What Are the Health Impacts of Urbanization?
Your assignment must follow these formatting guidelines:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
Student’s Name
University
Course
Professor
Date
“Urbanization is not about simply increasing the number of urban residents or expanding the area of cities. More importantly, it’s about a complete change from rural to urban style in terms of industry structure, employment, living environment and social security” is a famous quote by Minoru Mori. According to Kuddus et al. (2020) “U rbanization refers to the mass movement of populations from rural to urban settings and the consequent physical changes to urban settings” (p.1). According to Vlahov et al., (2022) “Urbanization is the change in size, density, and heterogeneity of cities and more simply stated, urbanization is the process that involves the emergence and growth (or decrease in size) of cities” (p.2). Kuddus et al. (2020) also stated that “In 2019, the U Nited Nations estimated that more than half the world’s population (4.2 billion people) now live in urban area and by 2041, this figure will increase to 6 billion people’ (p.1). A Ccording to Vlahov et al. (2022) “The proportion of the global p opulation in urban areas is growing and a recent report about growth of urban populations from the United Nations Population Division notes that, although just under half of the world’s current population lives in urban areas, nearly two thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas within the next 30 years” (p.2). Vlahov et al. (2022) also stated that “G lobal population growth between 2000 and 2030 will be primarily in urban areas, with 60.4 % of the world’s population expected25 to be urban (4.9 billion/8.1 billion people) by 2030 compared to 48.3% today (2.8 billion/6.0 billion in 2000)” (p.2). “It is anticipated that a greater p ercentage of the world’s p opulation will live in urban areas by 2007 and most of the growth will occur in less wealthy regions of the world (growth from 1.9 billion in 2000 to 3.9 billion in 2030) with the most rapid pace of growth expected to occur in Asia and Africa” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). “W, hile North America and Europe are currently the most urbanized regions, the number of urban dwellers in the least-urbanized region, Asia (1.4 billion), is already greater26,27 than the urban population in North America and Europe combined (1.2 billion) in 2000 and the pace of increase in urban areas is projected to differ by initial size and region” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). According to Bai et al. (2017) “U rbanization is one of the biggest social transformations of modern time, driving and driven by multiple social, economic, and environmental processes. The impacts of urbanization on the environment are profound, multifaceted and are manifested at the local, regional, and global scale” (p.1). Thus, urbanization is a growing phenomenon in today’s world.
There are many challenges brought about by urbanization. Kuddus et al. (2020) “Cities are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies and they are the heart of technological development and economic growth of many nations, while at the same time serving as a breeding ground for poverty, inequality, environmental hazards, and communicable diseases” (p.1). “A growing number of relatively small cities throughout the world will contain most of the world’s population in the 21st century, while a few megacities will undoubtedly face unique challenges. These projections highlight the importance of viewing urban health as an international issue” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). “For example, in the United States,36 the absolute number of persons living in the 100 largest cities increased from 42 million to 56 million between 1950 and 2000 and nearly half of the 100 largest cities are now home to more minorities than whites, with 71 of these cities losing white residents and having a 43% increase in Hispanics” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). “Immigration to cities continues; for example, there are 76 different languages spoken in Brooklyn, a single borough in New York City and therefore, the racial/ethnic composition of urban populations is changing” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). “While crime and violence plagued cities throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, there has been a recent decline in crime and an attendant decline in homicides and the extent to which this decline in crime and homicides is due to aging, change in policing, economic prosperity, or specific changes in law/policies remains to be determined” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). “The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in the United States suggests that rates of illicit drug use in large urban areas continue to be high, and drug availability is higher in urban than in nonurban areas” (Vlahov et al., 2022, p.2). Urbanization causes negative health impacts like poor nutrition and obesity due to overpopulation in the cities.
Poor Nutrition
P oor nutrition is one of the negative health impacts of urbanization. According to Kuddus et al. (2020) “Some of the major health problems resulting from urbanization include poor nutrition, pollution-related health conditions and communicable diseases, poor sanitation and housing conditions, and related health conditions; These have direct impacts on individual quality of life, while straining public health systems and resources” (p.1). A Ccording to Kuddus et al. (2020) “Urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities, the urban poor lack nutritious diets and this leads to illness, which contributes to loss of appetite and poor absorption of nutrients among those affected” (p.1). “F urthermore, environmental contamination also contributes to undernutrition; street food is often prepared in unhygienic conditions, leading to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses (e.g., botulism, salmonellosis, and shigellosis)” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “When large numbers of people congregate in cities, many problems result, particularly for the poor. For example, many rural migrants who settle in an urban slum area bring their families and their domesticated animals—both pets and livestock—with them; This influx of humans and animals leads to vulnerability of all migrants to circulating communicable diseases and the potential to establish an urban transmission cycle” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “Further, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks, and water basins subject to landslides, flooding, or industrial hazards” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “P opulations in poor nations that suffer from protein-energy malnutrition have i ncreased susceptibility to infection through the impact of micronutrient deficiency on immune system development and function and around 168 million children under 5 are estimated to be malnourished and 76% of these children live in Asia” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “At the same time, the W orld Health Organization is concerned that there is an emerging pandemic of obesity in poor countries that leads to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and stroke” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “All of these factors lead to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pollution, poor nutrition, road traffic, and so on and the problems faced by the poor spill over to other city dwellers” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “As the trend to urbanization continues, this spillover effect increases and takes on a global dimension as more and more of the world’s populations are affected” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). Thus, urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities.
Obesity is another negative health impact of urbanization. According to Kuddus et al., (2020), “Obesity is caused by increased caloric intake and decreased physical activity, something historically associated with wealth” (p.1). According to Kuddus et al., (2020), “Urban dwellers also suffer from overnutrition and obesity, a growing global public health problem. Obesity and other lifestyle conditions contribute to chronic diseases (such as cancers, diabetes, and heart diseases) although obesity is most common among the wealthy, international agencies have noted the emergence of increased weight among the middle class and poor in recent years” (p.1). Kuddus et al., (2020), also stated that “however, people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure. In these areas, infrastructure is often lacking, including sufficient space for recreational activities” (p.1). “Further, in developing countries, as in developed countries, large employers frequently place head offices in urban capitals and work is increasingly sedentary in nature [14]. “A nother culprit associated with the risk of developing obesity is the change in food intake that has led to the so-called nutrition transition (increased the consumption of animal-source foods, sugar, fats and oils, refined grains, and processed foods) in urban areas” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “For instance, in China, dietary patterns have changed concomitantly with u rbanization in the past 30 years, leading to increased obesity” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). “In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 300 million adults were affected, the majority in developed and highly urbanized countries and since then, the prevalence of obesity has increased; For example, in Australia, around 28% of adults were obese in 2014–2015” (Kuddus et al., 2020, p.1). Thus, obesity is another negative health impact of urbanization because people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure.
In conclusion, urbanization is a growing phenomenon in today’s world. U rbanization causes negative health impacts like poor nutrition and obesity due to overpopulation in the cities. Urbanization has a significant negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities. O besity is another negative health impact of urbanization because people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure. By managing the negative health implications brought about by urbanization, we ensure safe and healthy cities.
Bai, X., McPhearson, T., Cleugh, H., Nagendra, H., Tong, X., Zhu, T., & Zhu, Y. G. (2017). Linking urbanization and the environment: Conceptual and empirical advances. Annual review of environment and resources, 42, 215-240.
Kuddus, M. A., Tynan, E., & McBryde, E. (2020). Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor? Public health reviews, 41, 1-4.
Vlahov, D., & Galea, S. (2022). Urbanization, urbanicity, and health. Journal of Urban Health, 79, S1-S12.