118 Ecology and Applied Environmental Science
in the 1930s that we talk about a city, when man prevails over nature
and succeeds in freeing himself from it. But this “freeing” of man from
nature does not have only favourable consequences. In large cities, along
with environ mental degradation, certain characteristic physical, mental or
intellectual disorders such as alienation and anxiety have been observed,
which may be linked to the strongly artificial environment, alienated from
nature. Furthermore, the haphazard way many cities and settlements
are built often seriously damages the natural environment surrounding
them. One can encounter characteristic examples all over the industrial or
developing world. This is why one can no longer blindly accept the above
argument, which is also deficient since it fails to specify what is meant
by “ prevailing” over nature or “freeing oneself” from it. In accordance
with other approaches, we talk about a sustainable city when people differentiate their environ ment from nature but at the same time succeed in
peacefully coexisting with it, protecting it from degradation or at least
preserving its qualitative features for the coming generations.
6.3 citiES in thE dEvEloPing world
In developed countries, the movement of populations from the countryside to the city has mainly been due to industrialization, together with the
mechanization of agriculture. More generally, however, the big city with its
variety of functions, even in the less industrialized countries, is a rich field
for productive and other activities of the urban population. This fact makes
the big city attractive; moreover, in many less developed countries with an
agriculture that is unable to support the rapidly increasing population, these
job opportunities are the cause of a large flow of rural dwellers to the cities.
However, employment opportunities for migrants in the urban centres of
less developed countries have generally been fewer than anticipated, more
so since inadequate education has been an obstacle to their integration and
assimilation. Thus the move towards such cities is often a move from the
poverty of the village to urban squalor. The vast shantytowns that have
mushroomed near big cities in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are examples.
Between 1950 and 1985, the number of people living in cities almost
tripled, and the demographic increase continues. These rates have no historical precedent, and the growing urban populations in the developing
countries often cannot meet their needs for clean water, hygienic conditions, schools, transport, etc. The phenomenon of shantytowns, with their
primitive conditions, overpopulation, diseases and unhealthy environment,
is spreading.
The poor in the urban centres of developing countries usually build their
dwellings on unsuitable land, such as areas prone to flooding, deserts awash
in dust, hills subject to landslides and areas affected by industrial pollution.
in the 1930s that we talk about a city, when man prevails over nature
and succeeds in freeing himself from it. But this “freeing” of man from
nature does not have only favourable consequences. In large cities, along
with environ mental degradation, certain characteristic physical, mental or
intellectual disorders such as alienation and anxiety have been observed,
which may be linked to the strongly artificial environment, alienated from
nature. Furthermore, the haphazard way many cities and settlements
are built often seriously damages the natural environment surrounding
them. One can encounter characteristic examples all over the industrial or
developing world. This is why one can no longer blindly accept the above
argument, which is also deficient since it fails to specify what is meant
by “ prevailing” over nature or “freeing oneself” from it. In accordance
with other approaches, we talk about a sustainable city when people differentiate their environ ment from nature but at the same time succeed in
peacefully coexisting with it, protecting it from degradation or at least
preserving its qualitative features for the coming generations.
6.3 citiES in thE dEvEloPing world
In developed countries, the movement of populations from the countryside to the city has mainly been due to industrialization, together with the
mechanization of agriculture. More generally, however, the big city with its
variety of functions, even in the less industrialized countries, is a rich field
for productive and other activities of the urban population. This fact makes
the big city attractive; moreover, in many less developed countries with an
agriculture that is unable to support the rapidly increasing population, these
job opportunities are the cause of a large flow of rural dwellers to the cities.
However, employment opportunities for migrants in the urban centres of
less developed countries have generally been fewer than anticipated, more
so since inadequate education has been an obstacle to their integration and
assimilation. Thus the move towards such cities is often a move from the
poverty of the village to urban squalor. The vast shantytowns that have
mushroomed near big cities in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are examples.
Between 1950 and 1985, the number of people living in cities almost
tripled, and the demographic increase continues. These rates have no historical precedent, and the growing urban populations in the developing
countries often cannot meet their needs for clean water, hygienic conditions, schools, transport, etc. The phenomenon of shantytowns, with their
primitive conditions, overpopulation, diseases and unhealthy environment,
is spreading.
The poor in the urban centres of developing countries usually build their
dwellings on unsuitable land, such as areas prone to flooding, deserts awash
in dust, hills subject to landslides and areas affected by industrial pollution.