Urban Expansion

Improved Essays
The industrial age has change how the world is being structured. During the agricultural age, the land was mainly used to produce food for sustaining both human and animals. As we moved into the industrial, factories and city centers began being built. There arose a need for adequate living arrangements for the people that worked in the factories and city centers. Urban areas designed to accommodate large numbers of families began to spring up around these factories and city centers. Fast forward to today and we have 78% of the population in North America living in urban areas (Boston University College of Arts & Science, 2012). This figure represents a rapid urban expansion that does not seem to be slowing. Urban expansion isn’t the problem. …show more content…
As these areas grow, they must inhabit land masses that have other purposes. In some cases there will be farm land that is overtaken by urban areas. There are also forests and other natural land that will have to be used for the development of more urban living area. The expansion of urban are means the diminishment of the habitats of many amphibian, mammalian, and bird species that are all ready endangered (Boston University College of Arts and Science, 2012). Once their habitats are gone, in time the species will cease to exist. The next thing that will happen is that we will begin to create endangered species. Ultimately there will be a change in the ecosystem that will be irreversible. The majority of the greenhouse gases that are emitted come out of cities (Boston University College of Arts and Science, 2012). With this taking place in the city area, there is the risk of more and more people having health …show more content…
Each country must evaluate how global expansion is affecting their country. Every country is unique and they will have to address the problem in different way. Some countries are further along in the development of large areas compared to other countries; however the solution that I have are universal to all countries. There are two ways you can approach this issue. One way is to address the issue of population growth. China did this by implementing a population planning policy that only allowed families to have one child with some exceptions. They are currently phasing this policy out which could be evident of the policy not working. The other way is to address the issue from the stand point of resources. This solution is the idea of a structural engineer by the name of Jacque Fresco. He envisions a world where cities are designed using a resource based economy. With any planning, you must first know where you are. After we know what we have available to us in the form of resources, we can begin to develop cities that are more sustainable. This will take a huge shift in our mentality and the way that we currently think. Science is the key to solving these problems. Science has not room for opinions and the results that are produced are proven. Computers will also play an important role into how these cities will be designed. I can remember taking an environmental science course

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