effect of urbanization is how much it damages the environment. It causes deforestation, habitat loss for many animals and species and the extraction of freshwater from the environment can decrease biodiversity. The increase of building industries and housing produces more pollution in the air. Some other cons are increased crime rates due to more people living in rural areas. Last, the cost of living has also increased since the increase in building houses. 

 

In my opinion urbanization is benefiting us because of the big amount of opportunities and improvements it has caused over the past years. However, I do think there should be some government regulations to help the environment and try to reduce climate change as much as we can. 



Questions: 

What do you think about urbanization?

Do you think urbanization will have a worse impact on climate change in the future?

Do you think new technologies make urbanization easier?

 

Sources:

https://www.ablison.com/urbanization-pros-and-cons/

https://byjus.com/ias-questions/what-are-the-positive-and-negative-effects-of-urbanization/#:~:text=Positive%20Effects%20of%20Urbanization%3A,Quality%20educational%20and%20medical%20facilities

https://ugc.berkeley.edu/background-content/urbanization/#:~:text=Urbanization%20often%20results%20in%20deforestation,alter%20species%20ranges%20and%20interactions.

https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/built-environment/us-cities-factsheet#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%2083,to%20live%20in%20urban%20areas.

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Replies

  • Great job Maria!!

  • I think that it is hurting our economy and the planet, more people move to cities than people live in the country. the more people go to cities the fewer people in the country to work on farms and get us the food we need to survive. 

  • I believe that it is hurting us. as more people move to the cities, not enough people stay in the railroad towns. therefore there isn't anyone to do the hard-working jobs that no one wants to do. This is hurting us, and many people around the world.

    • I agree that it can hurt people in rural areas but it is mostly benefitial and gives a lot of job opportunities.

  • I think that you can have a lot more opportunities if you live in a city. If more people move to a city, there can be some problems for the people who live in the country. For example, there might not be enough teachers and doctors anymore because so many people moved to a more urban area. 

    • I completely agree with you. There is more opportunities in urban areas and many people move to them but that damages the environment. 

  • Urbanization has been happening since the dawn of time, and I think in general having more people living closer in vicinity in a big city is more beneficial to the environment because it allows more land to breathe. Less land will be used if humans are less spread out and closer together. 

    • I agree with you. Urbanization is mostly beneficial for us because creates a better envirnoment between people around us.

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