CHAPTER 4RURAL AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT – Cause, Effect and Future

When we think ‘rural’ we tend to imagine this...

Instead of this.........

And when we think ‘urban’ we might imagine this....

Instead of this......

Or even this........

We all have well established preconceptions about our cities, towns and countryside.........but:

In both social and economic terms, urban and rural areas are inextricably intertwined and interdependent

Moreover, they have much more in common than we tend to assume......

People and progress

• Humans have always inhabited both the natural world and the social world.

• Environment: – Circumstances or conditions that surround an organism or

groups of organisms– The complex of social or cultural conditions that affect an

individual or community

Basic History of Humans and the Environment

• Hunter-Gatherers (10,000 B.C.)– Obtain food by collecting plants and hunting wild animals. – Effects on the environment were limited.

• Hunting of some animal species.• Picked up and spread plants/seeds to new areas.

• Agricultural Revolution (6000-7000 B.C.)– Humans first developed the process of breeding, growing, and

harvesting plants for food as well as animal domestication.– Effects on the environment:

• Human population grew more quickly• Natural habitats (grasslands, forests) replaced by farmland

and villages.• New breeds of animals and plants were created.

• Industrial Revolution (1800s)– Shift in the source of energy to fossil fuels– Effects on the environment:

• More efficient farming• Faster human population growth• Increased burning of fossil fuels• Introduced synthetic plastics, fertilizers, pesticides• Higher amounts of pollution

Current Conditions

• Human Population > 7 Billion– Water quantity and quality issues is the most critical issues in

the 21st century.– Food is inequitably distributed across the globe and 2/3 of

agricultural lands show signs of degradation.– Fossil fuel reserves are diminishing and the burning of fossil

fuels causes pollution and global warming.– Air quality has worsened in many areas.– Loss of biodiversity at a rapid rate.

A Divided World

• World Bank estimates more than 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty earning < $1 (U.S.) per day.

• Poor are often both victims and agents of environmental degradation.

• Cycle of poverty continues over generations as people who are malnourished and ill cannot work productively and raise healthy children.

• About 1/5 of the world’s population lives in countries with per capita income > $25,000 per year (U.S.). The other 4/5 lives in middle or low income countries.

• Gap between rich and poor continues to increase.• The gap affects quality of life.

Identifying the rural

• What do we think of when we consider the ‘rural’? Low density Extensive production

Forestry Agriculture Mineral extraction

Generally poor ‘Backward’ Limited services

• The Urban as dominant and ‘civilised’

• How much ‘rural’ development have you learnt in your courses so far? An example of bias against ‘the rural’! Yet almost all the world’s food and raw materials come

from rural areas• Michael Lipton (1977) Why Poor People Stay Poor

Urban bias Dominance of interests designed to increase unequal

terms of trade between urban and rural areas and people

Urbanisation

“Urbanisation is a process of urban growth which leads to a greater proportion of people being concentrated into towns and cities”

Annual growth of world population, 1950-2011

Major urban areas throughout the world

Causes of urbanisation1. Rural to urban migration2. Natural Increase

Population change and urbanization

• Rapid development since independence• Transformation from agricultural to industrial development• Creation and growth of new towns• Urbanization was driven by rural to urban migration

In Malaysia……..

• Malaysian population growing steadily• In 1950 – 6.1 millions, 1955 – 7 millions, over 1 million added

every five years• Population live in urban areas

– 1950 – 20.4%– 1960 – 26.6%– 1991 – over 50%

• Estimated – ¾ of population live in urban areas by 2020

Urban, rural and total population, Malaysia, 1950-2030

Year

Total population

(000)

Urban population

(000) % urban

Rural population

(000) % rural

1950 6,110 1,244 20.4 4,866 79.6 1955 7,000 1,639 23.4 5,361 76.6 1960 8,140 2,165 26.6 5,975 73.4 1965 9,502 2,842 29.9 6,660 70.1 1970 10,853 3,631 33.5 7,222 66.5 1975 12,258 4,615 37.7 7,642 62.3 1980 13,763 5,787 42.0 7,977 58.0 1985 15,677 7,197 45.9 8,480 54.1 1990 17,845 8,891 49.8 8,955 50.2 1995 20,363 11,326 55.6 9,038 44.4 2000 23,001 14,212 61.8 8,790 38.2 2003 24,425 15,617 63.9 8,808 36.1 2005 25,325 16,479 65.1 8,846 34.9 2010 27,513 18,768 68.2 8,745 31.8 2015 29,563 20,998 71.0 8,565 29.0 2020 31,580 23,218 73.5 8,362 26.5 2025 33,479 25,351 75.7 8,128 24.3 2030 35,191 27,324 77.6 7,867 22.4

Urban, rural and total population, Malaysia, 1950-2030

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Rural – urban migration

• Rural to urban migration – result of push and pull factors

Push and pull factors

Natural increase• The people that migrate into towns and cities tend to be

young resulting in high levels of natural increase • high % of young adults = high levels of births• Falling death rates due to improved medical care means more

babies are born than people dying, further increasing the urban population

Population is placing pressure on urban areas and without having the benefit of industrialization the lack of employment opportunities for the mass of urban migrants is undermining the ability of cities to incorporate people.

The consequences of this lack of employment opportunities are growing urban areas a large percent of whose population is unemployed and living in poverty and forced to live in unsanitary squatter settlements.

Effects of Urbanisation Lack of housing and open areas of land Lack of safe and efficient transportation Crime Urban heat Respiratory problems among human Fire hazards Loss of land for agriculture Loss of biodiversity Aid in global warming Abnormal births

Industrialization

• Industrialization brings positives effects:

– Inventions are created-More products--produced faster-- produced cheaper

– Jobs are created--- people have money to buy more goods-economy gets better for everyone

– Rich people get richer-- create more factories or businesses -- create more jobs--economy gets better for everyone

– Immigration-when jobs are available-------people move to the location of jobs-industrialization causes immigration--

– Factories are built where people live-------cities grow

• Industrialization brings negative effects:

– Industrialization causes--pollution-air, water– Industrialization causes---poverty- government doesn’t protect workers

at first- workers compete with other workers for low skill jobs- workers work long hours- get low pay- unsafe working conditions

– Poverty is so bad-children need to work– Massive wealth is created by factory owners- causes corruption-

business owners use money to influence government officials

Poverty and Environment

• Poverty is viewed as encompassing both income and non-income dimensions of deprivation, lack of empowerment, and extreme vulnerability to external shocks

• Environment refers to the living and non-living components of the natural world, and to the interactions between them, that support life on earth. The environment is a provider of goods and services and is also a recipient of waste products

Rural Poverty/ Development and Environment

Soil erosion and Desertification

Deforestation and loss of livelihood

Fuel shortages, lower agricultural productivity, occurrence of natural disasters

Loss of ground water

• Rural poverty and environmental degradation interact leading to

Urban Poverty/ Development and Environment

• Urban poverty causes environmental degradation in two ways: – Industrialization and urban air pollution– Congestion and availability of clean water and sanitation

• Productivity losses • Financial feasibility of providing clean drinking water and

sanitation for all

Effect to environment

Environmental impact caused by urban expansion:

• Industry, homes & cars producing greenhouse gases… atmosphere overheat---> global warming.

• Smog, a mixture of smoke & fog, builds up…. respitory problems

• Urban waste… up to 30% untreated and goes directly into rivers.

Environmental Issues

• Leading to a rapid loss of biodiversity and other forms of environmental degradation.

• Poorly serviced areas in terms of urban infrastructures such as roads, health centers, police stations, electricity, water, drainage systems, waste management.

• High rate of the urban sprawl, high cases of property encroachment and rapid changes to unplanned land use types

Urban sprawl

Urbanization has advantages• Cities are centers of industry, commerce, transportation,

innovation, education, technological advances, and jobs.• Urban residents in many parts of the world tend to live longer

than do rural residents, and have lower infant mortality and fertility rates.

• Cities provide better access to medical care, family planning, education, and social services.

• Recycling is more economically feasible. • Concentrating people in cities helps to preserve biodiversity.• Central cities can save energy if residents rely more on energy

efficient mass transportation, walking, and bicycling.

Urbanization has disadvantages• Most urban areas are unsustainable systems.

– The typical city depends on large non-urban areas for huge inputs of matter and energy resources, while it generates large outputs of waste matter and heat.

• Most cities lack vegetation. – Destroyed vegetation could have absorbed air pollutants,

given off oxygen, provided shade, reduced soil erosion, provided wildlife habitats, and offered aesthetic pleasure.

• Many cities have water problems.– Providing water to cities can deprive rural and wild areas of

surface water and can deplete underground water supplies.

Urbanization has disadvantages– Cities in arid areas that depend on water withdrawn from

rivers and reservoirs behind dams will face increasing problems.

– Cities can have flooding problems for several reasons:• Being built on floodplains or near low-lying coastlines. • Covering land with buildings, asphalt, and concrete causes

precipitation to run off quickly and overload storm drains.

Urbanization has disadvantages– Destroying or degraded large areas of wetlands that have

served as natural sponges to help absorb excess storm water. – Flooding as sea levels rise because of projected climate.

• Cities in arid areas that depend on water bodies fed by mountaintop glaciers will face water shortages if global warming melts the glaciers.

Urban areas are rarely sustainable systems

Cities tend to concentrate pollution and health problems

• Cities produce most of the world’s air pollution, water pollution, and solid and hazardous wastes.

• High population densities can increase the spread of infectious diseases, especially if adequate drinking water and sewage systems are not available.

Cities affect local climates

• Cities tend to be warmer, rainier, foggier, and cloudier. • Heat generated by cars, factories, furnaces, lights, air

conditioners, and heat-absorbing dark roofs and streets creates an urban heat island surrounded by cooler suburban and rural areas.

• The artificial light created by cities affects some plant and animal species.

Future of urban development

• Smart growth encourages environmentally sustainable development requiring less dependence on cars, controls and directs sprawl, and reduces wasteful resource use, by using zoning laws and other tools to channel growth into areas where it can cause less harm.

• New urbanism involves less-developed villages within cities, so that people can live within walking distance of where the work, shop, and go for entertainment

Smart growth tools

Future urban development

Cities can be revitalized by managing growth Cleaning up environmentally contaminated land Reinvesting in existing neighbourhoods Changing governmental infrastructure financing policies Establish urban growth boundaries Decentralisation

eeEnvironmental sustainabilityustainability

Access to water source expanding but needs to go further in rural areas

Approaching universal access to safe sanitation

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Future strategies for rural areas

Planners promote orderly development to:

Ensure land is use for common good of all

Meet the needs of society housing, food, employ & leisure.

Support regional development, social integration, urban renewal & maintain strong rural communities.

Protect the environment.

This planning succeeds by:

Controlling transport development, natural resources & efficient energy use.

Careful location of any buildings & their size.

Protecting natural environment & habitats.

Promote growth of towns & villages, socially & economically.