What are the environmental and social consequences of rapid population growth in rural areas?

World human population growth from 10,000 BC to 2019 AD. Data from: The United Nations

Human population growth impacts the Earth system in a variety of ways, including:

Increasing the extraction of resources from the environment. These resources include fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal), minerals, trees, water, and wildlife, especially in the oceans. The process of removing resources, in turn, often releases pollutants and waste that reduce air and water quality, and harm the health of humans and other species.
Increasing the burning of fossil fuels for energy to generate electricity, and to power transportation (for example, cars and planes) and industrial processes.
Increase in freshwater use for drinking, agriculture, recreation, and industrial processes. Freshwater is extracted from lakes, rivers, the ground, and man-made reservoirs.
Increasing ecological impacts on environments. Forests and other habitats are disturbed or destroyed to construct urban areas including the construction of homes, businesses, and roads to accommodate growing populations. Additionally, as populations increase, more land is used for agricultural activities to grow crops and support livestock. This, in turn, can decrease species populations, geographic ranges, biodiversity, and alter interactions among organisms.
Increasing fishing and hunting, which reduces species populations of the exploited species. Fishing and hunting can also indirectly increase numbers of species that are not fished or hunted if more resources become available for the species that remain in the ecosystem.
Increasing the transport of invasive species, either intentionally or by accident, as people travel and import and export supplies. Urbanization also creates disturbed environments where invasive species often thrive and outcompete native species. For example, many invasive plant species thrive along strips of land next to roads and highways.
The transmission of diseases. Humans living in densely populated areas can rapidly spread diseases within and among populations. Additionally, because transportation has become easier and more frequent, diseases can spread quickly to new regions.

Can you think of additional cause and effect relationships between human population growth and other parts of the Earth system?

Visit the burning of fossil fuels, agricultural activities, and urbanization pages to learn more about how processes and phenomena related to the size and distribution of human populations affect global climate and ecosystems.

Investigate

Learn more in these real-world examples, and challenge yourself to construct a model that explains the Earth system relationships.

Links to Learn More

Introduction

Urbanisation has just as much impact on social processes as it does on economic and environmental processes. Societal organisations are transformed, demographic structures, the family role, the way an individual works and the nature of that work, whom we choose to live with and and the way we choose to live are all affected by an urban environment. There is a modification of domestic roles and relations throughout the family, and a redefining of concepts of an individual and their social responsibility (Urbanisation- The Social Impacts, 2013).

Figure 1; a nuclear family common in urban environments

Negative impacts

Fertility rate

Figure 2; India's urban population and fertility rate

When there is an initial net movement of people moving from rural to urban areas, there is a rapid population growth. However, as health is better in urban areas the death rate naturally declines, and as the healthcare is more advanced families are having less children as the mortality survival rate is much higher (Pitts, 2015). Subsequently, the fertility rate drops and the rate of growth for each urban population declines, and this has consequences on the economic growth of the urban area. Another factor lowering the growth of urban areas is families become smaller because adults are having fewer children and the extended family being a characteristic of rural areas. Children are less useful in urban dwellings as they can't work, unlike in rural areas, therefore they are more expensive to house and feed. Fertility rates have dropped so low that some cities are incapable of reproducing their own population and rely on immigration to enhance growth, this is a major problem in western countries, such as Germany (CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS). Also, India is an example of how urbanisation is lowering the fertility rate, see figure 2.

Crime

There is no definitive correlation between urbanisation and violence, as not all cities are as equally violent, or it is not always true that urban areas are more violent than rural areas, however it is not doubted that some cities in particular regions seem to be more susceptible to violence in recent decades (Brender, 2015). Demographic studies reveal that certain characteristics of urban communities: a mixing of different beliefs and behaviours, increased anonymity and mobility, and individuals who very in race, age and values. All these predisposing factors breed criminality (Sanidad-Leones, 2006). Rapid increase in urban population can put an overwhelming pressure on authorities and residents to Figure 3; violent crimes per 100,000 residents in respond. The spread of urban poverty and inequality has the 100 largest U.S metropolitan areas increased with the expansion of cities populations, this increases the tension and results in greater violence within and around an urban area, see figure 3. These factors combined with failures in urban governance leads to increasing violence (Muggah, 2015).

Positive impacts

Infrastructure

As discussed on the economic impacts page, greater access due to better transport infrastructure is a major benefit for an urban population economically, but it is also beneficial for social reasons. This is due to convenience, an urban population has access to a vast array of services, for example, health, social services, food, education, and recreational services, all are readily accessible in urban areas; this access makes life much more comfortable and raises living standards compared to rural areas. Urban areas are extremely efficient, urban residents spend much less effort in retrieving basic amenities, such as food and water, because of the increase in population, institutions have been created to cater for the population, for example creating underground water pipes to transport water from rivers to the city to cater for the population. An example of this is Colorado river supporting Las Vegas's water needs, however the demand for water is causing a negative environmental impact.

Gender equality

Another positive social impact is in regards to women's paid work in developing countries. In urban areas it is much safer for women to work and it is much easier for women to get a paid job. However, in rural areas women either aren't allowed to work or are not paid for their time. Therefore, greater urbanisation leads to greater gender equality as women have their own income, own individual status, and won't be forced to rely on a man for income. This empowers women to have a greater say in the home and in wider society. Urbanisation has helped with the development of initiatives such as the Beijing Platform for Action that encourages countries all around the world to empower women and bridge the gap of gender inequality, see figure 4.

Environmental Impacts

References

Brender, N. (2015). Available at: http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Documents/Researching-the-Urban-Dilemma-Baseline-summary_e.pdf (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995 (1995). Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/ (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Muggah, R. (2015) Researching the Urban Dilemma: Urbanization, Poverty and Violence. Available at: http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Documents/Researching-the-Urban-Dilemma-Baseline-study.pdf (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Pitts, K. G. (2015) News digest of population, demographics, peak oil and other limited resources, reproductive choice, women and girl’s education, male responsibility, educational soaps, disparity of wealth, conservation of resources and ways you can help.|WOA!! World Overp. Available at: http://www.overpopulation.org/pop-sustainability.html (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Sanidad-Leones, C. (2006) THE CURRENT SITUATION OF CRIME ASSOCIATED WITH URBANIZATION: PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED AND COUNTERMEASURES INITIATED IN THE PHILIPPINES. Available at: http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No68/No68_13VE_Leones1.pdf (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Urbanization - The Social Impacts Of Urbanization (2013). Available at: http://family.jrank.org/pages/1732/Urbanization-Social-Impacts-Urbanization.html (Accessed: 27 March 2015).

Images

Caracus slum (2014) [ONLINE]. Available at:https://whointhetriangle.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/caracas-slum1_0.jpg?w=599&h=449 [Accessed 26 March 15].

India's urban population and fertility rate, 2013 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://geocurrents.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/India-Fertility-TV-Ownership-Map.png [Accessed 26 March 15].

Oshiwara river, (2006) [ONLINE]. Available at:http://cdn1.images.touristlink.com/data/cache/OS/HI/WA/RA/RI/VE/oshiwara-river-in-jan-2006_400_300.jpg [Accessed 26 March 15].

violent crimes per 100,000 residents in the 100 largest U.S metropolitan areas, 2012 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://tcftakingnote.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ffb96988833015435b5f8f8970c-800wi[Accessed 26 March 15].

Urban family, 2013 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.angelablakephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/110411_birmingham-alabama-family-photographer01(pp_w750_h499).jpg[Accessed 26 March 15].