Problem
Increasing proportion of land surface devoted to urbanization
Other Names:
Loss of agricultural land to urbanizationCompetition between industry and agriculture for land
Loss of land to industrialization
Nature:
The migration to cities and the high birth rates there are creating urban sprawls and suburbanization which annually consume tens of millions of hectares of open spaces. Vast conurbations with populations of multi-millions are created and continue to increase in size.
Incidence:
In the USA, for example, 25% of the population lives on 1.8% of the country's total land surface, creating, on the eastern seaboard, a megalopolis extending from Massachusetts to Maryland. Each year, over half a million hectares (equal to the state of Delaware) are built on or surfaced with (asphalt or concrete). In Europe 60 to 80% of the population lives in dense conurbations which increasingly take land from the surrounding area. This is true around Paris, in southeast England, in the built-up areas of the Ruhr, and in the Netherlands Randstadt, for example. In England and Wales, it is calculated that 80% of the 3 million new homes required by the year 2000 will urbanize an additional 11 or 12% of the land.
Broader Problems:
Land misuseExcessive land usageUncontrolled urban development Narrower Problems:
Adverse effects of urbanization on climate Related Problems:
Excessive land usage by transport systemsEnvironmental degradation due to creation of dams Aggravates:
Land degradationLimited available landDestruction of agricultural landEndangered public reservesDisappearance of common landDerelict industrial wastelandsUnbridled competition for landDeclining agricultural land Strategies:
Ensuring comprehensive system of protected areasManaging wetlandsIncreasing amount of cultivable land Subject(s):
Agriculture, Fisheries → AgricultureAmenities → Urban
Geography → Land type/use
Industry → Industry
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST