How can urban regions change

People living in the highly concentrated urbanised regions of eastern China and the Ganges Valley in India have modest consumption patterns compared to the oil and petrol-guzzling habits of those in the more sparsely populated regions of North America and the Middle East, where people have much higher income levels. There are equally varied patterns between the established urban areas of Europe and the US, and the more widely scattered but dense cities of Latin America and Africa.

Reflecting global disparities in wealth, lifestyles and consumption, the map below confirms that a person living in the United Arab Emirates is likely to use 40 times more energy than a Bangladeshi, while a UK citizen consumes less than half of his US counterpart, but twice as much as a typical Mexican, and slightly less than a Dane.

But a high share of electricity does not necessarily deliver environmental benefits. Generation is still dominated by carbon emitting fossil fuels, and electricity is not always the most efficient energy choice for uses such as heating and cooling in buildings. Carbon emissions by sector confirm that fossil-fuel based electricity is an important contributor to global climate change.

Emissions from electricity generation vary depending on fuel source, with coal-dependent countries such as Australia, China and South Africa showing high proportions. In contrast, Denmark has lower emissions from electricity due to its high level of renewable generation. Varying levels of emissions from transport also echo motorisation rates.

To capture the subtle variations in patterns of urban and rural habitats, the Urban Age has mapped the urban footprint of Europe, Africa, China and India. In Europe, there is a more decentralised form of urbanisation that reflects the culture, history and geography of the region — and the fact that Europe urbanised early at a time when transport costs were significantly higher.

In addition to cities with over , people, there are a large number of highly connected smaller cities and towns across parts of Germany, the Netherlands and Benelux countries, and Northern Italy. This highly connected urban area represents one of the wealthiest parts of the globe.

India stands out for the far higher population densities in rural areas across vast territories such as the Ganga valley, as well as the emerging presence of large cities like Calcutta, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.

The dark grey areas in Northern India reflect the preponderance of high-density rural areas which, by European standards, would be considered urban. Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the largest of the four regions and is experiencing a period of intense demographic growth. While urbanisation levels are below that of the other global regions, just 0. Any changes to the quality of surface water also affects groundwater because they are linked by the processes of the water cycle so pollutants from the surface will infiltrate down and contaminate soil and groundwater as well.

In many towns and cities solid waste management is inefficient or non-existent. Solid waste management means the proper collection, transfer, recycling and disposal of all the solid material we throw away, including plastics, paper and cardboard, food wastes, electrical waste, etc. It also includes industrial, hospital and institutional wastes which often contain pathogens as well as hazardous and toxic chemicals, which need special care. Urban waste often ends up in illegal dumps on streets, open spaces, wastelands, drains or rivers.

This is frequently a problem in peri-urban areas, which are convenient for dumping wastes because of the availability of open space and ease of access from central urban areas. This can lead to the pollution of groundwater and surface waters which may be used as a source for drinking water.

Sometimes the wastes are collected and taken to legalised waste disposal sites but these are not always properly managed to protect water bodies and groundwater. The combustion of solid waste creates yet another environmental problem. People want to get rid of the wastes and they will burn them in their backyards if there is no collection system Figure 5.

Air quality in towns and cities is frequently very poor as a result of air pollution from many different sources Figure 5. These include:. Poor air quality has a significant impact on the health of many urban residents as well as leaving a damaging and unsightly layer of dust on plants, buildings and other surfaces. Urbanisation can have both positive and negative effects on health.

The main benefits are associated with easier access to hospitals, clinics and health services in general. If you live close to these services you can reach a doctor in minutes rather than hours or days, so this improves emergency care and general health.

There are also benefits from easier access to sources of information such as radio and television which may be used to communicate information about health to the general public. For example, women living in towns and cities are more likely to be informed about family planning, which results in reduction in family size and less frequent childbirth, with consequent benefits to general health.

However, urban life can also damage your health. Poor environment, housing and living conditions are the main reasons for poor health in urban areas. Contamination of water sources can cause epidemics of waterborne disease. Close proximity to other people can make the spread of many types of infectious disease more likely. The polluted air can also cause respiratory disease and contribute to premature deaths among more vulnerable sections of the population such as older people and children.

Population movements also put pressure on food supplies and on food distribution. As people migrate to the cities, they tend to use purchased food instead of their own crops and this makes them more vulnerable to changes in food prices.

As the population grows and the demand for water and land increases, it becomes difficult to increase food production in a sustainable way. The increase in urban demand, combined with a loss of agricultural land, means more pressure on rural people to produce food for the growing number of urban people. Furthermore, pollution from urban areas can disrupt food supply.

For example, fisheries are often damaged by urban domestic wastes and liquid effluents from city-based industries. Effluent is another word for wastewater that flows out from a source. In several Ethiopian cities, such as Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Bishoftu and others, untreated wastes are dumped into nearby lakes, which can damage the fish stocks Figure 5.

The process of urbanisation has positive as well as negative economic and social changes. The positive effects include economic development, and education.

However, urbanisation places stresses on existing social services and infrastructure. Crime, prostitution, drug abuse and street children are all negative effects of urbanisation. Also there tends to be a lack of social support for children in school and home by their hard-working, usually poor, parents. Inadequate income, overcrowded housing and poor living conditions create a fertile ground for the development of violence.

Crime in the city can create a sense of insecurity in its inhabitants. This unsafe feeling in city streets separates residential areas into higher-income and lower-income groups, which reduces the sense of community and forms areas with dissimilar incomes, costs and security levels. In the next study session we will look at some of the ways in which these problems and challenges can be addressed by considering the future demands for urban living and by taking a planned approach to the development of new urban areas.

Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions. Urbanisation is an ……………… in the number of people living in towns and cities.

The two causes of urbanisation are natural population increase and ……………… Urbanisation affects all sizes of settlements from small villages to towns to cities, leading up to the growth of ……………… which have more than ten million people. Rapid urbanisation often means that ……………… areas immediately around a city grow more rapidly than urban centres and this can lead to development of ………………. The two causes of urbanisation are natural population increase and rural to urban migration.

Urbanisation affects all sizes of settlements from small villages to towns to cities, leading up to the growth of mega-cities which have more than ten million people. Rapid urbanisation often means that peri-urban areas immediately around a city grow more rapidly than urban centres and this can lead to development of slums. Both push and pull factors drive the migration that leads to urbanisation. In your answer you should state one push factor and one pull factor.

Pull factors in migration are factors that attract people to urban areas, e. Push factors in migration are factors that drive people from the countryside, e.

Other pull factors that encourage migration to urban areas include better education opportunities, better health care, improved access to social services and opportunities for social and cultural activities. Other push factors that drive people away from rural areas are poor living conditions, lack of paid employment, poor health care, limited educational and economic opportunities and environmental changes. Is urbanisation increasing faster in developed or developing countries?

How does the rate of urbanisation in Ethiopia compare with other countries? Urbanisation is occurring faster in developing countries, with Africa and Asia showing the highest rates of urbanisation. Do you think that urbanisation is a bad thing or a good thing? Justify your answer by giving two examples of the impacts of urbanisation.

You could answer either way — you could view urbanisation either as a good thing or as a bad thing. You might justify answering that urbanisation is a good thing because, first, it brings together economic and human resources that stimulate the economy through the development of business, science, technology and industry and, second, it is more cost-effective and efficient to supply facilities such as fresh water and electricity to a concentrated population in a city.

Other justifications you might have thought of include the fact that the concentration of people and resources leads to more readily available education, health, social services and cultural activities in cities; urban living is linked with higher levels of literacy and education, better health, lower fertility and a longer life expectancy; there are better communication and transport networks; and social and cultural barriers can be overcome.

You might justify your answer that urbanisation is a bad thing because, first, rapid and unplanned growth in urban areas is associated with inadequate housing, water and sanitation which leads to health problems and, second, it is associated with adverse environmental effects such as reduced water quality, a build-up of waste materials and poor air quality. The platform promotes integrated solutions and cutting-edge knowledge for cities seeking to improve their resilience and overall urban sustainability in the areas of indicators and tools, integrated urban planning and management, and municipal finance.

This guidance document developed by GPSC includes the Measuring Frame work that incorporates indicators into a clearly laid out process for cities to track their urban sustainability. GPSC is currently utilizing the SDG 11 core indicators to roll-out a benchmarking assessment for more than 30 cities worldwide.

In Belize , the Bank supported the national government in developing and implementing the National Climate Resilient Investment Plan NCRIP through the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project , which helped position the country to leverage additional climate financing from international financing institutions.

In Colombia , the national government has put forward a series of institutional and policy changes to promote the peace building process. With the support of the World Bank , these efforts focus on strengthening institutions for land management and territorial planning, as well as improving subnational financial management and investment prioritization. In Indonesia , the Indonesia National Slum Upgrading Program , which includes substantial additional finance through co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank AIIB , is improving access to urban infrastructure and services in targeted slums.

In Argentina , the Metropolitan Buenos Aires Urban Transformation Project is supporting the improvement of living conditions for around 48, residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. In Jordan and Lebanon , two related projects are supporting local authorities and communities hosting Syrian refugees, and include strong consultation and feedback mechanisms.

The Jordan project to address the urgently needed rehabilitation of municipal infrastructure has benefitted about two million people, including , Syrian refugees.

In Lebanon , interventions to release tensions reached , people within a year — three times the initial target — particularly those in the host communities close to refugee camps, and also improved service delivery to more than one million Lebanese people. The city governments are developing and implementing medium-term, integrated development and asset management plans with evidence-based prioritization for municipal infrastructure and services, resulting in increased revenue collection and reduced expenditures, providing financial headroom.

Automated systems for public access to information and grievance redressal, as well as updated websites with information on budgets and procurements, are ensuring greater accountability. GFDRR is a global partnership that helps developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. Working on the ground with more than local, national, regional, The Center serves as a global knowledge hub that operationalizes Japanese and global urban development knowledge, insights, and technical The City Climate Finance Gap Fund Gap Fund helps cities in developing and emerging countries to realize their climate ambitions, turning low-carbon, climate-resilient ideas into strategies and finance-ready projects.

Through a diverse portfolio of projects, GPRBA funds, designs, demonstrates, and documents results-based financing approaches to improve the delivery of basic services so that poor and marginalized people in developing This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience.

If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. To learn more about cookies, click here. Understanding Poverty Topics Urban Development. Last Updated: Apr 20, Specifically, the Bank adopt integrated approaches to transform the fundamental systems of cities, focusing on four priorities as follows: 1. Enhance Planning System and Local Capacity The first key strategy is to help cities strengthen their planning systems and local capacities to better design, plan, and manage city assets and urban environments.

Strengthen Fiscal and Financing Systems The second strategy aims to maximize multiple financial resources for cities through enhancing fiscal and financial systems. Promote Territorial and Spatial Development The third key element is to promote territorial development in developing countries and cities.

Build Climate Smart and Urban resilience The last key strategy is to build resilience to disasters and climate change. Research and analytical services Understanding urbanization at different scales: The World Bank is conducting a rich set of research on sustainable urban development.

Beyond its huge health impacts, there are significant economic losses to households, firms, and governments as well as large-scale disruptions to lives and livelihoods as a result of lockdowns, disruption of supply chains, and a steep drop-off in commercial activity as a result of COVID This is because prevention and preparedness make economic sense, from strengthening infrastructure and other risk reduction efforts to developing policies and programs that help safeguard the poorest and most vulnerable against disaster impacts.

Innovative instruments such as our Development Policy Financing with Catastrophic Draw Down Option Cat DDO where, if a disaster due to a pandemic or extreme weather event strikes, countries that had previously prepared and approved a Cat-DDO would have quick access — less than 48 hours — to financing for emergency response.

The CAT-DDO is a financing instrument that acts a little like a parametric catastrophe bond, in that they provide a source of capital contingent on a disaster being declared in the beneficiary country.