b urbanization & environmental degradation

8/12/2019 B Urbanization & Environmental Degradation

1/16

Urbanization&

Environmental

DegradationAn Analysis

2013


2/16

INTRODUCTION

Urbanization is a process that leads to the growth of cities due to industrialization and economic

development, and that leads to urban- specific changes in specialization, labor division and

human behaviors. The population is growing at the rate of about 17 million annually. If the

current trend continues, by the year 2050, India would have 1620 million populations. Due to

uncontrolled urbanization in India, environmental degradation has been occurring very rapidly

and causing many problems like shortages of housing, worsening water quality, excessive air

pollution, noise, dust and heat, and the problems of disposal of solid wastes and hazardous

wastes.

IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION ON VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

Although ecosystem services provide myriad of functions and services that create value for

human users and are central to the continuation of human civilization, humans have obscured the

existence and importance of ecosystem services in a hurry to celebrate urban fantasy.

We live in two interpenetrating worlds. The first is the living world, which has been forged in an

evolutionary crucible over a period of four billion years. The second is the world of roads and

cities, farms and artifacts that people have been designing for themselves over the last few

millennia.

The growth and prosperity of the human designed world has come from the expense of the

resources of the natural world. The designed mess we have made of our neighborhoods, cities,

and ecosystems owes much to the lack of a coherent philosophy, vision, and practice of design

that is grounded in a rich understanding of ecology. There is a huge gap between these two

worlds- living or natural world and human designed or cultural world that has distanced humans

from nature. To bridge this gap and link humans with nature, we need an ecological thinking in

planning practice.

Most of the major environmental problems of the next century will result from the continuation

and sharpening of existing problems that currently do not receive enough political attention. The

problems are not noticed in many countries or nothing is done even the situation. The most

emerging issues are climate changes, freshwater scarcity, deforestation, and fresh water pollution


3/16

and population growth. It is very important to examine problems trough the social-economic-

cultural system. Even the interconnections between environmental problems are now better

known, we still lack exact information on how the issues are linked, on what degree they interact

and what are the most effective measures.

IMPACTS ON THE ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE

1. The creation of heat island

Materials like concrete, asphalt, bricks etc absorb and reflect energy differently than vegetation

and soil. Cities remain warm in the night when the countryside has already cooled.

2. Changes in Air Quality

Human activities release a wide range of emissions into the environment including carbon

dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, lead, and many other

pollutants.

3. Changes in Patterns of Precipitation

Cities often receive more rain than the surrounding countryside since dust can provoke the

condensation of water vapor into rain droplets.

IMPACTS ON THE LITHOSPHERE AND LAND RESOURCES

Land use change driven by urbanization has put cities on soils that are best suited for other uses

such as food and fiber, forests and wetlands. New homes, buildings, roads and other structures

are being built every day. Are these developments guided by sound knowledge about the soil

information of the area? Are planners, developers and planning agencies making intellectual and

serious judgment in allocating lands based on soil information for different uses? And do they

really care about soil at all? The overall answer to these questions is a big NO because almost

all developments that have happened and are continuing to happen are guided by economicbenefits.

Urbanization alters the biological, chemical and physical properties of soil and there by

degrading its quality in a way that it leads to loss of vegetation, poor water infiltration,

accumulation of heavy metal, excess water runoff and soil erosion. Soil quality is often degraded


4/16

by soil erosion. The stability of slopes determines the vulnerability of landslides or slope failures.

The following explain the concepts behind the effects of urbanization on the lithosphere.

The major impacts of urbanization on lithosphere are

1. Erosion and other changes in land quality

Rapid development can result in very high levels of erosion and sedimentation in river channels.

2. Pollution

Pollutants are often dispersed across cities or concentrated in industrial areas or waste sites.

Lead- based paint used on roads and highways and on buildings is one such example of a widely

dispersed pollutant that found its way into soil.

Examples

Encroachment of urban land into nearby forested or vegetated areas, and the expansion of built

up areas and transportation networks into steeper terrain destabilizing slopes lead to slope

failures. In the U.S., landslides cause $1-2 billion in damages and more than 25 fatalities each

year. Urban and recreational developments into hillside areas have put more people and property

into risk of landslide hazards.

IMPACTS ON THE HYDROSPHERE AND WATER RESOURCES

Population growth, increasing trend of urbanization, and land use and climate change has

affected water availability and quality in such a way that water resources are increasingly

becoming limited. In many parts of the world, conflicts over water resources have already

occurred and the situation will deteriorate in future.

More than one third of rivers and streams in the area impaired or polluted and most of the aquatic

ecosystems together with their biota have been lost or diminished to a great number due to non

point source contamination of surface and ground water from agricultural and urban lands

A few impacts are explained below


5/16

1. Flow of Water into Streams

Natural vegetation and undisturbed soil are replaced with concrete, asphalt, brick, and other

impermeable surfaces. This means that, when it rains, water is less likely to be absorbed into the

ground and, instead, flows directly into river channels.

2. Flow of Water through Streams

Higher, faster peak flows change streams channels that have evolved over centuries under natural

conditions. Flooding can be a major problem as cities grow and stream channels attempt to keep

up with these changes.

3. Degraded Water Quality

The water quality has degraded with time due to urbanization that ultimately leads to increased

sedimentation there by also increasing the pollutant in run-off.

Examples

At some point in time, the conterminous United States contained more than 220 million acres of

wetlands. However, in 2004, the total area of wetlands was reduced to an estimated 107.7 million

acres, which accounts for 5.5 percent of the surface area of the conterminous United States.

There was a net gain of 191,750 acres of wetlands between 1998 and 2004. However this gain

was due to the conversion of agricultural lands or the combined effort of conservation measures

and restoration of previously impaired wetlands. In the same time period, the reports shows that

there was an estimated loss of 88,960 acres (39% of the loss) due to urban development, 51,440

acres (22 % of the loss) due to rural development, and 18,000 acres (8 % of the loss) due to

drainage or filling for silviculture. The rest of the loss, 70,100 acres (31%) was attributed to deep

water habitats.

IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

1. Modification of Habitats

The fertilizers that spread across lawns find its way into water channels where it promotes the

growth of plants at the expense of fish. The waste dumped into streams lowers oxygen levels

during its decay and cause the die-off of plants and animals.


6/16

2. Destruction of Habitats

There is also complete eradication of habitats as an outcome of urbanization and native species

are pushed out of cities.

3. Creation of New Habitats

New habitats are also created for some native and non-native species. Cities also create habitats

for some species considered pests, such as pigeons, sparrows, rats, mice, flies and mosquitoes.

Urbanization has, for example, eliminated many bat colonies in caves, but has provided sites

such as bridges for these species to nest.

Examples

Urbanization alters habitat through housing, road construction, pavement, devegetation,

plantation of non-native species, land fragmentation etc. Residential development associated

with expansion of roads, utilities etc. poses threat to wildlife through loss, degradation, and

fragmentation of habitat. Habitat Urbanization alters habitat through housing, road construction,

pavement, devegetation, plantation of non-native species, land fragmentation etc. Residential

development associated with expansion of roads, utilities etc. poses threat to wildlife through

loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat.

Habitat alteration from urbanization is so drastic and widespread that it results in the

endangerment and extinction of species accompanied by long lasting habitat loss. Apart from

reducing the richness of native species, urbanization increases the dominance of nonnative

species in the area thereby causing biological homogenization

Diversity refers to species richness, Extinctions refers to global extinction of species and Risk

refers to the percentage of a plant and animal species at risk of extinction. Texas ranks first in

diversity of birds and reptiles species, second in diversity of mammal and plant species, and

fourth in the diversity of amphibians.

Habitat loss, which affects about 85% of the imperiled species, is the leading cause of species

endangerment. Spread of non-native species is the second most threat, which affects 49% of the

imperiled species.


7/16

Invasion of non-native species, urbanization and agriculture are the three leading causes of

species endangerment due to habitat loss. Urbanization, which endangered 64 species in Florida,

61 in California and 26 in Texas, is the second most threat to species endangerment. In the

combined area of Utah, Nevada, and Idaho, where the majority of land is owned by public and

unavailable for development, only 2 species were endangered by urbanization. Roads including

highways through their construction, maintenance and use have endangered 94 species.

Of the 6,400 imperiled species identified, 4,173 species were analyzed in the mainland U.S,

which showed approximately 60 percent are found in one or more of the mainland metropolitan

areas, with 31 percent found exclusively within metropolitan areas. It is a clear demonstration of

our traditional reckless planning approach which ignored the importance of critical

environmental habitats and continued to develop. It means the future of these species depends

upon the growth patterns of metropolitan areas.

The examples discussed above are in the context of the United States, Indian examples are

discussed in the forthcoming sections.

URBANIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN INDIA

Indias population has very rapidly grown since the demographic watershed of 1921, when

medical treatment, sanitary improvement, etc., started reducing mortality drastically and led toconcomitant population. The population is growing at the rate of about 17 million annually

which means a staggering 45, 000 births per day and 31 births per minutes. If the current trend

continues, by the year 2050, India would have 1620 million populations. Population explosion is

one of the most threatening issues facing contemporary India particularly by the Indian cities.

One of the most important reasons for population explosion in the cities of India is the large

scale rural to urban migration and rapid urbanization. Due to uncontrolled urbanization in India,

environmental degradation has been occurring very rapidly and causing shortages of housing,

worsening water quality, excessive air pollution, noise, dust and heat, and the problems of

disposal of solid wastes and hazardous wastes. The large and metropolitan cities present a

particularly depressing picture today. The situations in metropolises like Mumbai, Kolkata,

Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kanpur, Hyderabad etc., is becoming worse year by year. The

problems of finding space and housing for all have been intensified. Slums have become an


8/16

inevitable part of the major Indian metropolises. Environmental pollution in India can broadly be

attributed to rapid industrialization, energy production, urbanization, commercialization, and an

increase in the number of motorized vehicles. Vehicles are a major source of pollutants in cities

and towns. The concentrations of ambient air pollutants in the metropolitan cities of India as well

as many of the Indian cities are high enough to cause increased mortality. The rate of generation

of solid waste in urban centres has outpaced population growth in recent years with the wastes

normally disposed in low-lying areas of the citys outskirts.

Urbanization in India and Metropolitan cities

Urbanization is a process whereby increasing proportions of the population of a region or a

country live in urban areas. Urbanization has become a major demographic issue in the

21stCentury not only in India but also all over the world. The level of urbanization in terms of the

proportion of urban population to the total is low in India but the urban population in absolute

terms is high. Since the first regular census of India was taken in 1881, almost all census reports

have commented on the urban growth. During the last three decades in India, the link between

urbanization and environment and the threat to the quality of life have emerged as a major issue.

(i) Pattern and Trend of Urbanization in India during 1901-2001: The pattern and trend of urban

population and number of towns in India during 1901 to 2001 shows that total urban population

has increased more than ten times from 26 million to 285 million whereas total population has

increased less than five times from 238 million to 1027 million from 1901 to 2001. A continuous

increase has been noticed in the percentage of urban population from 11% in 1901 to 17% in

1951 to further 28% in 2001. In the same fashion the number of towns had also increased from

1916 in 1901 to 2422 in 1951 and then to 4689 in 1991. This reveals the rapid urbanization

process in India.

(ii) Percentage of Urban Population in India by Size-Class of Urban Centres, 1961-1991: Urban

population in India by size class of town during 1901 to 1991. The process of urbanization in

India reflects a certain degree of abnormality because of the fact that more than 60% of the urban

population of the country lives in Class I town alone and remaining below 40% urban population

lives in the smaller sized townsman unremitting increase has been noticed for percentage of total

urban population in Class-I city over the decades (1901 to 1991), while class IV, V and VI towns


9/16

have experienced a continuous decline. However, class II and III towns have almost constant

percent of total urban population over the decades. About three-fold increase has been found in

the percentage of total urban population in class one city, from 23% in 1901 to 65% in 1991.

This depicts a huge concentration of urban population in large cities. The urbanization in India

shows the pattern of inverted triangle where majority of the urban population resides in the

Class I cities.

(iii) Growth in the Number of Million Plus (1,000,000 Population or More) Cities in India during

1901-200: The number and population of million plus cities in India during 1991 to 2001. There

was only one million plus city (Kolkata) in 1901 in India. It became two in 1911 (Mumbai

added) and was constant during 1911 to 1941. Million plus cities increases to five in 1951 and

continuously increased after this decade and became 23 in 1991 and currently it is 35 in 2001

census. Total population also increased in the million plus cities from 1.51 million in 1901 to

107.88 million in 2001, almost a fifty fold increase. The percentage decadal growth rate in the

total population of million plus city was noticed highest (121%) during 1941

Impact of Urbanization on the Environmental Quality in the Metropolitan Cities of India

Urbanization and its allied process have made a profound impact on the environment of the

metropolitan cities of India. It has been accepted by the United Nations that it is quite impossible

for developing countries to provide in advance the urban planning and design because it is not

possible to accurately project the urban growth.

(i) Slum Situation in India and its Metropolitan Cities: The Govt. of India Slum Areas(Improvement and Clearance) Act of 1954 defines a slum as any predominantly

residential areas, in which light or sanitary facilities or any combination of these

factors are detrimental to the safety, health or morals. The vast majority of the people

who migrated to the city were attracted by opportunity and comforts offered by

modernization. They belonged to the working class and found it difficult to secure

accommodation within their means. So, they squatted on every open space available,

as near their workplaces as possible and put up huts with cheap building materials. In

this way slums grew in number and population.


10/16

(ii) Composition of Solid Wastes in the Four Metropolitan Cities of India: Thecomposition of solid wastes generated by four metropolitan cities in India. Among the

different solid wastes generated like paper, textiles, leather, plastics, metal, glass, ash

etc. and other compostable matters the percentage of ash etc. is the highest. Delhi

exhibits the highest percentage of ash, which is about 52% of the weight of all the

solid waste, followed by Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The reason that Delhi has

the highest percentage of ash as solid waste may lie in the fact that Delhi is a large

industrial centre with mainly metal industry, which uses coal as a source of power

and the number of industries is growing day by day because of the growing

urbanization.

It is evident that, each and every environmental and social parameter of the Indian metropolitan

cities is very much deprived. In case adequate steps are not taken to prevent pollution and to

improve the quality of life by providing more social amenities, the life of the urban dwellers of

India may become more miserable this may be the cause of health hazards and worst devastation.

To achieve this, the urban population must be controlled. Also the number of people living in the

metropolitan city demanding the resources land, air and water apart from other biological

resources must be limited. Vehicular pollution control in metropolitan cities and other cities

deserves top priority. Urgent attention should be given to reduce the generation of solid waste at

the sources through mandatory standards and regulation fee and tax incentives, and education

and voluntary compliance. Improved technologies should be developed for waste collection,

treatment, and disposal in order to ensure proper solid waste management.

The maintenance of high quality of life in metropolitan cities requires the innovative economic

growth potential as well as our urban population in the metro cities should be stabilized at

sufficient level in lieu with the resources available and the protection of environmental quality

leading towards sustainable development. Serious attention should be given to the need for

improving urban strategies, which promote efficiency in resource use. There is an urgent need to

tackle the problem of population growth in the metropolitan cities in a rational manner.


11/16

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Development is about improving the well-being of people. Raising living standards and

improving education, health, and equality of opportunity are all desirable and are essential

components of economic development, which were fully practised in India after independence

was won. But 5-year development programmes and the establishment of industrial development

institutions helped to promote economic growth which led to environmental deterioration in the

absence of an effective national environmental management programme. Also, such growth took

little notice of the social aspects of development, urban or otherwise; and the neglect of human

welfare was felt at all levels of society.

Sustainable development, on the other hand, is development that lasts, because in addition to an

economic component, there are social and environmental components. So that sustainable

development must be a pro-active strategy to develop sustainability. As it was proposed initially

by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) sustainable development

must meet "the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs. Sustainable development requires mobilizing governments, the private

sector, and the general public toward sustainable communities. And "sustainable urban

development is ultimately a cultural statement about ourselves, how we want to live, and our

ability to manage our needs, desires, and dreams in ways that are effective and caring.

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Environmental Needs and Impacts

The most critical urban environmental needs by people in developing countries include:

Provision of healthful housing and other built environments (e.g. schools, workplacesetc.) Access to environmental infrastructure systems and services (e.g. water supply, sewerage,

solid

Waste management, storm drainage, urban transport, etc.)


12/16

Availability of open spaces in terms of properly designed community parks and other greenareas.

Environmental surveillance and cleaning services for public buildings and outdoor areas.

The most important adverse impacts on the urban environment affecting people and caused by

man and nature are:

Water pollution and depletion Energy use and wastage Air pollution:

- Outdoor, by industrialization and motorization emissions, and

- Indoor, from household and occupational sources

Solid waste, especially hazardous waste, when improperly discharged by households andindustries.

Resource Losses:- Groundwater contamination and depletion

- Land and ecosystem degradation

- Degradation of historic structures and cultural resources

Environmental hazards:- Natural disasters (e.g. hurricane, earthquake, volcano, flooding, etc.)

- Man-made hazards (e.g. chemical spills and other industrial accidents)


13/16

Aggravating Factors

Factors aggravating urban environmental degradation or perpetuating the lack of appropriate

preventive and curative environmental actions are:

- Lack of public and political awareness

- Need for public pressure and political will

- Lack of effective public education and participation

- Inadequate governance (e.g. Weak institutional capacity, Poor inter-sect oral coordination,

Lack of effective public accountability, Inadequate regulatory policies, Unclear property rights,

Inefficient economic policies, Insufficient knowledge and information, Shortage of

environmental professionals).

Improving the Urban Environment

Efforts at improving the urban environment include the following:

(a) Focus on cost-effective approaches

- Seeking "win-win" situations when environmental and economic goals are complementary.

- Cost-effective approaches to carrying out environmental reforms

- Stressing economic efficiency and cost recovery through user charges, property business

taxes, and fuel taxes.

(b) Mobilizing Public Support and Participation

- Raising awareness by formal/informal education on environmental options, solutions,

enforcement and monitoring.

- Building constituencies of urban poor for upgrading of environmental services.

- Involving NGOs and the informal sector in championing local environmental concerns.


14/16

(c) Improving Governance

- Building local capacity to provide adequate operational management of urban services.

- Skills and capabilities - managerial, technical, regulatory and financial.

- Capacity building for key actors in the public and private sectors, as well as NGOs.

- Tools for capacity building include training, technical assistance, private sector technology,

public information and outreach programmes.

- Improving the operation of urban services, such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid

waste management, transport, land management, etc.

- Establishing public-private partnerships to deliver environmental services, stimulate

technological innovation and adaptation, and develop land.

Policy Issues and Instruments

For communities to move effectively toward sustainability, several issues should be identified, as

follows:

- Infrastructure that results in environmentally respectful use of resources;

- Minimization of waste and proper management of residues;

- Energy-efficient transportation;

- Compact land-use patterns;

- Integrated transportation and land-use planning;

- Local environmental assessments and audits;

- Cooperation with non-governmental organizations in the implementation of environmental

programmes;

- Reducing economic and social polarization; and

- Integration of marginalized people into efforts towards sustainable development.


15/16

Out of these general concerns some broad policy goals might include the following:

- Reducing per capita water consumption;

- Reducing per capita car use;

- Increasing the percentage of local land contained in parks; and

- Improving cycling and pedestrian infrastructure; etc.

To achieve these specific policy objectives the following policy instruments can be employed:

(a) Traditional regulations, such as laws, licenses, permits, standards, etc.

(b) Voluntary mechanisms, such as community information and education, NGOs, volunteer

groups, and technical assistance.

(c) Expenditure, through the use of public funds for contracting, monitoring, investment,

procurement, enterprise, and public-private partnerships.

(d) Financial incentives, an attractive alternative to traditional regulatory instruments and

includes pricing, taxes, charges, subsidies, grants, loans, rebates, etc.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTHE ROAD AHEAD

Development and Sustainability

Economic development pursued after the independence has shown up certain environmental and

social weaknesses that are the very basis for sustainability. It became clear that economic

development could only lead to sustainability if it is decentralized, carefully planned,

environmentally sensitive, locally-based, and focused on creating jobs and improving quality of

life in India. Development benefits must be maximized beyond industrial estates and business

centres, while the adverse impacts of development must be minimized in our residential areas

and our parks and beaches.


16/16

A comprehensive, integrated, and strategic approach which combines the local government role

as a service provider, its regulatory and legislative powers, and its internal economic policies can

have a remarkably positive effect on moving economic activities and development toward

improving socio-economic quality and achieving sustainability. This is why it is said that the

three core elements of sustainable development are:

Environmental considerations must be entrenched in economic policy-making.

Sustainable development must incorporate an inescapable commitment to social equity.

"Development" must not simply mean "growth". It must imply qualitative as well as

quantitative improvement.

In sum sustainable development must be different from economic development of the past. It

must be a pro-active strategy to develop sustainability. And its benefits must last well into the

next generation, and beyond.

b urbanization & environmental degradation

Documents