CHAPTER ONE
1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Over the years, there has been a very high movement from rural to urban areas and this has made it difficult to improve as well as sustain development in rural areas. The arrival of civilization brought about urbanization. Civilization is the height of man’s inventions as a means of raising his standard of living. Man believes in high-living and indeed obtains much pleasure in the company of other fellow men. People agglomerate in cities to be able to communicate person to person, person to firm person to government. Urban areas constitute the development potential of the state, the rural areas have been neglected in terms of development opportunities. With the declining attitudes that existed in the rural areas the rural dwellers are attracted to the urban areas to benefits from better paying jobs, qualitative supply of basic amenities, highs level of commercial, recreational and industrial activities.
Rapid urban population growth and physical expansion are very serious physical planning problem such as poor physical layout places like Ajegunle and Makoko in Lagos. Also, these include in the list; mass transit problem inadequate supply of housing, water and other basic social services. Embarking on rural development and sustainability is very important, considering the fact that more than two-third of the Nigeria’s population is living in rural areas, and they experience a lot of misery, poverty, morbidity
The rising urban-rural income inequality made a deeper and deeper gap between urban areas and rural areas. In China, with the rapid development of urban
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
The type of urban problems that require careful planning and management are largely decided by the economic wealth of a countryside. LEDC countries have problems with rapid urbanisation into the cities. However, on the other hand the problems that MEDC countries face include; suburbanisation, counter urbanisation.
Urban development is the social, cultural, economic and physical development of cities. The development of cities is the main topic of human geography. Urban development can be used in different ways by the researchers. It can cause the price of things to increase fast. Urban development occurs in major cities like New York City, Tokyo, Japan. Urban development started back in the earlier cities like Mesopotamia, Egypt. This spreads the culture that affect people which makes them want to go to the major cities. Over fifty percent of the earth’s population lives in urban areas. Studies show by 2045 that the number of people living in a urban area will increase.
Since there is limited intervention possible for these densely and ill-structured suburbs of Accra like Jamestown, Chorkor and Bukom, it is very important that for the now developing areas, measures will be taken to forestall such inconveniences to the society in the future. With the goal of a middle income status in mind, the government can undertake the building of a model town like Abuja in Nigeria where the overall structure will be supervised and developed by the town and country planning authority. The other alternative is for the government to direct the owners of lands- especially stool lands, to make provisions for structures like schools, clinics, community centres, etc.
In other words, it is urbanization that means the physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural immigration. The reason for this movement is that rural areas have the highest rate of unemployment due to the limited opportunities for employment in their communities. Some of them located geographically in remote locations. While in urban areas have more opportunities of development for the population because they concentrate modernization and industrialization. Urbanization has an economic effect such as the rise of prices in the real states. Also, the environmental effect due to the concentration of more people in an area. Another trend is the diversity; cities are attractive for people from different
There is a diverse culture in rural areas that range from social activities such as farming and high school sports, among other traditional activities such as drinking. Sometimes, the society of a rural community can easily force someone to be conformed to a given lifestyle that they may not enjoy, or even do well with. Small towns, when compared to bigger cities are generally not as busy. The infrastructures in the rural areas are also not as complex as the urban ones. The level of technology is usually not as advanced as well. For these reasons, people living in smaller towns normally occupy out ordinary careers to earn a living. There are also particular interaction activities, which bring people from various places together. Making decisions in small towns is more collective than bigger towns because the individuals in small towns are typically idle and almost always ready to participate in certain acts. This paper highlights some of the cultural behaviors that are inherent in small towns.
Governments and scholars assess many different factors when assigning rural status, such as population density, total population, distance from an urban center, or economic dependence on farming (Hart, Larson, and Lishner 2005)
In education, the experience of being in middle school can be difficult for many students. Similar to most years, students receive new teachers and the have a curriculum that is different. The middle school years are more than just learning. The students also are starting to go through puberty and are learning about their own individuals. For most students, they do not understand the changes they are going through both physically and mentally. In This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, one can see research that shows how this is a crucial time for middle schools, and how teachers can effectively guide their students through this time.
First, city life and countryside life are different from population. In big cities there are many people who live there, because job opportunities are abundant and the opportunity of better education. In fact, people live in urban areas because they want to have good jobs to get more money, and one of the best ways to achieve that is education. Nowadays, there are a lot of good universities and college that are totally located in
Urban society is highly structured society. People are aware in urban society. Rules and responsibilities are defined. Urban society is a fast pace of life. People know their rights, needs and their problems. It is a developed society. People are social. They do not have time to sit together and have a chit chat with each other. People even do not have time for their families. All members of the family live in separate rooms and they do not have time for each other.
Urban areas are the human settlement with high population and well-established infrastructure. People who live in urban areas are mostly involved in commerce and trading activities. However, urban areas are not confined to cities only, but also includes the suburbs areas. On the other side, rural areas are region situated on the outskirts. There are open space and natural vegetation. Residents practice agriculture and animal husbandry and use it as a source of income. Many people and families raise questions on the benefits that one acquires by choosing to live in either urban or rural settlement (Lucas 31). Quality of life is essential when comparing both urban and rural life. Even though both locations are best to live, it is crucial to evaluate the similarity and differences between two places. Various factors such as the diversity, employment opportunities, health, and capacity to make broad choices influence one decision while comparing urban and rural life. Even though life in both urban and rural areas offers great benefits, there are some drawbacks in both lives.
Many parents ask themselves a question whether there is a difference in raising their children in urban or rural areas. And therefore, what are the advantages and disadvantages of rural and urban environment. The life quality is one of the major factors to consider while comparing rural and urban living. That is why the main task to be made when talking about advantages and disadvantages of urban versus rural life is evaluating such important factors as health and employment possibilities, presents and quality of educational institutions, coast of living, diversity, choice issues, etc. Although, rural environment offer a wide range of benefits, the urban environment has much more to offer children and their caregivers.
Nigeria’s population is about 173.6 million people, this is on a survey carried out by the World Bank (World Bank data bank 2013). The average population density according to (UNDP, 2012 Revision) is approximately 173 persons per square kilometre, making Nigeria one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Though Lagos the former capital is the smallest state in Nigeria in terms of land mass with an area of 356,861 hectares but currently, it possesses the highest population which is over 17.5million as at 2006 census, (this is from parallel count conducted by the state during the national population census). With a projected growth rate of about 3.2%, the population of Lagos could be said to be over 21 million. (Population- Lagos State Government, 2014)
Although living in the city has many advantages there are some disadvantages too, the cost of the living is very high in the city, the city is always noisy, no fresh air and pure water. So it is hard to lead a healthy life. On other hand the village the undeveloped area for example, we cannot easily get many facilities the insufficient medical and education facilities, few opportunities to make money, little entertainment, no or little public transportation, also less facilities than a big city offers.