GEO 3201 - Spatial Issues in the Caribbean and Latin America

Topic: Urban

Environmental Degradation

Group Members

Rovindra Persaud Carlesa Duncan Mohindra Scarce Audwin Anthony Kester Daniels

Soil degradation in and near urban areas Image: www.unep.org

Definition of Terms Urban area- is the region

surrounding a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas have non-agricultural jobs. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is a density of human structures such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways. "Urban area" can refer to towns, cities, and suburbs. An urban area includes the city itself, as well as the surrounding areas. (National Geographic, 2013)

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable (Johnson, D.L., S.H. Ambrose, T.J. Bassett, M.L. Bowen, D.E. Crummey, J.S. Isaacson, D.N. Johnson, P. Lamb, M. Saul, and A.E. Winter-Nelson. 1997. Meanings of environmental terms. Journal of Environmental Quality 26: 581–589.)

Urban Environmental Degradation

The destruction and deterioration of the environment in urban areas as a result of urbanization and urban practices.

Image : https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTVYbErcU4E1raYtxGIKnf9Pj_dLZgMGncLfwzW2o5XC-jCK6Db

Causes of Urban Environmental Degradation Poverty (Slum and Squatter Settlements) in

places like Nigeria and India Pollution (Biological, air, chemical, land ) Overpopulation and Congestion (China) Lack of Education Industrialization ( Brazil)Image: http://www.hollingscenter.org/great-games-local-rules/http://www.hollingscenter.org/great-games-local

Problems

Source: http://cdn.phys.org/newman/gfx/news/hires/2015/urbanairpoll.jpg

Effects of Urban Environmental Degradation

Death and Diseases Loss of Biodiversity Aesthetic Displeasure Ozone Layer Depletion and Contribution to

Global Warming Loss of Tourism Economic Strain Source: (Mohapi, 2009)

Diagrams showing the effects of urban activity and a table showing death by pollution related illness . Image : https://www.unep.gov/sites/default/files/.../1861/RDCSCentralAsia.pdf

Remedies for Urban Environmental Degradation

Green Restoration Projects e.g. urban forestry and urban agriculture in Qatar and Canada

Smart and green city planning

De- Urbanization (Through Agricultural and Land Reforms) brail Venezuela and Columbia

Poverty Alleviation Education Images : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Conclusion Looking at the effects of urbanization on urban

communities, urban deterioration and degradation is no guaranteed but larger spaces will be more difficult to manage . The creation of squatter settlements and slums as well as increases in the levels of poverty contribute to urban environmental degradation immensely.

It can also negatively affect the economy of the country especially those categorized as developing , however there are various methods that can be utilized to mitigate and rectify these issues, such better urban planning and de-urbanization among others.

Urban Environmental Degradation is directly linked to the issues of urbanization and urban sprawl, however these negatives can be transformed into positives to boost and aid the countries economic status.

References

http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/urban-area/

Johnson, D.L., S.H. Ambrose, T.J. Bassett, M.L. Bowen, D.E. Crummey, J.S. Isaacson, D.N. Johnson, P. Lamb, M. Saul, and A.E. Winter-Nelson. 1997. Meanings of environmental terms. Journal of Environmental Quality 26: 581–589.

Mohapi,T.2009, Urban environmental problems: implication in Lesotho, Instittute of Southern African Studies, Human settlement and development, Vol4, 3-9

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-environmental-degradation.php

http://www.unep.org/geo/geo1/ch/ch2_9.htm http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=

7C4CF0BFDA26F40A78F9D22A65162142.journals?fromPage=online&aid=5926764

http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/urbanenvironment/issues/key-UE-issues.html

http://www.grida.no/publications/et/ep2/page/2483.aspx