According to Center for International Earth Science Information Network 2004, urban areas cover the 2.7% of Earth's surface. In spite of that, a large number of the world's current population lives in cities or urban areas. The population growth in urban areas greatly increases every year, thus leads to urbanization which is one of the major causes of habitat degradation.
By the year 2050, it is anticipated that about 68% of the developing world and about 80% of the developed world will be urbanized (Wikipedia). It is also expected that the current population today will be doubled when that year comes. Urbanization is a phenomenon where the number of population in an urban area increase. Primarily, it is the process of forming and enlarging
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The non-stop conversion of land for housing developments, roads and highways, malls, offices, industrial sites, and other large edifices immensely affects our environment as well as animal species, in different ways. Extreme urbanization may result in adverse effects. These effects include habitat degradation in which the natural habitat of the species is unable to support them. We do not expect the natural habitat to fully do its role if it is already ravaged and devastated. And if the natural habitat is unable to do its role, many species will be lost in this world. The urban development causes the greatest extinction rates that were recorded and eradicates most of the native species. Other species might be found in some man-made habitat, but there is always an exception. Species found in those natural habitats will be missing. The more spaces the world loses, the more organisms diminish from the …show more content…
People do not realize that urban biodiversity includes small stuff like insects, small plants in narrow sidewalks, microbes, and everything. The main problem of the people is that they become blind when it comes to urban biodiversity. We may call it biodiversity blindness. The biodiversity goes undiscovered by the majority of people. Although biodiversity affects people a lot, they do not know about the other organisms with whom they share their cities. Since adults less spend time outdoors, probably because of their work, they cannot interact with their surroundings well. Children are spending more hours in schools, but they are not taught lessons about our natural surroundings. It is a sad fact that children these days can identify a lot of corporate logos and can use different gadgets, but only know a few kinds of plants and animals. They cannot even tell what kinds of plant and animal are present inside their school or
Roughly half of the Mojave Desert remains as intact habitat, and the remaining half has not been heavily altered by human activity. The main reasons for habitat loss in the region include urbanization and suburbanization from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. There is an increasing demand for landfill space, agricultural development along the Colorado River, grazing, off road vehicles, and military activities. A falling water table also threatens the Mojave Desert. Vehicles run over, and sometimes ruin animals homes. Development is destroying the environments. People are building on top of animals homes and polluting the area. Some of the desert area is being used for landfills. Every living thing needs somewhere to live, find food, and
Goddard et al. elaborate on urban green spaces, with a particular emphasis on private gardens. The authors argue that urban green spaces promote biodiversity and also help to mitigate the negative impacts of urbanization. The text stresses that as urbanization increases, so does the importance of urban green space. According to the article, urban growth is occurring at a rapid rate and this is having detrimental impacts on biodiversity. Similar to ideas in William Cronon’s Uncommon ground: Rethinking the human place in nature, Goddard et al. discuss how living in a city might influence how an individual perceives nature. The authors state that city life might create a disconnection from the natural world. The text asserts that urban green spaces
The conquering and development of natural land has in the past, been seen as a mark of human civilization. In the United States, our progress is often measured by growth and development, but should this be re-examined? There are many opinions on the subject of urban sprawl and its effects on wildlife, but one thing is for certain, we are expanding. From 1955 to 2005, urban and suburban areas grew by 300%, however, the population only increased by 75% over the same period (Ewing, Kostyack and Chen). According to NatureServe, a non-profit conservation organization, urban sprawl threatens one of every three endangered species in the United States. NatureServe’s analysis states, “rare and endangered species data shows that three-fifths (60 percent) of the nation’s rarest and most imperiled species are found within designated metropolitan areas, with the 35 fastest growing large metropolitan areas home to nearly one-third (29 percent) of these species. (Ewing, Kostyack and Chen) Nevertheless, other groups believe urban sprawl is beneficial to wildlife. The Landscape Analysis Lab at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee argues that suburbs are doing more for the bird populations in Tennessee than the government supported tree plantations. Their data shows more diverse bird populations making suburbs their home. They find the housing developments more suitable since they are likely to have a wide variety of tree and plant species and other structures that provide diverse nesting opportunities, whereas the tree plantations usually only plant one type of tree (Miller). So, the debate continues, are humans encroaching on wildlife habitat and posing a risk to their survival, or do suburban environments with their lush lawns and...
..., power plants, roads, public transportation. This is demonstrated when all the trees were clear-cut a urban sprawl took place which is when a city expands so fast that it expands into the countryside. The built a lot of infrastructure to support the fast changing they weren't build “up to code”. This damages the land and makes it so the previous ecosystem can’t try to fix itself.
The remaining green spaces that are left are not large enough to support much wildlife, and often don’t supply the benefits that native plants offer. Non-native plants can be invasive, and generalist species can outcompete native plant species. This can create a burden on available nutrients and can cause issues in particular ecosystems to all of its inhabitants. Non-native plants sometimes require artificial fertilizers and pesticides due to the fact that they are not adapted to the environment that they have been placed into. Not only does this have a negative effect on the environment, but it also can have a negative impact on human health. The ways in which animals and plants have co-evolved with one another must be considered, when determining the impacts that non-native plant species can have in an ecosystem. For example, insects are an important food source for many animals, and are crucial for a healthy ecosystem. Different plant species have different ways of protecting themselves, many have distasteful or toxic chemicals. Insects who don’t have an evolutionary history with a plant species may not have the specific adaptations they need to be able to feed on them. This creates problems in the food web of that ecosystem. A study conducted in 2008, which focused on the
The expansion of the human-built environment into the natural one—infrastructure development—has a significant impact on biodiversity, mainly through the destruction, degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats. It has been identified as a key threat to many bird species, with residential and commercial development posing a particular concern for globally threatened
Landscape fragmentation can impose devastating and irreversible consequences on the biodiversity of ecosystems. Because of the conflicting interests between ecology and human economic benefit, it has become increasingly important to find solutions for a harmonic balance. It is imperative for people to recognize the impacts of biodiversity loss and increased extinction of many species. These impacts must be understood in order to protect landscapes and the immense biodiversity they contain. Raising environmental consciousness through education and public cooperative efforts, as well as promoting resource conservation and changing consumptive patterns, are just a few ways that we can begin to protect biodiversity.
These motives are behind the current world’s 50% urbanization rate. Among all countries, Canada heads the urbanization process with 80% of its total area (Snell par.7). The ever-increasing urbanization rate is characterized by human-related destructive activities, which lead to creation of urban centers by destroying inherent biodiversity. The rate is increasing each passing day. However, one thing to note is that destructive activities embody the causes of urban biodiversity wicked problem. The easy way of identification provides land conversion, climate change, consumerism, land fragmentation, and invasive species as the main causes of the wicked problem of urban biodiversity. These causes constitute every aspect of urban life. For instance, there is no way that people living in urban areas can do without proper infrastructures (such as houses, roads, and communication lines). All kinds of infrastructure need space, and, in creating it, there is clearance of all natural vegetation and conversion of land to other uses. The result is annihilation of nature and predisposition of climatic changes. The only easy approach to identify an appropriate solution to the wicked problem of urban biodiversity is to decrease the rate of urbanization by
First of all, overpopulation drastically affects the land. Possibly the most prominent example of the depreciating health and amount of land is the need for developments. Due to the exploding population in the United States, about 1.2 million acres of land every year is being converted to subdivisions, malls, workplaces, roads, parking lots, resorts, and many other developments (“Overpopulation,” Internet). That is a substantial amount of land being overturned to satisfy human desires. To put it in better perspective, between 1982 and 1997, the land mass lost to development is equal to the size of Maine and New Hampshire combined, which is approximately 25 million acres (“Overpopulation,” Internet). While soil is being ruptured for human preference, the number of cities has remarkably modified. In 1975, Mexico City, Tokyo, and New York City were the only cities considered as megacities (“Special,” Internet). In today’s world, that number is considerably small. Now, there are 21 megacities in the world. A megacity is when the population of that city becomes greater than 10 million people (“Special,” Internet). Therefore, the 21 megacities that are currently in the world holds more than 21...
As our world becomes increasingly globalized, numerous people travel to urban areas in search of economic prosperity. As a consequence of this cities in periphery countries expand at rates of 4 to 7 percent annually. Many cities offer entrepreneurs the potential for resources, labor, and resources. With prosperity cities also allow the freedom to of a diversity of way of life and manners (Knox & Marston, 2012). However, in the quest to be prosperous, increasing burdens are placed on our health and the condition of our environment. These burdens are amplified as the area is further urbanized; increasing demands for fossilized fuels, food, water, and property for additional urban construction. The impact of industrialization has transformed human life and produced extensive ecological deviations. In order to understand how the environmental impacts of ever expanding industrialized technology might linger to impact our health and that of our environment, offers facts that should be studied. This paper suggests that extra research be conducted to enhance perception concerning advancing modern technology disadvantageous consequences on the safety of humans and their surrounding environment.
...population distribution designed to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration appears to have had limited success in many developing countries. Policies must be directed at altering the rural economy in order to slow the rate of urban sprawl. Broad land use planning and changing of planning standards and governmental procedures would go a long way to reduce many of the problems that face urban populations in the developing areas, especially Africa. Urbanization can cause a lot of problems for a city or even a country. It can cause cities to become overpopulated which are known as mega-cites, and cause problems with living arrangements and finding a job. Urbanization can also cause health problems. Urbanization is supposed to be good for developing countries on the rise but with this rapid growth in Africa, these problems can become a major concern in the future.
Humans have been changing the environment for thousands of years. With the advent of agriculture, humans began to effect the land in more ways then before. Rapid change in the way we channeled rivers to grow crops soon began to change where cities grew around certain areas. It also allowed areas with little rain to be able to grow food, allowing for further expansion of civilizations. When the industrial revolution came to America, Americans began to see more urbanization. As things became easier to make, areas that couldn’t sustain many people then became able to have giant cities. Growth in civilizations plays a huge factor into environmental change, and when the world’s population grow the world’s urban population
Nowadays, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Urban populations consume 75% of the world 's natural resources and generate 75% of waste. Cities have become consumers of enormous amounts of natural resources and generating massive environmental
Nowadays it is common to read articles in newspapers and magazines regarding biodiversity issues. Human beings have been knowingly and unknowingly destroying biodiversity since their existence. Biodiversity is the measure of the variety of species of animals living in an area. Forests are usually areas with high biodiversity while deserts are the opposite. Human beings have always destroyed biodiversity either by deforestation, or by some other means. Biodiversity depletion is a natural phenomenon. But the present levels of biodiversity depletion are many times higher than the natural rate. Recently the levels of loss in biodiversity have started causing global concern. Some of the main causes for loss in biodiversity are alteration of habitats, increasing levels of pollution and human population growth.
Urban lifestyle and the economy has its advantages and disadvantages, employment, recreation, healthcare including educational systems compared with rural areas. Each informant had similar ideas, values, beliefs that are shared by most of the human race living in Urban environment such as increase temperature in the summer. Urban citizen and the three informants talking about the economy, poverty, educational system, healthcare, Mental health, Person in the environment, Social institutions such as welfare system, and labor market.