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IMPACT OF URBANIZATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH QUALITY

Research Proposal · October 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34695.83369/1

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 A SEMINAR PRESENTATION

BY

JUDE ADEMOLA IKUMAPAYI

14/57EH/162

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

SCIENCE SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

COLLEGE OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE, KWARA STATE

UNIVERSITY, MALETE.

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 ABSTRACT

Urbanization refers to general increase in population and the amount of industrialization of a

settlement. It includes increase in the number and extent of cities. It symbolizes the movement of
people from rural to urban areas. Urbanization happens because of the increase in the extent and
density of urban areas. Due to uncontrolled urbanization in the world, environmental degradation
has been occurring very rapidly and causing many problems like land insecurity, worsening water
quality, excessive air pollution, noise and the problems of waste disposal. This review emphasizes
on the effect of urbanization on environmental components mainly climate, biosphere, land and
water resources. Althoughit is impossible to restrict urbanization it has to be ensured that
urbanization proceeds in the right path causing minimum impact on environment, While the trends
of urbanization are occurring worldwide, it is accelerating in developing countries This growth has
led to concerns about the sustainability of these urban centers. Growth in the world population,
combined with the movement toward living in urban centers, is causing a justified concern about
the quality of life in these urban centers and the life-supporting capacity of the planet ecologically
and socially. Therefore, an emphasis needs to be placed on the environmental concerns within a
social and economic framework, starting with the needs of the people. Urbanization is accelerating
at an exponential rate in developing countries and it has now become the modern trend of today’s
globalized world which is making a very rapid progress with the support of everyday innovative
technology, Humans have been using land and its resources for centuries in a pursuit of their better
lives. The way humans have used land and exploited its resources over time is a serious problem
as it has altered land cover and impacted the functioning of the ecosystem. With the advent of
agriculture, modern technology, and the rise of capitalist mode of economy, the exploitation of
land and its resources has increased dramatically. In the last few decades, land use practices
(agriculture, mining, logging, housing, recreation, etc.) have become so intensive and predominant
that we can see their impacts in forms of uncontrolled development (urbanization and sprawl),
deteriorating environmental quality, loss of prime agricultural lands, destruction of wetlands, and
loss of fish and wildlife habitats everywhere on the earth. Such impacts have reduced the local
capacity of lands to support both ecosystem and humanenterpriseat global scale. Therefore,
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theeffect of land use change is no longer a local environmental problem but a global one.Keywords
(natural resources, urbanization, exploitation, resources, and ecosystem)

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1.0INTRODUCTION
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 which means a
staggering 45,000 births per day and 31 births per minutes, due to uncontrolled urbanization in the
world, 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 waste (Mohan R, 1996). In a more
general sense, urbanization is the concentration of population due to the process of movement and
redistribution(Geruson & McGrath, 1977). The emerging health problems in urban areas are
integrated. For example, when the air quality is poor (an environmental issue) and people smoke(a
lifestyle issue) the combined factors of the individual issues may cause the health problems to
evolve or worsen. In addition, one problem can cause another. For example, if there is a high crime
rate (a social problem) then the people living in the area may be physically inactive (a lifestyle
issue) because of the fear of playing in the parks, going for walk, etc. caused by the high crime
rate, Urbanization refers to the population shiftfrom rural to urban residency, the gradual increase
in the proportion of people living in urban areas, and the ways in which each society adapts to this
change(National Library of Med, 2014). It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities
are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.
The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the
end of 2008(U.N, 2008) It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and 86%
of the developed world will be urbanized(Economist, 2012), That is equivalent to approximately
3 billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia.(UNFPA, 2013) Notably,
the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from 2017
to 2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 13 years.(Barney
& Cohen, 2015)Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines, including urban planning,
geography, sociology, economics, and public health(Simandan, 2018).
The phenomenon has been closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological
process of rationalization(Gries & Grundmann, 2008). Urbanization can be seen as a specific
condition at a set time (e.g. the proportion of total population or area in cities or towns) or as an
increase in that condition over time. So urbanization can be quantified either in terms of, say, the
level of urban development relative to the overall population, or as the rate at which the urban
proportion of the population is increasing. Urbanization creates enormous social, economic and
environmental changes, which provide an opportunity for sustainability with the “potential to use
resources more efficiently, to create more sustainable land use and to protect the biodiversity of
natural ecosystems (Simandan, 2018). Urbanization is not merely a modern phenomenon, but a
rapid and historic transformation of human social roots on a global scale, whereby predominantly
rural culture is being rapidly replaced by predominantly urban culture,Urbanization is set to stay
for a long time. It may slow but surely does not show any signs of stopping. In 1985, 45% of the

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world population stayed in cities. Scientists estimate that 60% of the world population will be city-
dwellers by 2025.
1.1 PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW
The main purpose of this review is to study the impact of urbanization on environmental resources,
this reviewdefines urbanization as a major driver of land use change, which causes environmental
problems. There are unlimited numbers of urbanization induced environmental problems of many
scales - issues of air and water quality at the local scale and the issue of global warming and climate
change at the global scale. This review does not involve in the discussion of all of these issues.
Instead, it focuses on the immediate and noticeable impacts of urbanization on our natural
environment, that is, the loss of land and its resources such as wetlands, biodiversity, etc.
1.2 GENERAL OBJECTIVE
To define urbanization as a major driver of land use change, which causes environmental problems
and also to study the impact of urbanization on environmental resources.
1.3 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. To detect major causes of urbanization
2. To shed more light on the relationship between ecosystem and environmental
resources
3. To identify ways on how urbanization can impact environmental resources

1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Urban Area – Geographical area distinct from rural area.
Urbanization- urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban residency, the
gradual increase in the proportion of living in the urban areas, and the way in which society
adapts to its change.
Environment– The physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that
affect an organism or a group of organisms, environment is everything that is around the individual
host, it can be living or non - living things, living things live, interact and adapt to their
environment.
Ecosystem – Is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment,
it is made up of living things and non - living components such as air, water and soil.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1 HISTORY
The history of urbanization is also the history of civilization. From Mesopotamia tothe Indus
Valley and China, from Egypt to Greece and Meso-America, urbanization hasalways been a part
of ancient culture. But it has not been uniform all over the world.Different ages have witnessed
localized growth. Although it is an age old process, the waysin which it takes place and the rate
with which it happens have been changing over time. There are many disagreements among
scholars about exactly where, when, how, and why the first cities began. It is probable that they
began independently in various parts of the world over a range of time and for somewhat different
reasons. If the periodization of world history is taken into consideration, the ancient cities were
mainly found in the area between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean region. The old Biblical
lands, Egypt and later, Greece and Rome had a large number of cities, some of them big enough
to be called a metropolis.
The first cities were mainly the seats of political power. Whether it was the city states of Greece,
the walled city of Babylon or the ornate cities of Egypt, urbanizationbecame the product of the
concentration of power. Administration together with religiouscontrol and military power
emanated from these early cities. With the second phase of citygrowth commerce and trade became
more important. This was due to the generation ofmore and more surplus with better technology
and improved communication. The largercities became trading centers not only for the immediate
region but also for the lands away.Pataliputra, Taxila, Rome and Constantinoplewere such
international cities.

The medieval urbanization of Europe initially suffered a setback with the fall of Rome. The new
cities that emerged were different from the ancient ones. The urbancommunity now was mainly
composed of merchants and artisans. With the changing socio-economic organization and with
improved technology the city structure also changed to agreat extent. There emerged guilds and
cooperative associations and trade was enhanced with goods coming in from hitherto unknown
places. The Renaissance brought about the rise of cities like Naples, Florence and Venice and the
growth of the ports of Antwerp, Lisbon and Amsterdam. The Renaissance movement allowed the
fine arts to flourish in the cities and it was then that the idea of urban culture took shape.
Consequently, the major shift in social values turned man’s attention to the things of this world
and freed man’s intellect from its medieval outlook. The spirit of enquiry generated by the
Renaissance stimulated science, and the philosophy of humanism spurred the understanding and
well-being of man. When we analyze the advancement of urban development in Western
civilization, it occurred not only in response to the technological aspects of industrialization of
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but also as a consequence of the transformation of the social
structure where renaissance values contributed in building up a civilization more complex and far-
flung than any one that preceded it (Alexander K. C., 1994) London and Paris, the two major
metropolises were also growing rapidly by this time.
2.2 CAUSES OF URBANIZTION

Rural to urban migration is happening on a massive scale due to population pressure and lack of
resources in rural areas. People living in rural areas are “PULLED” to the city. Often they believe

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that the standard of living in urban areas will be much better in urban areasUrbanization usually
occurs when people move from villages to cities to settle, this usually takes place in developing
countries. In rural areas, people become victims of unpredictable weather conditions such as
drought and floods, which can adversely affect their livelihood. Consequently, many farmers move
to cities in search of a better life. Natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates while birth
rates remain high, some the causes of urbanization includes:

 Industrial growth is a major cause of urbanization. It has expanded the employment

opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on account of better employment
opportunities.
 Many social factors such as attraction of cities, better standard of living, better educational
facilities, need for status also induce people to migrate to cities. There are numerous social
benefits attributed to life in the cities and towns.
 In rural sector people have to depend mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. But
Indian agriculture is depending on monsoon. In drought situations or natural calamities,
rural people have to migrate to cities. In cities and towns, there are ample job
opportunities that continually draw people from the rural areas to seek better livelihood.
Therefore, the majority of people frequently migrate into urban areas to access well-
paying jobs as urban areas have countless employment opportunities in all developmental
sectors such as publichealth, education, transport, sports and recreation, industries, and
business enterprises.
 Urban areas are characterized by sophisticated technology better infrastructure,
communication, medical facilities, etc. In urban areas, people also embrace changes in
the modes of living namely residential habits, attitudes, dressing, food, and beliefs.
2.3 IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION ON VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF
ENVIRONMENT
Probably 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 necessarily noticed in many countries or then nothing is done even
the situation has been detected. The most emerging issues are climate changes, freshwater scarcity,
deforestation, and fresh water pollution and population growth. These problems are very complex
and their interactions are hard to define. It is very important to examine problems through 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. One problem is to integrate land- and water
use planning to provide food and water security (UNEP, 1999).

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2.4 IMPACTS ON THE ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
2.4.1 The creation of urban 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,an urban heat
island (UHI) is an urban area or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding
rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference usually is larger at night than during
the day, and is most apparent when winds are weak. UHI is most noticeable during the summer
and winter. The main cause of the urban heat island effect is from the modification of land
surfaces(Solecki & William, 2005).Waste heat generated by energy usage is a secondary
contributor. As a population center grows, it tends to expand its area and increase its average
temperature. The less-used term heat island refers to any area, populated or not, which is
consistently hotter than the surrounding area. (American Meteorological Society, 2009)
Monthly rainfall is greater downwind of cities, partially due to the UHI. Increases in heat within
urban centers increases the length of growing seasons, and decreases the occurrence of weak
tornadoes. The UHI decreases air quality by increasing the production of pollutants such as ozone,
and decreases water quality as warmer waters flow into area streams and put stress on their
ecosystems. Not all cities have a distinct urban heat island. Mitigation of the urban heat island
effect can be accomplished through the use of green roofs and the use of lighter-colored surfaces
in urban areas, which reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat. There are concerns raised about
possible contribution from urban heat islands to global warming. Research on China (Huang &
Lu, 2015) indicates that urban heat island effect contributes to climate warming by about 30%.
(Zhao, 2011) On the other hand, one 1999 comparison between urban and rural areas proposed
that the urban heat island effects have little influence on global mean temperature trends.
(peterson., k.p gallo, & J lawrimore, 1999) Many studies reveal increases in the severity of the
effect with the progress of climate change.
2.4.2 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, when
harmful or excessive quantities of substances including gases, particulates and biological
molecules are introduced into earth’s atmosphere, it may cause diseases, allergies and also death
of humans, it may also harm other living organisms such as food and crops, and may damage
natural or built environment. Human activities which include rapid urbanization can lead to
changes in the quality of air, Factories and automobiles are symbols of urbanization. Due to
harmful emissions of gases and smoke from factories and vehicles, air pollution occurs. Current
research shows high amount of suspended particulate matter in air, particularly in cities, which
contributes to allergies and respiratory problems thereby becoming a huge health hazard.
2.4.3 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,as temperatures rise and the air becomes warmer,
more moisture evaporates from land and water into the atmosphere. More moisture in the air
generally means we can expect more rain and snow (called precipitation) and more heavy

5
downpours. But this extra precipitation is not spread evenly around the globe, and some places
might actually get less precipitation than they used to get. That's because climate change causes
shift in air and ocean currents, which can change weather patterns.Too little or too much water can
be a problem. In many places, people depend on rain and snowmelt to fill lakes and streams and
provide a source of water for drinking, watering crops, and other uses. However, heavy rain can
cause flooding.
2.5 IMPACTS ON THE LITHOSPHERE AND LAND RESOURCES
2.5.1 Erosion and other changes in land quality
Waste-water especially storm water impacts negatively erosion wise eroding the topsoil most of
the time and destroying our possessions as it does so. Of importance is the fact it also, with
accumulated debris causes blockage of our drainage lines and enters into the compound of
people destroying peoples ‘property.

2.5.2 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.
2.5.3 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 When urbanization takes place,
water cycle changes as cities have more precipitation thansurrounding areas. Due to dumping of
sewage from factories in water bodies, water pollution occurs which can lead to outbreaks of
epidemics.
2.5.4 Temperature
Due to factors such as paving over formerly vegetated land, increasing number of residences and
high-rise apartments and industries, temperature increases drastically.

2.6 IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

2.6.1 Modification of Habitats
The fertilizers that spread across lawns finds 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.
2.6.2 Destruction of Habitats
There is also complete eradication of habitats as an outcome of urbanization and native species
are pushed out of cities, to make an area urbanized, a lot of forested areas are destroyed. Usually
these areas would have been habitats to many birds and animals.

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2.6.3 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.
2.7 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION
There is increasing competition for facilities due to the high standard of living in urban areas,
which has triggered several negative effects. Many people including farmers who move to cities
in search of a better life end up as casual laborers as they lack adequate education. This leads to
one of the worst problems of urbanization - the growth of slums.
2.7.1 Slums
They are urban areas that are heavily populated with substandard housing and very poor living
conditions. As a result, several problems arise.
2.7.2 Land insecurity
Slums are usually located on land, which are not owned by the slum dwellers. They can be evicted
at any time by the landowners.
2.7.3 Poor living conditions
Crowding and lack of sanitation are main problems. This contributes to outbreak of diseases.
Utilities such as water, electricity and sewage disposal are also scarce.Overcrowding or
crowding - refers to the condition where more people are located within a given space than is
considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective which will depend on current
environment and local cultural norms.
2.7.4 Bad city planning and refuse disposal scheme
Bad planning and indiscriminate erection of walls and housing structures block water flow
channels to form big floods. Bad refuse disposal schemes marked byindiscriminate dumping of
solid waste and thrash in drainages and stream channels results in clogging of flow path of
rainwater and pollution of surface water systems.
2.7.5 Unemployment
Since the number of people competing for jobs is more than jobs available, unemployment is an
inevitable problem.
2.7.6 Crime
Slum conditions make maintenance of law and order difficult. Patrolling of slums is not a priority
of law enforcing officers. Unemployment and poverty force people into anti-social activities.
Slums become a breeding ground for criminal activities.
2.7.7 Traffic and congestion
A first-time visitor to a super city, particularly in a less developed country, is often overwhelmed
by the immense crush of pedestrians and vehicles of all sorts that clog the streets. The noise,
congestion, and confusion of traffic make it seem suicidal to venture onto the street.

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2.7.8 Sewer system and water pollution-
Few cities in Nigeria can afford to build modern waste treatment system for their rapidly growing
populations. The World Bank estimates that only 35 percent of urban residents in developing
countries have satisfactory sanitation services. Absence of sewage proper disposal system cause
pollution of surface and ground water systems rendering them unfit for human consumption and
contributing to fresh water and degeneration of sanitary conditions in urban areas. (Durotoye,
2003)
2.7.9 Housing
The United Nations estimates that at least one billion people - 20 percent of the world population
live in crowded, unsanitary slums of the central cities and in the vast shantytowns and squatter
settlement that ring the outskirts of most third world cities. Around 100 million people have no
home at all. Rapid urbanization of small towns results from fast population increase, force human
occupation of flood prone areas. Massive destruction of natural ecosystem in the process of
urbanization alter natural flow channels to form big floods.
2.8 Food security
The increase in population in urban areas reduces the agricultural land. This is a threat to food
production, sustainable agriculture and food security (R.E Ekpenyong., 2007)

2.8 UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM AND URBANIZATION

2.8.1 Introduction to Ecology and Ecosystem
The Ecological Society of America defines ecology as “the study of the relationships between
living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment(Ecological Society of
America. , 1997) In the discipline of ecology, physical environment refers to things such as
temperature, water, wind, soil etc.(Mackenzie, Ball, & Virdee, 2001)An ecosystem is a particular
level of organization in a natural world containing a diverse set of living and non-living
components which are self-sustained; regulated by positive and negative feedback loops; and
characterized by flows of energy and movement of matters on cyclic pathways (Istock, Rees, &
Stearns, 1974) Animal and plant species are the living components of the ecosystem whereas
temperature, air, water, and soil are the non-living components upon which living components
depend for survival. These natural components of ecosystems are environmental resources from
which an array of benefits can be generated for human consumptions.
2.8.2 Ecosystem and its Services
Ecosystems provide services to living organisms including humans. Ecosystem services are the
conditions and processes which are driven by solar energy, and generated by a complex of natural
biogeochemical cycles such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur etc. and life cycles such as bacteria, trees

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etc., (Daily, 1997)Ecosystem services are many and varied benefits that humans freely gain from
the natural environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems. Such ecosystems include
agroecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystem and aquatic ecosystem. Collectively these
benefits are becoming known as ecosystem services and are often integral in providing clean
drinking water, decomposition of wastes, and the neutral pollination of plants and other crops.
While scientists and environmentalist have discussed ecosystem services implicitly for decades,
the millennium ecosystem assessment in the early 2000s popularized the concept. There ecosystem
services are grouped into four broad categories: provision of food and water; regulating, such as
the control of climate and diseases; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and oxygen production; and
cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits.Services provided by ecosystems are generated
from resources such as soil, water, and animal and plant species (biodiversity) as summarized in
table 3.8.3.

2.8.3 Services provided by ecosystem

Ecosystem services Sources

Climate stability (Alexander, Schneider, & Lagerquist,

1997)
Biodiversity, ecosystem stability & (Tilman, 1997)
productivity

Buffering and moderation of the hydrological (Daily, Matson, & Vitousek, 1997)
cycle, physical support of plants, retention and
delivery of nutrients to plants, disposal of
wastes and dead organic matter, renewal of soil
fertility, regulation of major element cycles.
Pollination of crops and natural vegetation (Nabhan & Buchmann, 1997)

Natural pest control services and stability of (Naylor & Ehrlich, 1997)
agricultural systems.
Global material cycling; transformation, (Peterson & ubchenco, 1997)
detoxification and sequestration of pollutants
and societal wastes; ecotourism, recreation and
retirement; support of diverse human cultures.

Water for drinking, irrigation, and (Postel & Carpenter, 1997)

manufacturing; goods such as fish and
waterfowl; and non-extractive benefits
including recreation, transportation, flood
control, bird and wildlife habitat and the
dilution of pollutants.

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 Control of soil erosion; regulation of rainfall (Meyer, 1995)
regimes; Albedo connection; climate
regulation; biodiversity habitats
Maintenance of the composition of the (Sala & Paruelo, 1997)
atmosphere; conservation of soil

2.8.4 Ecosystem and its Resources

Environmental resources of ecosystem and their services to humans are infinite andprecious. Some
of the resources that are fundamental to the natural balance of the ecosystemand in the meantime
that are subject to human intrusion are soil, water and biodiversity

2.8.5 soil
(Daily, Matson, & Vitousek, 1997) define soil as a complex and dynamic ecosystem which sustains
physical processes and chemical transformations vital to terrestrial life. Soil provides services to
all forms of life ranging from microorganism to plants and animals including humans. Apart from
its ecological or biological services, importance of soil is deeply rooted to the foundation of human
civilization through cultural, immaterial, religious and spiritual belief systems (Montgomery,
2007)has linked the importance of soil to the very existence of human civilization as “civilizations
don’t disappear overnight. They don’t choose to fail. More often they falter and then decline as
their soil disappears over generations”. He claims that soil is central to the longevity of any
civilization (ancient or digital) and therefore we must respect soil as the living foundation for
material wealth and treat it as an investment and a valuable inheritance.
The importance and value of soil are unnoticed and underscored in our society because of their
availability and abundance; and more importantly because “soils are always under foot”
(Warkentin, 2006)Consequently, soils have been used without concern for their loss or degradation
which always carries with it significant economic and environmental costs
2.8.6 Water
The Importance of water is not limited to human consumption, but it is extended to the functioning
of a whole planet. Water itself is an ecosystem (aquatic ecosystem) which provides habitats for
billions of known and unknown species of animals and plants. From a shallow and seasonal
wetlands or floodplains to a deep ocean, from a drop of precipitation that infiltrates into the earth
surface to a pile of polar ice caps, water cycles continuously into our environment and nurtures
our planet, In the U.S. for the year 2005, approximately 410,000 million gallons per day of water
was extracted for various uses such as domestic, agriculture, industrial, recreation and so on.
Around 80 percent of the extracted water came from surface water (Barber, 2009). Sources of
surface water are mostly rivers, streams, lakes, and wetland including oceans. These water

10
resources are within or adjacent to our land. Therefore, activities on land affect water resources
directly or indirectly.

According to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as Ramsar

Convention, wetlands are the “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial,
permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas
of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters” and this is the most
widely used and acceptable definition (Scott & Jones, 1995)wetlands are “those areas that are
inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support,
and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of hydrophytes vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs,
and similar areas” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010) Wetlands, also known
as marshes, swamps, and bogs, are the transitional lands between terrestrial and aquatic systems
where either the land is covered with shallow water or the water table is at or near the surface.
Wetlands are the most ecologically and economically important ecosystems of the nation (Tiner,
2009).

2.8.7 Biodiversity
Generally, biodiversity refers to the richness of animal and plant species that are native to a
particular habitat or ecosystem. Each species present in an ecosystem serves specific function
through food web and life cycle. A change in species diversity alters the biogeochemical cycles
and affects the overall functioning of the system. Therefore, the stability, functioning, and
sustainability of ecosystems depend on biodiversity (D Tilman, 1997)

2.8.8 Impacts of Urbanization on Ecosystem Resources

Although ecosystem services provide myriad of functions and services that create value for
human users and are central to the continuation of human civilization, humanshave obscured the
existence and importance of ecosystem services in a hurry to celebrate urban fantasy (Committee
on Assessing and Valuing the Services of Aquatic and Related Terrestiral Ecosystems, National
Research Council, 2004)

The growth and prosperity of the human designed world has come from the expense of the
resources of the natural world. Sim Van der Ryan and Stuart Cowan claim that the “designed
mess we have made of our neighborhoods, cities, and ecosystems owes much to the lack of a

11
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.

2.8.9 Impact Urbanization on Soil

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 (Scheyer & Hipple, 2005). 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 landsbased 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
economic benefits.

Marcotullio, Braimoh, &Onishi (2008) have documented the impact of urbanization on soil.
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 by soil erosion. The
stability of slopes (both natural and artificial) determines the vulnerability of landslides or slope
failures.The stability of slopes (both natural and artificial) determines the vulnerability of
landslides or slope failures. 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

2.9 Impact of Urbanization on Water Resources

Population growth, increasing trend of urbanization, and land use and climate change have
affected water availability and quality in the world. (Committee on the Review of Water and
Environmental Research Systems (WATERS)Network & National Research Council, 2010) in
such a way that world’s water resources are increasingly becoming limited(Committee on Water
Resources Activities & National Research Council, 2009) In many parts of the world, conflicts
over water resources have already occurred and the situation will deteriorate in future (Committee
on Water Resources Activities & National Research Council, 2009)

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Although the quality of water has significantly improved in last few decades due to the government
regulations and environmental protection programs such as Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking
Water Act, more than one third (Committee on Assessing and Valuing the Services of Aquatic and
Related Terrestiral Ecosystems, National Research Council, 2004; Committee on Water Resources
Activities & National Research Council, , 2009.)of rivers and streams in the U.S. are 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 .

2.9.1 Impact of Urbanization on Biodiversity

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 (Theobald & Miller, 1997)

Habitatalteration from urbanization is so drastic and widespread that it results in the endangerment
and extinction of species accompanied by long lasting habitat loss (McKinney, 2002) Apart from
reducing the richness of native species, urbanization increases the dominance of nonnative species
in the area thereby causing biological homogenization (Mckinney, 2006)

Urbanization impacts biodiversity and ecosystem services both directly and indirectly. Direct
impacts primarily consist of habitat loss and degradation, altered disturbance regimes, modified
soils and other physical transformations caused by the expansion of urban areas. Indirect impacts
include changes in water and nutrient availability, increases in abiotic stressors such as air
pollution, increases in competition from non-native species, and changes in herbivory and
predation rates(Pickett & Cadenasso, 2009)

3.0 CONCLUSION& RECOMMENDATION

Environmental resources are classic public goods of our society. The societal cost of making a
poor or wrong decision about the allocation of these resources is enormous if we value each species
that is extinct, and each acre of wetland that is lost. Only the well-informed and educated citizens
can make better decisions and produce classic public goods.

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Therefore, citizens must be educated, and well informed aboutthe benefits of natural ecosystems
against having a big lot house far from the city center in an environmentally sensitive area. In
addition, citizens must also consider it their obligation not only rights to be well informed about
the future land use plans of their city and the impacts of these plans in the environment. Citizens,
besides thinking about their stock market, retirement plan, Medicare and social security, should
also concern themselves about the security of natural amenities.

Traditional administrative codes, laws and regulations alone neither did protect our environment
nor will promise us security from natural catastrophe, unless we reverse our thinking towards
environment. Reversing our thinking from contemporary profit laden mind to a fair ground of
harmony between humans and nature requires a sense of “obligation to civilization to continue
civilization”. The continuation of civilization depends upon what we pass to our next generation.
Should we pass our next generation the community with less biodiversity and more ecological hot
spots, less wetlands and more paved lands, and more impaired rivers and less water or the
community with full of environmental amenities? Our decisions matter.

we must protect, not neglect, the whole natural ecosystems upon which humans depend for
survival. We must not continue using urbanization as a weapon to dominate natural ecosystem.
We need to bring a fundamental change in our thinking of understanding urbanization. We must
not understand urbanization as an evil to environment. It is just a name given to the process how
cities grow by size with increasing population growth and demand for goods and services. What
we must understand is - urbanization does not drive land use change in an environmentally
detrimental way without our decisions about how to use land and its resources.

Today, 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to
increase to 66 per cent by 2050. From above review I conclude that Urbanization is not good for
us. Urbanization impacts the environment through the strain of resources, including food, water,
energy and the land itself, which increases as the population within the urban area increases.

I will therefore recommend urban planning, the main goal of urban planning is to make all
amenities and comforts available to the public without imposing many negative effects on
societyand environment, aptly referred to as “Sustainable growth”. The cardinal rule is to plan
cities beforehand, rather than let them grow spontaneously and haphazardly. During city planning
it should be ensured that adequate infrastructure is available to support the population. Residences

14
should be conveniently located near the civic bodies. This could improve effective provision of
the necessary services,Serious attention should be given to the need for improving urban strategies,
which promote efficiency in resource use,Urgent attention should be given to reducethe generation
of solid waste at the sources through mandatory standards and regulation fee and tax incentives,
and education and voluntary compliance.

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