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@ An M



= a town or a city plus
its adjacent suburbs with a population of >2,500 people
@ A M


= an area with < 2,500 people
@ A country¶s aM

 = percentage of its
population living in an urban area
@ Œirtually all the population growth expected during the next
30 years will be concentrated in urban areas
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|

ÿefinition of ³urban´ varies widely from country to country.
Some countries distinguish between rural and urban based
on:
@ Size or density of localities
@ Administrative considerations (only major cities are
classed as urban)
@ The percentage of persons not dependent on agriculture
@ Some nations define all of their population as living in
urban areas (e.g. Singapore). Some nations define none of
their population as urban (e.g. Polynesia (South Pacific
Islands))
 |

|rban areas grow in 2 ways:
1. Natural increase of its population (births)
2. Immigration (mostly from rural areas ± the biggest cause of urban
growth)
@ Proportion of the global population living in urban areas: 2% (pre-
industrial period) 46% (2001) (~160,000 people added to world¶s
urban areas each day)
@ |N projections: by 2050, ~63% of world¶s people will be living in
urban areas, with 90% of this urban growth in developing countries
@ Number of large cities (>1 million people): increasing rapidly
throughout the 20th century
@ |rban growth is much slower in developed countries than in
developing countries (still, projection: 79% (current) 84% (2025) in
developed countries)
 ´

@ 1900: 19 cities had >1 million people (95% of the population then
were rural)
@ 2001: more than 400 cities have >1 million people

@ Increasingly, there are more 

 (cities with populations >10
million people)
@ 1985: 8 megacities
@ 2001: 16 (13 of them in developing countries)
@ As they grow and sprawl outward, separate urban areas may
merge to form a megalopolis (= a very large city, or a region
made up of several large cities and their surrounding areas in
sufficient closeness to be considered a single urban complex)
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@ lapan: one of the most highly urbanized countries in the

world
@ Nearly 80% of lapan's 125 million people: live in cities
throughout the country
@ The three largest urban centres in lapan: Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya metropolitan areas
@ Tokyo: by far the largest metropolitan area with >25% of
the total population living in its centre and surrounding
areas
 |
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Poverty is becoming increasingly urbanized as more poor people migrate
from rural to urban areas.
š |.N. estimates ~ 1 billion people live in M
Often the land in squatter settlements is not suitable for human habitation
because of:
@ air and water pollution
@ hazardous wastes from nearby factories
@ the land is prone to natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanoes,
flooding)
@ ÿiseases are common and frequent in squatter settlements
and shanty towns
@ Many cities do not provide adequate services (drinking
water, sanitation facilities, electricity, food, heath care,
housing, schools, jobs) to squatter settlements (lack money,
and fear even more rural poor moving in)
@ Many city governments try to destroy squatter settlements
or send police to drive illegal settlers out (people then
move back in or develop another shantytown somewhere
else)
 
#Ma$´%

@ Population: ~18 million people (the

world¶s second most populous city, ~1/5
Mexicans live in Mexico City)
@ >2000 people move into the city from
poor rural areas every day

Mexico City suffers from severe air pollution:

@ Some 4 million motor vehicles and 30,000 factories pour
pollutants into the atmosphere
@ The city lies in a natural basin surrounded by mountains, frequent
thermal inversions trap polluted air at ground level
@ ùiving in Mexico City and breathing the air
= smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day!
@ Government has tried to improve this (e.g. having buses and
trucks running on ùPG, enforcing stricter industrial emission
standards, planting trees), still, fail to meet minimum air quality
standards on average 300 days a year

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Mexico City also suffers from:

@ Œery high unemployment (~50%)
@ A soaring crime rate (robbery, assault, murder)
@ Severe noise pollution
@ Bad traffic congestion
@ Inadequate housing (>1/3 of the people living in slums with
no running water or electricity)
@ Inadequate sanitation ( widespread infectious diseases such
as hepatitis)
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|rban areas are not self sustaining!

@ Survive only by  food, water, energy, minerals,
and other resources from somewhere else
@ Produce vast quantities of 

@ Affect the 
  


but also the "
 
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and the 
  

@ Often, agriculture and cities develop in similar areas
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@ Most cities: have few trees and other plants

@ Most cities: produce little of their own food
@ Many cities: have water supply and flooding problems

@ Many coastal areas: popular for

urban development
Many natural coastal habitats
have been cleared, drained, and
filled in for urban development
 |
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@ Materials used in urban construction: conduct more heat
than vegetated areas
@ Buildings and vehicles: release significant amounts of heat
energy from burning of fossil fuels
|rbanization can therefore its own 

Temperature of a city: several degrees warmer than
surrounding rural areas
Cities are M
 

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This means cities tend to be warmer, rainier, foggier,
and cloudier.
 |
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@ |rban residents suffer higher pollution levels than
surrounding rural areas.
@ Sheer numbers of people in cities mean urban areas are
major contributors to air pollution and enhanced
greenhouse effect.
@ Most urban residents suffer from excessive noise.
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š The process by which excessive amounts of nutrients

cause an increase of algae growth

š These nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, come from

fertilizers and wash away with rainfall

š This increased growth upsets natural balance of the

ecosystem and degrades the environment
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š |rban areas release large amounts of waste metals into

local watersheds

š These metals compromise the safety of the area¶s water

supply
EX: Bangladesh
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š Soil from construction sites washes away during rainfall

and clogs natural water systems

š This leads to sewer overflows which release waste, oil,

litter and other toxic materials into area¶s coastal
environment
 #M

á estoration and egulation of Tidal Hydrology

áShoreline Stabilization and Erosion Control
áStockpiling and Planting
á
ertilization and Protection
áHabitat Enhancement

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@ #M

: takes only the resources that are needed,
can be continuously recycled, or returned to the environment
in the least harmful way
@ In reality, no city is 
 sustainable.

@ Curibita: located in S. Brazil, population 1.6 million

@ One of the fastest growing cities in Brazil, but has
managed to expand while maintaining a good quality of
urban life
@ Has consistent planning and innovative urban solutions ±
high praise and environmental awards as an  (or
µgreen city¶)
  M 

@
rom 1974: large tree planting scheme. Now has high ratio
of green area per inhabitant (52 m2), with large parks and
recreational areas.
@ ùow air pollution: Curibita is not built around the car but is
people-oriented.
@ Integrated land-use and transportation system
@
looding problems solved by diverting water to lakes in the
parks
@ Strict water pollution control laws
@ In 1989: a ³garbage that is not garbage´ campaign, in which
city residents recycle one-third of all solid waste.
 M

á|rbanization has negative affects on the coastal ecosystem and

environment in general

á|rbanization is highly concentrated along coastal regions which

exacerbates the issue

áThere are effective ways to prevent these negative effects, also many
innovative methods for restoration