Global Urbanization Of China And The 21st Century

Urbanization is a concept that is deeply rooted in the increase in a population within a region in response to the availability of unique opportunities. The opportunities may include the availability of employment chances in factories, investments opportunities in the urban areas, and the presence of sufficient housing and social infrastructure. It is apparent that urbanization began centuries ago in different regions of the world. However, the development of suburban areas has also been an interesting phenomenon over the centuries. Initially, people strived to live in the luxurious houses in major towns and cities. Nevertheless, there was a gradual shift in the desire to live in the cities when various negative impacts of overpopulation

Hydrology involves the study of the properties, distribution and movement of water within the earth’s atmosphere and at the Earth’s surface. The purpose of the investigation is to carry out a cross section of the urban stream at Macquarie University and uncover any potential strategies to minimise the impacts of urbanisation on steam flow. Urbanisation extensively alters groundwater systems drastically. This can result in hydrological, water quality, geotechnical or social-economic effects, which can jeopardize sustainability. Other impacts that urbanisation has on steam flow also includes: reduced well and river yields, increased chances of floods, reduced quality of groundwater, salinization, poor quality baseflow, the movement of polluted urban groundwater into surrounding rural areas and the ground becomes increasingly unstable. Urbanisation has numerous impacts on groundwater flow. Numerous pollutant sources in urban areas often give rise to plumes, which then move through the aquifer in paths often complicated by the time-variant nature of local abstractions. In residential areas chemical pollutants may be associated with minor spills and in part with sewage pollution. In extreme scenarios wastes could transform the aquifer redox systems, which would be a major cause of pollution. Potential sources of microbiological pollution include human waste systems, animal wastes and waste water injection. There are numerous engineering impacts of urbanization on steam flow. Any

Sliva and Dudley Williams gathered information that with increased urban land use, there were increased chemical fluxes, and their data they gathered from increased agricultural land use disagreed with the results of other similar studies. They determined major trends in water quality and where pollution could potentially be derived from (Sliva & Dudley-Williams, 2001).

In 2007, for the first time in human history, more people lived in urban areas than rural. Today slightly more than half of the world’s population resides in cities, and by 2050 that proportion is expected to rise to two out of every three people (Human Population: Urbanization). This is momentous development to say the least; especially when you consider that human population density was less than one person per square mile for the first 100,000 years we existed on Earth (Dechant, 1). This huge jump in population density was facilitated by the development of planned settlements that could house and provide for large numbers of people, otherwise known as cities.

As a species that continues to evolve and expand on this planet, humans have made many lasting impacts to their home. Some of these changes often go generally unnoticed, such as the shift in popular music, or fashion trends. Even transitions from job to job, or relocating to a new city seem to weigh lightly on the general public. However, unbeknownst to us, we as a species have a far greater impact on this planet than we would like to admit. Throughout our day-to-day lives we tend to unknowingly impact and mold or future. It can be something as simple as forgetting to recycle that jug of milk, or neglecting to clean up a spill after a self-done oil change. Even the foods we eat and the way we manufacture them have a lasting effect on the planet. Perhaps one of the more noticeable ways we as a society affect the Earth though is how we build upon it. With much of the global population centralized in urban areas, and there continued growth. It is interesting to observe the way in which this urbanized land reacts to human interference. One of the more interesting aspects of urbanization is the use and management of water. With the continued expansion of cities, and the modification of the land in which these concrete jungles cover, changes to land are inevitable. In his book “Urban Storm Water Management,” Hormoz Pazwash briefly summarizes some of the impacts urbanization has to land, and water quality stating. “Urban development alters the natural process of storm water runoff.

The level and growth of urbanization differ considerably by region. Among different countries, Latin American countries have the highest portion of the people that live in the country living in urban areas. But the south and the east of Asia are the most likely to have the most urbanized area over the next 30 years. Almost all of future world population growth will be in towns and cities. Urbanization is a powerful force of human nature because as they move, the climate shifts with them. The more humans in one area make more pollution in that one area because of all the Homo sapiens living there. “In 1800 only about 2 percent of the world's population lived in urban areas. Until a century ago, urban areas were some of the unhealthiest places for people to live. The increased density of populations in urban areas led to the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Consequently, death rates in urban areas historically were higher than in rural areas. The only way urban areas maintained their existence until recently was by the continual in-migration of rural people.”(prb.org,

Urban stormwater runoff, considered as one of the most significant diffuse pollution sources in urban areas, can cause water quality degradation leading to environmental, ecological and health risks to humans and. Many pollutants, such as nutrients, oils, microbes, metals, solids, and organic contaminants, are transported through runoff from urban places to receiving water. These pollutants can be present in many different forms (e.g. dissolved and particulate-bound forms), and differ in origin not only based on the pollutant type but also according to land use type.

Since China is known as the world factory people move out of rural areas and began living in urban environment because for more job opportunities. In Shenzhen there’s about 30-45% factory vacancy because of the cheaper areas in the countryside (Zou, Mingxi). In 2013 Southern China produced about 30% products for the world and their top exports are electronic equipment which accounted up for about 16% (University of Hong Kong).Now that the pollution of urban areas in China is rapidly growing it is hard to maintain sustainability for everyone since everything is polluted specially air and water. Since China’s population is four times longer than United states, it is harder to maintain an environment clean and to provide everyone with clean water. One way that we can

Urbanisation is the process which has led to an increasing proportion of a country's population living within urban areas. It is impossible to say exactly when the process began, but in Britain it was around the time of the industrial revolution. Many people moved from rural to urban areas in search of regular employment. The MEDC's around the world are all urbanised now, with annual growth rates of urbanisation still increasing, but sustainably. LEDC's however are still rapidly urbanising. In this essay I am going to look at all the factors that cause urbanisation and evaluate why it is occurring.

As a result, it is estimated that three-quarters of the rivers running through Chinese cities are so polluted that they cannot be used for drinking or fishing. Even the infamous Yellow River is suffering from man-made environmental problems. Once the country's second biggest source of fresh water, the river is now so polluted that almost 70% is hazardous to drink; moreover, because the river has been the target for over-exploitation for many years, the water tends to dry up before it reaches the sea for almost a third of the year.

The National Geographic Education define an urban environment as, ‘the region surrounding a city. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is a density of human structures such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways.(1)’ The International Institute for Sustainable Development define sustainable development as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (2)’ In 2014, approximately 54%(3) of the total global population live in urban environments. The global urban population has grown significantly from 34% in 1960(3)

Water pollution happens when excessive contamination in water body which is far beyond the ability for the natural ecosystem to accommodate the contaminant. (Hu & Cheng,2013) In 2006, nearly half of major cities in China did not satisfied drinking water standard (OECD 2007). Water quality has been dropped dramatically in China over the last few decades due to significant growth of pollutants discharge to natural water bodies and increased abstraction of freshwater from the environment.(Hu & Cheng,2013)The most three dominant reasons for water pollution are industrial wastewater, agricultural activities and urban runoff.(Huang et al.2010)Water pollution has become a very serious environmental issue in China. In this article, it will firstly demonstrate how the industrial, municipal and agricultural impact water quality and society in China. Secondly, the Chinese government’s reaction on water pollution treatment and possible challenges when implementing the water protection policies in China. Lastly, suggesting further solutions for water treatment in China.

As populations increase worldwide, the shift from rural communities into city centers has presented a new set of problems to the environment. Originally, I hypothesized that bituminous asphalt was the main contributor to the pollution of urban water, but I realised that asphalt isn’t what’s leaching hydrocarbons. So my initial research questions are: What is leaching hydrocarbons if it’s not bituminous asphalt? In addition, what other elements contribute to watershed degradation and pollution? Are there any solutions to urbanization’s problems?

Environmental change is a global phenomenon and it impacts human and natural systems substantially. Precisely predicting interactions as a result of such change is a very difficult science as many elements are often involved. Complex environmental problems such as biodiversity loss, resource degradation, and fresh water availability have been at the center of many debates. In particular, global warming has been the predominant topic in political, social, and scientific communities. What needs further assessment is the relationship between global warming and that of urban cities around the world. Cities are more so than ever becoming the intersection for nature and humans. Cities are major factors in the global warming debate as there strains their local environments can have a global impact. The rapid transition of rural to urban developments and the increasing move of human populations from rural to urban centers around the world show that there is a need to examine in-depth the relationship between urbanization and global warming, and how such a relationship can be made more sustainable. Truly assessing such a complicated problem requires an interdisciplinary approach on the social and ecological systems of human development. The importance of such an analysis is crucial as there is a small window for responding and adapting to global warming. Emissions by urban cities give cause to further examine temperature increases, extreme climate changing events, and the impacts of

70 % of our Earth surface is covered by water and almost 60% of the human body contain water for nutrient transportation. The unique characteristic of water is water molecule is the only substance in this Earth that exist in all three physical states of matter which are solid, liquid and gas. All human beings need water to survive. The national development over the years cause the rate of water pollution increased. According to Gebre & Rooijen (2009) water pollution can be considered as a sign that derives from economic growth and is a common phenomenon in urbanized cities in developing countries. In general, there are three main issues that related to water pollution which are the causes, effects and the way to decrease this problem.