Urbanization is the process of people moving out of rural regions and into urban areas. This process has had many urbanization environmental effects that are negative in recent studies. Here we will explore eleven environmental changes caused by urbanization and some of the most common causes for these changes.
Table of Contents
Cities have become more crowded and polluted.
Due to the rapid incremental of urbanization, our city has become more crowded and polluted. Many of the urbanization environmental effects are dangerous for our health as well as the environment. There is a lot of pollution in many cities due to what we put into the air like smoke or harmful chemicals from factories, power plants, cars, etc. The most common effect caused by urbanization is climate change because it leads to global warming, which has been proven through science and observation. The heat island effect is another consequence of this phenomenon. Urban areas tend to be hotter than surrounding rural ones due to low-level concentration of material such as concrete and asphalt, leading to increased levels of absorption radiated energy from the sun’s rays over these surfaces. Higher temperatures have lead people living there to developing.
Heat Islands
Urbanization heating islands and increasing the temperature in urban areas to a higher degree than surrounding rural ones are known as urban heat islands. This phenomenon occurs due to the lack of vegetation and other natural processes that help maintain cool ground temperatures. Urban surfaces such as asphalt or concrete have more heat absorbed from solar radiation during the daytime, which gets radiated out at night. The result is a city with warmer daytime highs and nighttime lows than its rural surroundings.
This leads to increased air conditioner usage (which requires energy), increased electricity costs, lower property values for homeowners, reduced water quality by increasing algae growth – all environmental effects explicitly caused by urbanization.
Urbanization also leads to the loss of natural habitats and ecosystems. For example, urban areas are typically much less biodiversity than rural ones, resulting in humans paving over land for development in many cases.
Urbanization also contributes to the phenomenon known as the “heat island effect” by adding more heat-absorbing surfaces such as asphalt or concrete, which then radiate out at night, leading to warmer daytime highs and nighttime lows compared to surrounding rural environments. This leads to increased air conditioning usage (which requires energy), increased electricity costs, lower property values for homeowners, reduced water quality by increasing algae growth – all environmental effects explicitly caused by urbanization.
This is just one impact that has been observed with urbanization, but there are plenty of others too!
Climate change is exacerbated by urbanization.
For the last few years, the world has been experiencing an increase in climate change-related events. This rise is due to urbanization and its contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, which are harmful to humans and affect other species.
In 2005, a study conducted by Rutgers University revealed that urban areas contribute as much carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) pollution as all of Russia’s fossil fuel usage [by volume]. This was mostly contributed from vehicles on roads–which produce about 50% more CO² than automobile engines–and buildings generating electricity with coal or natural gas power plants. With the rapid growth in cities worldwide, this problem will only get worse without intervention.
To address these issues, many have come up with solutions such as public awareness, seminar discussions, and green building design to help with the urbanization environmental effects. Buildings that emit fewer greenhouse gases by making them more energy efficient through better insulation or skylights for sunlight can significantly impact our atmosphere. Alternative transportation systems such as underground railways, electric cars, tramways, cycling paths also contribute to reducing CO² emissions from cities. Public awareness of global warming is one-way. People are being encouraged to change their lifestyles; this includes recycling used items instead of throwing them away in landfills, thus cutting down the number of waste products generated by urban areas that create methane gas when decomposed.
Air Quality
Due to rapid urbanization, urban areas are seeing a dramatic decrease in air quality. Air pollution has increased by 68% because of increased pollutants and dust particles from traffic congestion and coal-burning power plants. The population living near these urban centers is experiencing more respiratory diseases than those who live further away and decreased lung capacity.
Urban dwellers also lose out on natural protection against UV rays due to their lack of access to leafy trees or reflective surfaces like water reflecting light into space. In addition, cities have higher temperatures than rural areas because there’s less vegetation which can help cool down an area through evaporation (cities only release heat instead). Pollution significantly decreases visibility across cities, with one study estimating the loss at 20%. This is the big reason why air pollution is the leading cause of urban-induced climate change. Pollution also has many other effects, such as changing wind patterns and concentrations of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Urbanization also cautions many species and changes their territories. For example, the Asian civet has been forced to move from urban green spaces to more rural habitats because of deforestation in Singapore.
The effects of urbanization on environmental change are widespread, causing many issues for plants, animals, humans, and climate patterns around the world. Urban cities provide more minor food sources for wildlife than natural ecosystems (such as a forest) do; this results in a decreased diversity among est predators within city limits, which also means that there is an increased likelihood that disease will spread if it is introduced into the area by these same predators. Humans living in densely populated areas can experience respiratory diseases due to air pollution or die prematurely due to exposure to harmful pesticides sprayed on crop fields near there.
Urbanization leads to the destruction of natural landscapes and ecosystems
Urbanization leads to the destruction of natural landscapes and ecosystems. Urbanization leads to the destruction of rainforests, for example. As urban populations grow exponentially, property developers are building over land traditionally covered by forests or other types of vegetation to build more homes.
Urban areas have a higher concentration of CO² than rural regions do because there’s no space for plants and trees to absorb it from the air as they would elsewhere—in addition, artificial light prevents them from photosynthesizing at night which causes an even more significant increase in carbon dioxide levels. This process destroys habitats for many species like amphibians that need clean water; when their habitat is destroyed due to urban development, these animals often die out entirely without any place else left where they live that is befitting for them to live in.
Urbanization also harms biodiversity because it destroys areas with different species of plants and animals, eliminating diversity by taking up more space than is necessary. For example, when we replace natural grasslands or forests with buildings or parking lots, there are no longer any habitats suitable for many plant and animal species that need open spaces to survive–this leads to an increase in the extinction rate and having such major environmental effects like this without a doubt causes harm not only our current environment but for future generations as well. In addition, urban development’s destruction of habitat drives amphibian populations into decline – urban sprawl may cause increased CO² levels from artificial light, preventing photosynthesis at night.
Lack of access to clean water, food, or healthcare for some people in urban areas
Lack of access to clean water, food, or healthcare for some people in urban areas is one of the environmental effects of urbanization.
Urban environments can make it difficult to find clean water, food, or healthcare in an emergency for some people who live there. For example, when a hurricane hits an area and floods it with seawater. The salt content from the ocean is unhealthy for most animals because they need fresh water to survive, so many critters cannot find any drinking water at all! Another possible effect would be that if you grow up without access to healthy food, your health could suffer. A lack of hospitals in rural areas also leads to less medical care available for those populations, leading to them being more vulnerable in emergencies like hurricanes, etcetera (Mrozowski).
The world is urbanizing rapidly, and many urban areas lack access to clean water, food, or healthcare.
Some of the most common environmental effects caused by urbanization are:
- Lack of access to clean water – when there is flooding from hurricanes, etcetera it becomes more challenging to find fresh drinking water, which can lead some animals (who need freshwater) to perish;
- Issues with food production – if you grow up without adequate nutrition, then your health could suffer as too few hospitals in rural communities lead to the less medical care available during emergencies like Hurricanes;
- Pollution such as air pollution and greenhouse gases emissions will also be an issue because these types of pollutants come from factories and cars
Urbanization can lead to water scarcity due to high demand for resources and low supply.
Urbanization can lead to water scarcity due to high demand for resources and low supply. This is because urbanization leads to a higher demand for resources, water being one of these. Urban areas use more water than rural regions to maintain the city’s population and infrastructure. The majority of this consumption takes place through indirect means like energy production that uses massive amounts of water (i.e., coal power plants), construction activities related to urban development, food production (thanks to irrigation techniques), which needs enormous quantities of drinking water for crops; all these processes require immense amounts of fresh potable and drinkable waters.
In addition, many agricultural practices such as monoculture have also contributed towards lessening available water sources due mainly to increased soil salinity caused by high levels of salt content in irrigation systems.
Reduced land size means less farmland available for food production
Reduced land size means less farmland available for food production throughout the world.
Urbanization reduces land size in cities, which has a significant impact on urban farming and food production. In rural areas of developing countries, urban agriculture often accounts for up to 70% of all agricultural output because people grow their produce (or animals) within city limits. This type of urban agriculture is essential not only as an income-generating activity but also to provide fresh fruits and vegetables that may not be available or affordable otherwise. However, with increased urbanization comes decreased availability of open space for this form of agriculture; it becomes more difficult to find vacant lots where residents can plant crops such as fruit trees, wheat fields, and vegetable gardens. Some governments have tried combating this problem by creating designated farms located outside.
Increased urbanization increases social isolation.
Increased urbanization increases social isolation that is why many people are lonely.
Some studies show that urbanization is a significant factor contributing to social isolation and loneliness in cities worldwide. For example, one study found that more than 80% of older adults living alone reported at least some feelings of loneliness or worse-social isolation overtime periods as short as two weeks (Olson & Wilson).
This article mentions how urbanization affects human health adversely by increasing the incidence rates of cancer, coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, chronic bronchitis, etc., which can be attributed to environmental factors such as air pollution and noise pollution generated due to increased traffic volume resulting from higher population densities.
Bottom line,
Urbanization is a major issue that needs to be addressed, affecting many aspects of our lives. We’ve covered nine environmental changes caused by urbanization in this post, but there are plenty more. So be aware of the effects of urbanization on your life and what you can do to prevent them from worsening!
