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Importance of effects of urbanization over environment
Importance of effects of urbanization over environment
Negative effects of urbanization on the environment
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New Urbanism in America Pollard (2001) writes about the despondency of the American public over loss of open spaces, pollution, and climate change due to land-use and transportation patterns in the paper, ‘Greening the American dream?’ The author believes that ‘new urbanism’ is the solution to these issues. New urbanism is a variety of related planning and design approaches that include traditional neighbourhood, as well as transit-oriented development (Pollard, 2001). New urbanists are critics of sprawl and promote mixed-use land development. Designs include more open spaces, walkable neighbourhoods and street networks with few cul-de-sacs. The primary goals of new urbanism are to save open spaces and wildlife habitat Pollard argues that critics of new urbanism believe the views are outdated and designs take up just as much apace as conventional sprawl. He believes that some developments claim the new urbanism label but they do not actually conform to the ideas of the movement. …show more content…
These communities are also designed to save water by including less impervious space. Some barriers to the implementation of new urbanism include developmental regulations, public subsidies for conventional development, and public resistance to new ideas. Pollard believes that with education of the public and decision –makers, new urbanism can greatly curb environmental damage. Pollard’s paper seems to be written with a bias towards the new urbanism movement. Although criticisms of the ideas are discussed, they are not explained in detail. Many concepts examined are discussed vaguely and not many sources are considered. There is also not any evidence of original research carried out by Pollard, rather just a review of some of the key concepts of the new urbanism
Another noteworthy urban sociologist that’s invested significant research and time into gentrification is Saskia Sassen, among other topical analysis including globalization. “Gentrification was initially understood as the rehabilitation of decaying and low-income housing by middle-class outsiders in central cities. In the late 1970s a broader conceptualization of the process began to emerge, and by the early 1980s new scholarship had developed a far broader meaning of gentrification, linking it with processes of spatial, economic and social restructuring.” (Sassen 1991: 255). This account is an extract from an influential book that extended beyond the field of gentrification and summarizes its basis proficiently. In more recent and localized media, the release the documentary-film ‘In Jackson Heights’ portrayed the devastation that gentrification is causing as it plagues through Jackson Heights, Queens. One of the local businessmen interviewed is shop owner Don Tobon, stating "We live in a
People will be more willing and capable of living in denser, more efficient environments only when the underlying culture that sustains sprawl is altered. The sense of the American community needs to be re-established if there is to be any real progress in the battle against sprawl. The REAL problem here then, is that changing the culture of a state, of a nation, is a very long and difficult undertaking…
Suburbanization, roots of the “American dream.” A house occupied by a man and woman and their three kids; the man is the breadwinner, and the woman is the stay-at-home wife. The husband would leave the house to go to work while the wife happily stay at home to cook, clean, and care for the kids. This was the imagine that were painted for consumers after World War II. This was how success was defined. However, at the other end of rainbow was not a pot of gold. Women were angry and frustrated from being confined in their homes all day. Furthermore, African Americans were excluded from this “picture perfect” dream when the government created “red lining” and made it impossible for people of color to get a house loan. The impact of suburban growth
to fund public programs or make general improvements throughout the community. Urban sprawl is expensive not only on people’s wallets, but is taxing on their health, the environment, their relationships. The.. After examining all of the problems associated with urban sprawl it is hard not to question how America lost the genuine communities of old and adopted the new community of
Beginning in the 1960s, middle and upper class populations began moving out of the suburbs and back into urban areas. At first, this revitalization of urban areas was 'treated as a 'back to the city' movement of suburbanites, but recent research has shown it to be a much more complicated phenomenon' (Schwirian 96). This phenomenon was coined 'gentrification' by researcher Ruth Glass in 1964 to describe the residential movement of middle-class people into low-income areas of London (Zukin 131). More specifically, gentrification is the renovation of previously poor urban dwellings, typically into condominiums, aimed at upper and middle class professionals. Since the 1960s, gentrification has appeared in large cities such as Washington D.C., San Francisco, and New York. This trend among typically young, white, upper-middle class working professionals back into the city has caused much controversy (Schwirian 96). The arguments for and against gentrification will be examined in this paper.
...gle of totality (anything that is not New Urbanist is “bad”), the premise of New Urbanism being postmodern is confusing. “The location of New Urbanism both inside and outside postmodernism is as much a suggestion of the tensions within the definitions of postmodernism developed among architectural critics and cultural critics as it is a reflection of the movement” (Rees; 100). The Christof character expresses, “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” Unfortunately, it is the escalating degree to which existing with each other seems to be regulated—and worse, regulated from within—that causes concern that the domino effect of withdrawal from larger society will occur. That may be Utopia for some; it is completely synthetic for most. The New Urbanist design and codification is unlikely to be sufficient to allow a community to evolve.
Teju Cole’s debut novel, Open City, depicts Julius’s peripatetic journeys in New York City, as well as abroad, whilst reflecting their connotations to his past. Cole utilizes his main character’s driving narration to explore urbanization and urbanism (2011). To distinguish, urbanization refers to the growth in population within city areas, and the way in which societies adapt from rural to urban areas, opposed to urbanism which defines the features of social interactions within these areas (Pugh, 1966).
Residential, commercial and industrial development is the largest contributors to landscape change in the state of New Jersey. When buildout occurs in one region, development pressure begins in another, virtually insuring the Megalopolis concept of one huge urban corridor stretching between Boston and Washington D.C. Year after year, farmland dwindles, roads become congested, and more residents are left to compete for diminishing natural resources. Desperate measures and newer technologies are incorporated to replace poor planning and lack of vision on behalf of decision-makers caught between competing interests. When the long term health and wellbeing of the established population and the short term gain of a limited number of people compete for vital natural resources there should be no question who's interests should prevail.
Again, this section will give a working definition of the “urban question’. To fully compare the political economy and ecological perspectives a description of the “urban question” allows the reader to better understand the divergent schools of thought. For Social Science scholars, from a variety of disciplines, the “urban question” asks how space and the urban or city are related (The City Reader, 2009). The perspective that guides the ecological and the social spatial-dialect schools of thought asks the “urban question” in separate distinct terminology. Respected scholars from the ecological mode of thinking, like Burgess, Wirth and others view society and space from the rationale that geographical scope determines society (The City Reader, 2009). The “urban question” that results from the ecological paradigm sees the relationship between the city (space) as influencing the behaviors of individuals or society in the city. On the other hand...
The next level of environmental planning would be ecological city (eco-city) planning. It is here that the balance between environment and human systems is more heavily weighted on the environment. Eco-city planning encompasses developing a city in which there is zero emissions or pollution, near zero solid waste, use of local materials, minimizing life cycles, minimizing virtual values of non-renewable resources, and providing good public health and amenities. (Novotny, Ahern, & Brown, 2010). The principle of an eco-city is to live in harmony with nature while enhancing the quality of life through decentralization and diversity (Roseland, 1997). Eco-city planning aims for perfection in which preserving, enhancing, increasing natural features and environment, and minimizing development impacts on the natural environment are the goals. As utopian as this may seem, the shift towards eco-city planning is a far outcry from reality. This report will argue that narrowi...
During the 1920s, sociologists Robert E. Park and Ernest Watson Burgress developed a theory that proposed that cities are similar to environments found in nature, regulated by fundamental assumptions similar to those that govern the natural world. Specifically, this theory holds the notion that the overall structure of cities is based on the struggle for limited land use. Over time, urban ecology has evolved to include a wider spectrum where it now generally refers to a subsection of ecology that studies the interactions among human beings, plants, and animals within an urban and metropolitan area, as well as the effects that urbanization have on natural ecosystems and biodiversity within the areas.
Urbanization is the process of life for many and the desired way of life for many others. Human beings both inhabit urban and rural areas today all over the world. Many people may be disappointed with the development of an increasing number of urban areas. Many peoples once rural areas are now swallowed up directly as cities sprawl outward. The effects of urbanization both positive and negative get examined in the following paragraphs. In addition, who is most effected by urbanization and who plays a role in preventing and/or properly planning development will also be revealed. Anthropology wears many hats in the world today. Human society gets impacted directly by the decisions made by countries or government agencies with the assistance of anthropologist. Let’s begin to examine where we are and where we are going with urbanization.
I hereby tender my resignation as Assistant Professor at CSU, Stanislaus effective immediately. Regrettably, this resignation is due to the discriminatory and hostile work environment I have experienced, since joining the faculty on 8/19/2016, at the hands of students and faculty members who undermined me as a professor by pushing students to write letters of complaint, and by themselves writing letters of complaint and raising concerns with Department and campus leadership, which have racially mischaracterized me as a professor and colleague. As a result, I have felt unsupported and unsafe participating in department activities and teaching courses has induced a great deal of anxiety, headaches, heart palpitations, tension, jitteriness, and sleepless nights based on unsubstantiated student grievances; you might note that this is reflected in my Fall 2017 IDEA student evaluations.
An emerging issue is that of urban sprawl. While some aspects of urban sprawl has been seen since ancient times, this phenomenon has started gaining the most momentum in the past century, aided by the advancement of technology, especially with the rise of mass produced automobiles, houses and highway systems. Many people unknowingly contribute to this environmental problem, as is the nature of it. Urban sprawl deals with the growth of the suburbs, the area between the urban and rural areas of a city. Most of America’s largest cities and states, in terms of population, are prime examples of urban sprawl. Opponents of urban sprawl usually cite the government as a major cause of sprawl. The government may be a major catalyst of sprawl in the present day, but history of sprawl dates back to mainly an economic and social root rather than political. Ironically, urban sprawl is also known as rural sprawl; the terms just refer to the spreading of urban population and area into rural areas (Cornell University). With the encroachment of human development comes the destruction of wilderness areas, something that is commonly known to contribute to a wide variety of environmental problems. Automobiles are also a major part of sprawl, contributing to the depleting supply of global oil and the addition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Noticing these negative effects, some communities around the country and the world are taking measures to reduce their city’s sprawl, ultimately saving the environment.
It is based on the assumption that, achieving sustainable development lies in achieving a balance between socio-economic development and environmental development (Rydin, 2010). For urban greening to meet the objectives of sustainable development, municipal authorities or local government should craft policies and strategies that should be implemented so as to safeguard the future of green spaces, develop more of them, improve the quality of urban services like air, transport, water and make urban areas more attractive to investors while enhancing the wellbeing of local people (Troy et al., 2007). Flexible planning considers social, physical and population characteristics of a given area (Byrne et al., 2010), in other words, green spaces should be provided to meet social and ecological needs of a city. This is one of the biggest challenges facing many countries like South Africa, where the recently experienced political transformation has brought capital and economic interests onto the forefront of development priorities (Mentis 2010). Through better spatial planning, cities can minimise the resulting urban land use footprints and enable ecological conservation and improvements to be part of the foundation of city development (Henderson, 2013). Sustainable development therefore requires more support from many functions of urban greenness like heat absorption, purification of air and aesthetic value in promoting urban living standards without degrading urban ecology. Also, improvement of green spaces in urban areas requires the contribution of all environmental players to help in educating and raising the awareness of the public on the role of sustainable development in improving quality of life and availability of resources in future. People living in urban areas need to acknowledge and uphold that opportunities brought by urban