Earth’s population is increasing, and areas which are already home to millions are continuing to expand. As these cities continue to grow, when the population reaches a certain point it is referred to as a megacity, a megacity is a metropolitan area with a total population of 10 million plus. These megacities are so large that they are becoming out of control settlements, cities like Los Angeles and Tokyo are being forced to expand upwards due to having to accommodate for the thriving population. These cities are also faced with the issue of not having enough resources such as food and water to support the demand required. With megacities rampant growth with it bring a decline in the quality of life, to prevent this from getting worse laws …show more content…
By doing this not only is it costly, but they must ensure that the water is shared with other smaller neighboring cities and rural areas.
Just like Los Angeles, Tokyo, Japan is another example of how megacities are out of control settlements. Tokyo is located in the southern Kanto region, positioned in approximately the centre of the Japanese archipelago (islands that formed the country of Japan) (see appendix three). Toyko’s population in the metropolis as of 2012 was approximately 37.2 million people (Allianz, 2014). With such a high population in such a dense urban area these megacities are being forced to expand upwards in order to accommodate for the citizens (see appendix Three). However by doing this many risks are associated, for example, Tokyo sits on fault lines that make up a part of the Ring of Fire, meaning that there are high chances of natural disasters to occur at any time (The telegraph, 2011). Megan Linkin, a natural disaster expert from Swiss re states:
This quotation is stating that due to Tokyo’s geographical placement that a natural disaster like earthquakes, tsunami’s or volcanic activty could occur at any given moment. So when a natural disaster does occur it is likely to result in a high number of collapsing buildings and other infrastructure which were designed for large numbers of residents. This will result in a large number of casualties’ and because of the
With this in mind, this is essentially a two-part problem; one, who is responsible for regulating who gets the water, and two, what is to be done about the increasing populations combined with the
Rapid urbanisation has caused a variety of problems, including transport congestion, lack of sufficient homes and living conditions, sanitary and health care issues, and crime. For all these problems, city planners have attempted potential solutions, each with varying degrees of success. Cities including London, Manila and Mumbai have several of the aforementioned problems, and have each tried their own potential solutions. This essay will discuss how successful these schemes have been in resolving these issues.
The farmers need water for their crops and I don’t think that they want to grow less crops, also the people that don’t get a lot of water or anyone that does should get the water.
Throughout the last few hundred years, humans have built a foundation. Compared to all of the other animal species on Earth, humans are the most intelligent. We have built houses everywhere, developed a system to sustain ourselves, and now inhabit almost every piece of land on earth. Humans are smart, strong, and know how to fend for themselves. But, humans have a tendency to take it too far, and we have already done so. There have been numerous advancements over the past few hundred years which could ultimately lead to the downfall of the human race. The main issue is overpopulation due to the advancements in technology and general knowledge. The statistics from an article by Kenneth Smail show that “In the year 1900, there were almost 2 billion humans living on Earth. Throughout the 1960’s, the baby boom, there were 3 billion humans on Earth. Today in 2016, there are just over 7 billion humans living on Earth.” Currently, we have taken up just over half of all available land on this planet, and with increased amounts of people having kids, our population will only increase. Overpopulation is becoming a serious problem all around the world, especially in countries such as China and India. There are many global problems associated with overpopulation that are becoming more and more prevalent, which will all have dangerous effects on the foundation that humans have
In other words, “Ordinarily, people think that wealth is increased and life is far more attractive and thrilling; for if this were not so, who would be drawn into New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia…”(Mumford). The development of skyscrapers was only introduced for cities to boast about the amount of money they have, so then people would be captivated by a city's image and heighten their reputation. A consequence of this action is the establishment of multiple skyscrapers creates a safety hazard for the public. Namely, if there was ever an earthquake that was strong enough to cause the skyscrapers to break apart, people’s lives would be in danger as the people would be trapped inside or the debris would be crashing down upon the streets (Twenties in Contemporary Commentary, The). Public services such as policemen or firefighters were not equipped or prepared to handle these types of situations, if one was ever to occur. Skyscrapers were not only a waste of money, but a result of this impractical building could harm the lives of citizens living in
With the advent of globalization and industrialization, urban migration and expansion of cities have become a global trend. South American nations are amongst being most rapid urbanized countries. As more people migrate to urban areas in search of better work opportunities, the cities here are growing in size and number (Ferguson & Navarrete, 2003). This problem is native to not just Latin American countries but is a major concern for most of the developing world. As estimated by the UN (United Nations, 2016), 3 billion people or about 40% of the world population would be living in substandard housing as a result of urban expansions and population growth. This is perceived to be a direct impact of rapid urbanization and excessive strain on
However, in most cases, the people living there do not even know the risks. Humans should have learned from the 1906 quake that the San Andreas fault line is too dangerous to live on. The 1906 earthquake should have been a mistake that was learned from. The knowledge gained from the past will be useless if it is unused. People can do all they want to “earthquake proof” the cities, but in the end, when the next big one strikes, lives and money will still be lost. Knowing all the risks there are to living on the San Andreas fault line, it is very clear that it is not a safe place for people to
Development: As the population grows there is need for urban development which could be intrusive on the
It is such an elating feeling to have witnessed cities came back from the ashes of natural calamities that once shook its grounds. We all have seen terrible things happening everyday such as massive earthquakes, destruction brought about by unexpected tsunami and a fearsome landfall of a humongous storm from the Pacific, and yet, it is just heartwarming to have noticed cities after cities getting back on track after the calamity. You might have heard of the city called Ancud, based in Chile, before on your Latin American class, but despite the old notion of the city as an affluent one, it have dramatically been changed with a more adept tagging. After the 1960 earthquake that crumbled the elite city of Ancud, locals have been resilient with rebuilding their
A megacity is a relatively new term that stands to be defined. A megacity is more elaborate than an average city in my areas of interest. It exceeds the characteristics of an average city in population, infrastructure, culture, and poverty. Although megacities may look rather attractive to an individual that resides in a rural area, megacities come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. They may seem like modern day utopias yet they also have their flaws. Even so, megacities have dominated this planet and we can surely predict the growth of more megacities to come.
Megacities have been becoming a reality to billions of people around the world. These are defined as cities home to more than 10 million residents and many megacities are even more than twice as large as this base population. These cities are home to a few very wealthy individuals with a much larger group of poor or underpaid citizens creating slums in and around these cities. For these few elites, it is not a question as to why they chose to live in a place like this. They are drawn to these cities because, large cities are home to more culture, more efficient transportation, luxury, and they are typically the centers of a country's economy. However, if you are not one of these people, there are still reasons as to why living in a city with such a large population would be beneficial for you. Megacities, more so than the country or small cities, have more efficient and cheaper
A large amount of the city was destroyed despite the earthquake-proof designs of buildings and infrastructure. Short-cuts in the building process have been seen especially in the hanshin expressway, where the vertical reinforcement of the piers holding up the road did not reach the top of the piers, which is where they snapped and the expressway fell over. to stop this from happening again, builders have to make sure that the vertical reinforcements reach the top of the piers. another way of preventing damage is to place rubber blocks under structures such as bridges to minimise the shock of the earthquake. another cause the of damage from the earthquake was tall buildings collapsing on each other like dominoes. this can be prevented by building tall buildings further apart to stop the domino-effect. many residential houses in kobe were traditional-style houses with heavy roofs and and fragile wooden walls and supports. lots of the people who died in the earthquake were crushed by their heavy roofs falling on them. to prevent houses collapsing, houses need to be built with sturdier walls with lighter roofs. people who weren’t crushed by houses were burnt by the fire that was fueled by the wooden houses. to prevent the effects of the fire, houses need to be built out of non-flammable materials and be built further-apart to stop the spread of the
Los Angeles is built on the vast and flat landscape; it was their opportunity to grow fast as a metropolitan. With this environment, the constant influx of population was enough to generate a significant community even outside of downtown. The urban sprawl started on its endless horizontal ground. However, soon they confronted the limit of the carrying capacity. L.A couldn’t handle its urban sprawl; it needed a solution to keep growing. Los Angeles couldn’t deal with the increasing housing demand and lacking of public space. Compared to other metropolitan, such as New York, Los Angeles showed the dramatic comparison in population density. “The urbanized area of Los Angeles was the densest in the country in 1990, more so than even New York City. The 2000 figure for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana Urbanized area is 7,068 people per square mile, compared to 5,309 for the New York, New jersey-Connecticut urbanized area.”(Grey 90) In detail, 90 districts of L.A have more than 10,000 people per square mile. Especially Koreatown has the biggest number which is “42,000 square per mile” (LA times Sewell 2016). After decades, when it confronted its housing problem due to unaffordability, people finally realized there is no suburban area for them to move or build new housings in Los Angeles. They reached their limit of growing. “Unnerving lesson in man’s infinite capacity to mess up his environment.”(Grey 238) The population kept larger, the price of housing also increased. “Los
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
“The scale of the disaster may lead one to conclude that casualty and damage effects should have been significantly higher. However, over the last two decades, Japan made significant investments in nationwide disaster risk mitigation infrastructure. The country currently invests approximately 1.2% of its government’s budget on disaster mitigation — a rate far above that of other industrialized countries. These investments include a ductile, earthquake-resistant design for new structures and retrofitting older construction, not just in Tokyo but across the nation. This investment resulted in the majority of buildings withstanding the original 9.0-magnitude quake and its sustained aftershocks.” (Tomodachi Analysis)