By Naomi Grace
Cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Noida are witnessing a surge in population with a simple goal—people finding better employment opportunities. According to the 2011 census, 31.2% of India’s total population moved to urban areas and is expected to reach 40% by 2030. This movement of people from towns to cities is called urbanisation and can be seen globally, throughout history.
Such cities become centres of development and contribute to higher income for families but come with their own set of opportunities and challenges. Eventually, the government and the local authorities have to strike a balance to ensure overall sustainable development in India.
5 Significant Challenges of Rapid Urbanisation
Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The common driving factors are higher income, access to good resources, more social interaction, better standards of living, etc. However, it’s important to acknowledge that this wave of rapid urbanisation presents many challenges in developing countries in the form of infrastructure, healthcare, natural resources, etc. Let’s look into those in detail:
Inadequate Infrastructure
The infrastructure of a city determines the lives of all of its residents. Residential areas, institutions and transportation methods directly impact the economic opportunities available—the primary reason for people moving to urban areas. In most developing countries, cities lack the needed infrastructure to support the growing population.
Let’s take for example, the city of Mumbai, which is considered the financial capital of India. While people seeking better living standards migrate here from towns, 41% of the city’s population lives in slums and informal settlements. This leads to challenges in the housing structure (the skyrocketing rent fares are proof) and calls for prompt development, an urgent call which the authorities seem to have left unanswered since a long time.
With the continuing trend of urbanisation, the need of the hour is investing in the infrastructural needs of such cities. The central government bodies and local authorities all have a say in enriching the transportation, electricity distribution, water supply, communication systems and the needed basic amenities. Rapid urbanization combined with climate change create this growing sense of urgency for better infrastructure.
Environmental Changes
Flooding, wildfires, droughts, and more are environmental crises that are commonly seen nowadays. Many people expect that cities will be well-equipped with the necessary facilities to face such crises. This movement from rural to urban areas may expose cities to an increased demand for better facilities to accommodate more people. The challenge here is to transform construction methodologies so that cities can withstand increased urbanisation and sudden climate change.
It’s also important to observe that many in-demand cities like Mumbai are located near the coastline, which puts them in greater danger during flooding. Cities like Delhi and Bengaluru will emit more greenhouse gases from vehicles, factories and other energy sources. Green spaces will take a backseat because of the need for more residential areas. Rapid urbanization raises questions about the sustainable lifestyle in cities that witness climate change.
Compromised Health
The pandemic in 2020 made it obvious that cities aren’t capable of handling disease outbreaks. Many research studies have gone in-depth to study the same. The concentration of people living in cities will make it difficult for local authorities to manage living conditions, practice proper sanitation and manage waste effectively. It’s not an uncommon sight to see piles of garbage lying on the roads, which become breeding grounds for infectious diseases. Combine this with pollution and you’ll soon have chronic health conditions which can be transmitted through air and water.
In overall well-being, it’s noticeable that urbanization also has a significant impact on health. The fast-paced lifestyle in cities, when compared to the “dolce far niente” living in the countryside, can be overwhelming. The lack of green spaces for recreational activities gives fewer opportunities for people to slow down and engage in recreational activities. Maintaining a holistic lifestyle is one of the biggest challenges of rapid urbanisation.
Economic Disparities
As mentioned earlier, the main reason for people shifting from rural to urban areas is in search of better employment opportunities. While cities do opportunities more employment opportunities, they also can see high unemployment rates. This will happen when the number of job seekers surpasses the number of available jobs. This also leads to the creation of an informal economy where people work without any legal protection or job security and lack the benefits of an otherwise stable opportunity.
India has a diverse workforce and such circumstances directly impact the country’s development. The recent uprising of artificial intelligence has also robbed many job positions. With the exodus of people from villages and small towns to cities for better-paying jobs, the challenge is maintaining a stable economy and having an infrastructure supporting them fully.
Social Instability
With more than half of the world’s population living in cities, imagine the impact they have on each country’s GDP. The notion of earning more in cities is true to some extent, but the transitioning phase isn’t easy. With people thronging to cities, higher living costs and competitive jobs can cause a segment of people to live in poverty. Many youths also find themselves engaged in criminal activities due to unemployment. The challenge of rapid urbanization is that it can lead to social unrest.
Rapid urbanization also fuels the gap between different economic groups. As they say, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This could also lead to spatial segregation where the well-to-do and impoverished communities live in poles-apart conditions. This doesn’t contribute to the overall growth of the country and instead creates gaps within the economy.
Proper urban planning and the active participation of authorities are the most direct ways of tackling these challenges. The inability to solve and delayed responses to issues concerning infrastructure, public services, environment and living conditions is only creating more challenges. There’s no doubt that urbanization kickstarts amazing opportunities for people, but the only way to have more people migrate to cities and contribute to the country is through solving these challenges.
5 Most Promising Opportunities in Rapid Urbanisation
It’s the nature of progress, the good and the bad must be balance. Cities are some of the oldest community congregations in the world, sprouting in geographies where greater opportunities of work and money were available. They are the centres for economic growth, cultural exchange and innovation. If managed properly, urbanisation can do a lot of good to human society – in the form of rapid research, technological progress and more. The following are examples of how urbanisation can have a positive impact:
- Urbanisation brings a high density of population to a centralised location. This enables the entire transportation system to become efficient and environment-friendly. Many cities use this opportunity to encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport because of the proper connectivity throughout.
- With adequate planning, urban areas help the authorities to manage infrastructure and other essential services in a much better way. Waste management, water supply, sanitation practices and more become feasible and affordable to all residents.
- Urbanisation paves way for a green economy. More residents incline towards energy-saving resources and products.
While the challenges overshadow the opportunities, proper planning will help cities present the best to its current and potential inhabitants. The diverse opportunities people can enjoy in planned cities are:
Economic Growth
Cities thrive essentially on creating new jobs due to the presence of multiple industries, companies and businesses. These are also innovation hubs due to the availability of resources and infrastructure. People come with high hopes of finding work that will give them the means to pursue better living standards. With adequate investment, cities can have skilled people who will positively play a major role in driving national economic development.
Improved Social Services
The most important advantage of urbanisation is that it gives people access to essential services like education and healthcare. People living in towns and villages will not have the privilege of setting up a multispeciality hospital or multidisciplinary educational institutions. Additionally, better transportation systems are in place with proper connectivity to buses, trains, airports and better roads. All of this contributes to a growth mindset amongst individuals and families who wish to improve their socio-economic status.
Sustainable Development
Rapid urbanisation can foster sustainable development if the authorities plan ahead. Smart cities, green technologies, energy-saving mechanisms in buildings and transport, can reduce carbon footprint and protect the climate from further damage to an extent. Resources like water and energy can be conserved through proper allocation. Advanced farming technologies can improve food quality and food safety. Additionally, proper planning will help local bodies in developing enough green spaces in the city.
Technological Improvements
The use of technology in planning cities has proven to be successful. Smart cities are proof that tech can help manage traffic, waste, energy, and similar resources. Also, access to high-speed internet is a big factor driving urbanization as it gives them more learning opportunities. You can observe how each year, children from villages shift to cities with big dreams of gaining education from reputed and well-equipped institutions. Out of these students, many get involved in R&D activities, which further develop industries, products and services.
Lifelong Growth
As briefly discussed in point 4, cities are hubs for educational institutions. Most of these schools and colleges have well-trained staff and facilities that can help individuals attain knowledge. Additionally, the availability of libraries, research institutes, and training centers helps people continually equip themselves for better work opportunities. As the saying goes—teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Similarly, good education and proper skill training and development will sustain a person for all opportunities throughout their lifetime.
Shaping the Future of Urbanisation
Every year, the percentage of the world’s population shifting to urban areas rises. The pressing priority right now must be creating urbanisation practices that are both inclusive and sustainable. Cities of the present must be effectively managed because they’ll soon be cities of the future on which upcoming civilisations will be dependent. After all—we don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
