Urbanization

Urbanization

by 2030, 24 more mega-cities will be added. Figure 1.2, shows how around the world, there will be a huge increase in megacities especially in Africa and Asia. :

Urbanization Trends

Global Trends of Urbanization

Urbanization in Ethiopia

Causes of Urbanization

Natural Increase of Population

Rural to Urban Migration

Impacts of Urbanization

Housing

Water and Sanitation: Rivers in developing countries act more as a sewage system. Due to this lack of sanitation, sewage systems have had a negative impact on urban watercourse and health. Rivers are also used as a dump site for business and industrial use. Unlike human waste, industrial waste contain toxic materials that can cause severe medical issues. We can see this in Ethiopia too, from people peeing in the rivers to it being a garbage site. The water is no longer suitable for usage.

Wastes and Pollution

Health

Economic and Social Systems

Food

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Urbanization is caused by a number of things including civil unrest in their initially city , poor living conditions and poor health care.

The vicious cycle
Usually, families with low incomes inhabit urban areas that are physically and socially degraded because of lack of a different option. Due to poor housing conditions in developing countries, this means that more signs of poverty will be observed such as increased death rates, restrcited water supplies due to overwhelming demands, small houses built too close to each other, etc. The existence of these conditions make it hard for people to escape poverty as their children are already born to it, with few opportunities to get themselves out. Thus the cycle of poverty is continued.

Push factors

Increasing Urbanization around the world. Globally around the world it is estimated that Urbanization will increase. "By 2050 the proportion living in urban areas is expected to reach 66%"(UNDESA, 2014). Figure 1.1 shows the increase in Urbanization. And to add to the fact that Urbanization is increasing. By 2030, 24 more mega-cities will be added. Figure 1.2, shows how around the world, there will be a huge increase in megacities especially in Africa and Asia.

Positive impacts of urbanization - Access to hospitals
Negative impacts of urbanization - housing, poor living condition that affects health, polluted air

Solide Waste Waste disposal has an enormous impact on the environment and can lead to serious obstacles. Most waste ultimately rots, but not all. In the process, wast can produce methane which is explosive and contributes to the greenhouse effect. Lacheate produced by the breakdown of wast can lead to pollution.

Population movements put pressure on the supply of food and its distribution. This is because when people are migrating, they tend to purchase food rather than their own crops which puts changes to food prices. Also, when people move, it means demand for food will increase which makes it more difficult to increase production.

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Ethiopia is one of the least urbanised countries in the world today, and only 18% of its population lives in urban areas (JMP, 2014).

Of the four cities with a population of more than 200,000, by far the largest is Addis Ababa. In 2007, the population of Addis Ababa was more than 3 million, which amounted to about 25% of Ethiopia’s urban population.

Employment Opportunities: There are more industries and educational institutes in urban areas which people want because it provides them more opportunity to earn more money or to get educated.

Ethiopia’s urban growth rate is more than 4.0% per year, which places it among the highest in Africa and the world (MWUD, 2007).

Environmental changes:environmental changes is also a cause of urbanization, such as droughts and floods

Pull Factors

The rapid increase in urban populations has meant that peri-urban areas are growing much more quickly than formal urban centres. Peri-urban areas are those areas immediately around a town or city.

Housing: A third of people living in urban areas in developing countries live in slums. These are areas that have a dense population and poor infrastructure, with houses that are tightly packed and in disrepair. People living in slums face problems with sanitation and electricity. There is also a lack of a clean and steady supply of water. This, coupled with the lack of proper latrines and solid waste disposal, leads to pollution, degrading the environment. Another issue slums face is the absence of adequate health care. This increases the prevalence of disease in these areas, and also causes an increase in death rates. People who move to these areas do so as a result of poverty. In Addis Ababa, 80% of houses are considered to be slums.

Selective Process: Some people may be more inclined to leave than others based on factors such as gender or age. Gender is a factor when it comes to employment opportunities because there may be jobs that are more likely to be occupied by a specific gender.

Urban Lifestyle: Entertainment is much more prevalent in urban areas and is something that people want to experience.

Solid Waste "Urban waste often ends up in illegal dumps on streets, open spaces, wastelands, drains or rivers." This can eventually lead to water-borne diseasesand drain blockage. If the city drains are not taken care of during the rainy season the possibility of flooding is high.

Lack of jobs:A lack of job opportunities is also a push factor, this leads to urbanization as people go to urban areas in hopes of finding jobs

Positive impacts - Economic development and education
Negative impacts - Crime, prostitution, drug abuse and street children, violence

No one is excused: The Quality of water and sanitation does not only impact poorer communities and instead negatively affects the lives of almost everyone. In many African and Asian developing countries, sewage systems don't even truly exist meaning that many have to resort to either pit latrines or even sceptic tanks. These tanks are often not enough to sustain larger populations of people for longer periods of time as they quickly fill out. A broken septic tank or pit latrine can mean leakage of bodily fluids that does not only affect the clean surface water but also strongly impact the pollution in a city. Not to mention the disease, viruses, and health risks that exposed human waste can have on society.

The impacts of Urbanization in Ethiopia are generally much more evident in the capital than in other towns and cities.And this is because of the rapid growth rate.

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Rural to urban migration could be a selective process because there are numerous factors affecting the natural increase of population for instance age and gender and the selectivity in migration influence the population of rural and urban areas.

by 2030, 24 more mega-cities will be added. Figure 1.2, shows how around the world, there will be a huge increase in megacities especially in Africa and Asia. :

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The Positive side of Urban living is linked with higher levels of literacy and education, better health, lower fertility and a longer life expectancy, greater access to social services, and enhanced opportunities for cultural and political participation

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The Negatives of Urbanization

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The Negatives of UrbanizationUrbanization has its disadvantages which are caused by rapid and unplanned urban growth which in turn results in poor infrastructures such as inadequate housing, water and sanitation, transport, and health care services.

Water sanitation: Water sanitation is an increasing problem specifically in the slums due to the lack of access to resources like water and proper latrines. Slums are densely populated areas with poor housing quality. Instead pit latrines and septic tanks are used. This risks flooding especially due to the fact that too many people use the same facilities.

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Water and Sanitation