To What Extent Can the Problems of Urbanization Be Met by a Policy of Sustainable Development

Introduction:

As time goes on, our society is developing. Inevitably, it has some advantages and shortcomings, including urbanization, that is towns and cities grow rapidly as people move from the countryside (Bilham-Boult, 1999). As is known to us all, urbanization causes a large quantity of problems. To solve these problems, governments have come up with a policy of sustainable development, which means development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland, 1987). From my perspective, sustainable development can largely solve the problems of urbanization, including easing traffic problems, reducing pollution and relieving housing pressure.

Easing traffic problems

With the social progress and economic development, more and more people have their own cars. Inevitably, traffic congestion become an important problem of urbanization.

In the late 19th century, railway companies made settlements around L.A. widely dispersed and this made the private car appealing. In 1925, the idea of underground railway was proposed, but county's voters rejected the idea. And the most serious problem is the growth rate of the amount of vehicles is faster than the population (Thisdell, 1993). This example shows Americans’ high reliance on their private cars, and it is so difficult to solve the traffic problem because the government has no efficient policy. If the governments pay more attention to the traffic infrastructure or change the city landscape may have certain help. Here is another example. Australian and Canadian cities' average increase in car use reduced from 1960s to 1980s. The reduced growth maybe due to 4 reasons: reurbanization of older suburbs; development of nodal subcentres in outer suburbs; better urban environments; less dispersion and development of highly car dependent