pollution due to urbanization essay

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Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Below, you will find an essay on pollution due to urbanisation (long) and also a short essay on pollution due to urbanisation. While urbanisation has its positives, it is imperative to look at every object according to its pros and cons. Here are two essays on pollution due to urbanisation of 400-500 words and 100-200 words, respectively. We will discuss the importance of urbanisation for countries, and how urbanisation is polluting the world.

Long Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Urbanisation is a great concept which is required to develop any country. It refers to the concept of urbanising remote areas by building infrastructure which then brings about development. Infrastructure refers to all the buildings and institutions which are necessary for economic development to take place in an area. For example, educational institutions like schools, colleges, vocational learning centres are part of the infrastructure. Healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics, employment opportunities, food security, etc. are also part of the infrastructure of a country.

It is seen very often that a big corporation sets up shop in a rural area, and around this, infrastructure is built, and development and urbanisation take place. Jamshedpur is an example of such a place, where Tata Industries set up shop many years ago and made the area highly developed. Thus, urbanisation definitely encourages the people of a place to have a better life by giving them more opportunities to achieve good life through education, jobs, etc.

On the other hand, it must be duly noted that urbanisation is one of the leading causes of pollution in today’s world. There are several different kinds of pollution, such as air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and noise pollution. The facets of urbanisation contribute to each one of these types of pollution in one way or another. Factories and mines contribute to air pollution through the fumes that each of them emits into the air. The damage done to the water and soil around factories because of their flowing septic is harmful to both humans as well as aquatic life. Additionally, the noises that come from mines, the whirring of machinery in factories, etc. contribute to noise pollution.

Additionally, it is not only big industries that contribute to pollution due to urbanisation. Part of urbanisation is also the development of roads, which means more cars, buses, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, trucks, etc. on the road. These all contribute to noise pollution because of the incessant honking, and also to air pollution, because of the fumes that all motor vehicles emit. Even when we are stuck in traffic in an auto, it becomes difficult to breathe because of the fumes which surround us on the roads. If we are finding it difficult to breathe, imagine what so many fumes are doing to our planet.

Short Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

150 Words Paragraph On Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Pollution takes place when air, water or soil becomes contaminated with unwanted substances. Air pollution takes place because of the fumes of factories and motor vehicles on th e road. Soil pollution and water pollution take place due to the septic waste being released into soil or water that surrounds a factory. Even oil spills are a major reason for water pollution, and all kinds of pollution can be very dangerous for living beings. Another type of pollution is noise pollution, which comes from the honking of cars, loud sounds in factories, the passing of aeroplanes and trains, etc.

Urbanisation is a result of the need to achieve economic development. It refers to when a relatively rural or remote area is made more urban by constructing roads, hospitals, schools, offices, etc. In this way, development is a result of urbanisation, which is extremely good for all countries.

However, all the great factors that urbanisation brings in, such as factories to work in, motor vehicles to drive, and so much more, all of these contribute to pollution more and more. Even though urbanisation is very important for a country, it is important to address all the kinds of pollution

Pollution is one of the most pressing concerns confronting our civilization today. When their environment deteriorates on a daily basis, humans face major challenges. The mixing of any toxic element or contaminants in our natural environment is referred to as pollution. Many contaminants are introduced into the natural environment as a result of human activities, contaminating it too dangerous proportions. Pollution is caused by a variety of factors, one of which is urbanisation.

The negative aspect of urbanisation is the manufacturers, which emit a great deal of pollution. Their equipment emits smoke into the environment, pollutes water streams and the surrounding land, and makes a lot of noise. As a result, there is a lot of pollution as a result of urbanisation, and it is extremely destructive to the environment when it first begins.

The majority of the pollution in our environment is due to urbanisation. It's because factories are springing up all over the place, there are a lot more cars on the road now, and so on.

Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Our mother planet is choking, and we are unable to do anything about it. Today, we confront several issues, one of which is pollution. Pollution occurs when a contaminating substance is introduced into our environment and pollutes our natural resources. There are numerous causes of pollution, most of which are caused by humans. Natural resources and habitats have been depleted as a result of our activities.

Urbanisation is one of the primary causes of human pollution. Pollution levels began to rise when humans began to construct cities and industrialization developed. Human needs continue to expand, and we loot our mother planet to meet them. As a result of development, many beautiful valleys, mountains, hilltop stations, and woods have become pollution carriers. Trees have been felled, rivers and lakes have been poisoned, and natural reserves have been exploited.

As a result, we now live in severely polluted cities where daily life has become increasingly challenging. As a result of urban pollution, we are experiencing a variety of health issues, the worst part of which is that we are fully unconscious of it. It is past time for us to take steps to reduce pollution and make the world a better place for future generations.

Urbanisation is a really great step forward for any country, and it is and should be the main aim of all countries. All people around the world should have access to proper healthcare, education, sanitation, nourishment and safety, and urbanisation is how we can help achieve this goal. However, in the process of meeting this goal, we cannot forget that pollution due to urbanisation does take place, and is very dangerous for the planet and, therefore, all species living on earth in the long run.

FAQs on Pollution Due to Urbanisation Essay

1. What are the pros and cons of urbanisation according to the essay on pollution due to urbanisation?

The essay on pollution due to urbanisation says that urbanisation is good and is vital for a country, but can also be harmful for the environment. Urbanisation brings in better education, better healthcare facilities, better roads, and better infrastructure in general. However, it improves the lifestyles of human beings at the cost of hurting the environment by putting more contaminants into air, water and soil in the form of toxic fumes and septic waste. Thus, urbanisation is important, but it has to be brought about in a more sustainable manner.

2. How can we reduce pollution due to urbanisation?

At the individual level, there are some very simple ways to reduce pollution due to urbanisation. To reduce air pollution, we can choose to walk, carpool, or use public transport instead of taking a taxi. Garbage should not be thrown on roads and in water bodies, in order for us to stop soil and water pollution. We should also not honk on roads unnecessarily, to curb noise pollution. Unless the big companies and industries do not decide to take a stand and do what’s good for the environment, we will have to keep relying only on individual measures.

3. What are the different types of pollution and their causes?

Pollution in Cities: Types and Causes

Air Pollution: The air in metropolitan places is constantly polluted with harmful compounds, making breathing increasingly dangerous. The air in cities is suffocating. The air is polluted by smoke from autos, factories, and power plants. There are also other contaminants in the air, such as chemical spills and other harmful substances.

Water Pollution: Natural water supplies are becoming increasingly scarce in metropolitan areas, and those that do exist are becoming progressively contaminated. There is a lot of waste dumping in lakes and rivers, such as residential and industrial waste. A lot of trash is washed into the rivers when it rains.

Soil Pollution: Toxic mixtures in the soil are causing ecosystem disruption.

Noise Pollution: Cities are among the noisiest places on the planet. Noise pollution is caused by a variety of sources, including traffic noises, loudspeakers, and other undesirable noises, which cause a variety of health problems.

Radioactive Pollution:   Nuclear power facilities' unintentional leaks represent a serious concern.

Visual Pollution: Signs, billboards, screens, high-intensity lights, and other forms of overexposure to sights in cities can also be highly unsettling.

There is also ' Thermal pollution ,' which is created by an excess of heat trapped in the earth's atmosphere.

4. How can pollution due to urbanisation be controlled?

One can implement the following methods to reduce pollution caused by urbanisation: 

Conserve Energy: People in urban areas always use more energy than people in rural areas. The use of energy results in numerous types of pollution. One of the most effective strategies to reduce pollution is to conserve energy wherever possible. When you are not using an electrical appliance, turn it off. This tiny step can make a tremendous difference.

Reduce water waste: We waste a lot of water on a daily basis, which might have negative implications. We must make every effort to utilize as little water as possible.

Plant more trees: Urban areas are the ones with the least amount of greenery. It's a good idea to have a kitchen garden and a little lawn near your house.

Green belts: The government can assist by declaring specific sections in each city as green belts, allowing trees and other plants to flourish freely.

Use fewer loudspeakers: Using fewer loudspeakers can significantly minimise noise pollution. It's also a good idea to turn down the music level at functions after a specific amount of time has passed.

Indoors: In cities, home interiors are likewise heavily contaminated. We must also have some plants inside our homes to filter the polluted indoor air.

Industrial trash: Factory owners must make every effort to avoid dumping industrial waste in lakes or rivers. The government can also enact legislation in this regard.

5.  What problems are caused due to Urbanization?

The necessity for open space to develop roads, buildings, and bridges, among other things, resulted in widespread deforestation. To accommodate the ever-increasing population, trees were cut down, fields were cleared, and built new space. It goes without saying that tree cutting is a major source of pollution. The high population density resulted in a scarcity of everything, including space and natural resources such as water and coal.

A number of serious challenges have arisen as a result of the interaction of the urban population with the environment. The spending habits and lifestyles of the urban people had a significant impact on the environment. Consumption of food, energy, and water is all higher in cities. Cities have much more filthy air than rural areas. This is mainly due to the increased use of automobiles and the expansion of industries and factories that pollute the air.  We utilise electricity to power almost all of our equipment.

6. What is urbanisation, and how is it caused?

The population shift from rural to urban regions, the resulting decline in the number of people living in rural areas, and the methods in which societies adjust to this transition are all referred to as urbanisation. It is basically the process by which towns and cities evolve and grow as more people choose to live and work in central locations.

Individual, community and state activity result in either organic or planned urbanisation. Living in a city can be culturally and economically advantageous since it can provide more options for access to the labour market, better education, housing, and safety conditions, as well as lower commute and transit time and costs. A healthy urban environment is characterised by density, proximity, diversity, and marketplace rivalry. However, there are also negative social consequences associated with urban living, such as alienation, stress, higher living costs, and mass marginalisation. Suburbanization, which is occurring in the greatest developing countries' cities, can be seen as an attempt to balance these negative aspects of city living while still giving access to a huge number of shared resources.

7. What is the Impact of Urbanisation in Indian Cities?

The following are the main effects of urbanisation on environmental quality in Indian cities:

According to the entire slum population in India in 1991, 41 per cent of the overall slum population lived in cities with populations of one million or more, which account for 27 percent of the country's total population.

According to the current situation of municipal solid trash creation and collection situation in Indian metropolitan cities, Maharashtra creates the most municipal solid garbage (11,000 tonnes per day), followed by Delhi (8700 tonnes per day) in 2019, both of which are expected to rise in the near future.

In India and other Metropolitan Cities, the number of automobiles on the road is increasing.

In India and other metropolitan cities, the number of automobiles on the road has increased. The usage of vehicles has increased by 10% or more on average, posing a significant threat to air pollution.

Water resources are dwindling day by day as a result of rising population, wasteful usage, and a lack of conservation. Huge amounts of wastewater enter rivers as cities and industries grow, contaminating river streams that are used for drinking and other reasons.

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• Published: 29 October 2020

Urban and air pollution: a multi-city study of long-term effects of urban landscape patterns on air quality trends

• Lu Liang 1 &
• Peng Gong 2 , 3 , 4  

Scientific Reports volume  10 , Article number:  18618 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Most air pollution research has focused on assessing the urban landscape effects of pollutants in megacities, little is known about their associations in small- to mid-sized cities. Considering that the biggest urban growth is projected to occur in these smaller-scale cities, this empirical study identifies the key urban form determinants of decadal-long fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) trends in all 626 Chinese cities at the county level and above. As the first study of its kind, this study comprehensively examines the urban form effects on air quality in cities of different population sizes, at different development levels, and in different spatial-autocorrelation positions. Results demonstrate that the urban form evolution has long-term effects on PM 2.5 level, but the dominant factors shift over the urbanization stages: area metrics play a role in PM 2.5 trends of small-sized cities at the early urban development stage, whereas aggregation metrics determine such trends mostly in mid-sized cities. For large cities exhibiting a higher degree of urbanization, the spatial connectedness of urban patches is positively associated with long-term PM 2.5 level increases. We suggest that, depending on the city’s developmental stage, different aspects of the urban form should be emphasized to achieve long-term clean air goals.

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Introduction

Air pollution represents a prominent threat to global society by causing cascading effects on individuals 1 , medical systems 2 , ecosystem health 3 , and economies 4 in both developing and developed countries 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . About 90% of global citizens lived in areas that exceed the safe level in the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines 9 . Among all types of ecosystems, urban produce roughly 78% of carbon emissions and substantial airborne pollutants that adversely affect over 50% of the world’s population living in them 5 , 10 . While air pollution affects all regions, there exhibits substantial regional variation in air pollution levels 11 . For instance, the annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5  \(\upmu\mathrm{m}\) (PM 2.5 ) in the most polluted cities is nearly 20 times higher than the cleanest city according to a survey of 499 global cities 12 . Many factors can influence the regional air quality, including emissions, meteorology, and physicochemical transformations. Another non-negligible driver is urbanization—a process that alters the size, structure, and growth of cities in response to the population explosion and further leads to lasting air quality challenges 13 , 14 , 15 .

With the global trend of urbanization 16 , the spatial composition, configuration, and density of urban land uses (refer to as urban form) will continue to evolve 13 . The investigation of urban form impacts on air quality has been emerging in both empirical 17 and theoretical 18 research. While the area and density of artificial surface areas have well documented positive relationship with air pollution 19 , 20 , 21 , the effects of urban fragmentation on air quality have been controversial. In theory, compact cities promote high residential density with mixed land uses and thus reduce auto dependence and increase the usage of public transit and walking 21 , 22 . The compact urban development has been proved effective in mitigating air pollution in some cities 23 , 24 . A survey of 83 global urban areas also found that those with highly contiguous built-up areas emitted less NO 2 22 . In contrast, dispersed urban form can decentralize industrial polluters, improve fuel efficiency with less traffic congestion, and alleviate street canyon effects 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 . Polycentric and dispersed cities support the decentralization of jobs that lead to less pollution emission than compact and monocentric cities 29 . The more open spaces in a dispersed city support air dilution 30 . In contrast, compact cities are typically associated with stronger urban heat island effects 31 , which influence the availability and the advection of primary and secondary pollutants 32 .

The mixed evidence demonstrates the complex interplay between urban form and air pollution, which further implies that the inconsistent relationship may exist in cities at different urbanization levels and over different periods 33 . Few studies have attempted to investigate the urban form–air pollution relationship with cross-sectional and time series data 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 . Most studies were conducted in one city or metropolitan region 38 , 39 or even at the country level 40 . Furthermore, large cities or metropolitan areas draw the most attention in relevant studies 5 , 41 , 42 , and the small- and mid-sized cities, especially those in developing countries, are heavily underemphasized. However, virtually all world population growth 43 , 44 and most global economic growth 45 , 46 are expected to occur in those cities over the next several decades. Thus, an overlooked yet essential task is to account for various levels of cities, ranging from large metropolitan areas to less extensive urban area, in the analysis.

This study aims to improve the understanding of how the urban form evolution explains the decadal-long changes of the annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations in 626 cities at the county-level and above in China. China has undergone unprecedented urbanization over the past few decades and manifested a high degree of heterogeneity in urban development 47 . Thus, Chinese cities serve as a good model for addressing the following questions: (1) whether the changes in urban landscape patterns affect trends in PM 2.5 levels? And (2) if so, do the determinants vary by cities?

City boundaries

Our study period spans from the year 2000 to 2014 to keep the data completeness among all data sources. After excluding cities with invalid or missing PM 2.5 or sociodemographic value, a total of 626 cities, with 278 prefecture-level cities and 348 county-level cities, were selected. City boundaries are primarily based on the Global Rural–Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP) urban extent polygons that were defined by the extent of the nighttime lights 48 , 49 . Few adjustments were made. First, in the GRUMP dataset, large agglomerations that include several cities were often described in one big polygon. We manually split those polygons into individual cities based on the China Administrative Regions GIS Data at 1:1 million scales 50 . Second, since the 1978 economic reforms, China has significantly restructured its urban administrative/spatial system. Noticeable changes are the abolishment of several prefectures and the promotion of many former county-level cities to prefecture-level cities 51 . Thus, all city names were cross-checked between the year 2000 and 2014, and the mismatched records were replaced with the latest names.

PM 2.5 concentration data

The annual mean PM 2.5 surface concentration (micrograms per cubic meter) for each city over the study period was calculated from the Global Annual PM 2.5 Grids at 0.01° resolution 52 . This data set combines Aerosol Optical Depth retrievals from multiple satellite instruments including the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), and the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS). The global 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem is further applied to relate this total column measure of aerosol to near-surface PM 2.5 concentration, and geographically weighted regression is finally used with global ground-based measurements to predict and adjust for the residual PM 2.5 bias per grid cell in the initial satellite-derived values.

Human settlement layer

The urban forms were quantified with the 40-year (1978–2017) record of annual impervious surface maps for both rural and urban areas in China 47 , 53 . This state-of-art product provides substantial spatial–temporal details on China’s human settlement changes. The annual impervious surface maps covering our study period were generated from 30-m resolution Landsat images acquired onboard Landsat 5, 7, and 8 using an automatic “Exclusion/Inclusion” mapping framework 54 , 55 . The output used here was the binary impervious surface mask, with the value of one indicating the presence of human settlement and the value of zero identifying non-residential areas. The product assessment concluded good performance. The cross-comparison against 2356 city or town locations in GeoNames proved an overall high agreement (88%) and approximately 80% agreement was achieved when compared against visually interpreted 650 urban extent areas in the year 1990, 2000, and 2010.

Control variables

To provide a holistic assessment of the urban form effects, we included control variables that are regarded as important in influencing air quality to account for the confounding effects.

Four variables, separately population size, population density, and two economic measures, were acquired from the China City Statistical Yearbook 56 (National Bureau of Statistics 2000–2014). Population size is used to control for the absolute level of pollution emissions 41 . Larger populations are associated with increased vehicle usage and vehicle-kilometers travels, and consequently boost tailpipes emissions 5 . Population density is a useful reflector of transportation demand and the fraction of emissions inhaled by people 57 . We also included gross regional product (GRP) and the proportion of GRP generated from the secondary sector (GRP2). The impact of economic development on air quality is significant but in a dynamic way 58 . The rising per capita income due to the concentration of manufacturing industrial activities can deteriorate air quality and vice versa if the stronger economy is the outcome of the concentration of less polluting high-tech industries. Meteorological conditions also have short- and long-term effects on the occurrence, transport, and dispersion of air pollutants 59 , 60 , 61 . Temperature affects chemical reactions and atmospheric turbulence that determine the formation and diffusion of particles 62 . Low air humidity can lead to the accumulation of air pollutants due to it is conducive to the adhesion of atmospheric particulate matter on water vapor 63 . Whereas high humidity can lead to wet deposition processes that can remove air pollutants by rainfall. Wind speed is a crucial indicator of atmospheric activity by greatly affect air pollutant transport and dispersion. All meteorological variables were calculated based on China 1 km raster layers of monthly relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed that are interpolated from over 800 ground monitoring stations 64 . Based on the monthly layer, we calculated the annual mean of each variable for each year. Finally, all pixels falling inside of the city boundary were averaged to represent the overall meteorological condition of each city.

Considering the dynamic urban form-air pollution relationship evidenced from the literature review, our hypothesis is: the determinants of PM 2.5 level trends are not the same for cities undergoing different levels of development or in different geographic regions. To test this hypothesis, we first categorized city groups following (1) social-economic development level, (2) spatial autocorrelation relationship, and (3) population size. We then assessed the relationship between urban form and PM 2.5 level trends by city groups. Finally, we applied the panel data models to different city groups for hypothesis testing and key determinant identification (Fig.  1 ).

Methodology workflow.

Calculation of urban form metrics

Based on the previous knowledge 65 , 66 , 67 , fifteen landscape metrics falling into three categories, separately area, shape, and aggregation, were selected. Those metrics quantify the compositional and configurational characteristics of the urban landscape, as represented by urban expansion, urban shape complexity, and compactness (Table 1 ).

Area metrics gives an overview of the urban extent and the size of urban patches that are correlated with PM 2.5 20 . As an indicator of the urbanization degree, total area (TA) typically increases constantly or remains stable, because the urbanization process is irreversible. Number of patches (NP) refers to the number of discrete parcels of urban settlement within a given urban extent and Mean Patch Size (AREA_MN) measures the average patch size. Patch density (PD) indicates the urbanization stages. It usually increases with urban diffusion until coalescence starts, after which decreases in number 66 . Largest Patch Index (LPI) measures the percentage of the landscape encompassed by the largest urban patch.

The shape complexity of urban patches was represented by Mean Patch Shape Index (SHAPE_MN), Mean Patch Fractal Dimension (FRAC_MN), and Mean Contiguity Index (CONTIG_MN). The greater irregularity the landscape shape, the larger the value of SHAPE_MN and FRAC_MN. CONTIG_MN is another method of assessing patch shape based on the spatial connectedness or contiguity of cells within a patch. Larger contiguous patches will result in larger CONTIG_MN.

Aggregation metrics measure the spatial compactness of urban land, which affects pollutant diffusion and dilution. Mean Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance (ENN_MN) quantifies the average distance between two patches within a landscape. It decreases as patches grow together and increases as the urban areas expand. Landscape Shape Index (LSI) indicates the divergence of the shape of a landscape patch that increases as the landscape becomes increasingly disaggregated 68 . Patch Cohesion Index (COHESION) is suggestive of the connectedness degree of patches 69 . Splitting Index (SPLIT) and Landscape Division Index (DIVISION) increase as the separation of urban patches rises, whereas, Mesh Size (MESH) decreases as the landscape becomes more fragmented. Aggregation Index (AI) measures the degree of aggregation or clumping of urban patches. Higher values of continuity indicate higher building densities, which may have a stronger effect on pollution diffusion.

The detailed descriptions of these indices are given by the FRAGSTATS user’s guide 70 . The calculation input is a layer of binary grids of urban/nonurban. The resulting output is a table containing one row for each city and multiple columns representing the individual metrics.

Division of cities

Division based on the socioeconomic development level.

The socioeconomic development level in China is uneven. The unequal development of the transportation system, descending in topography from the west to the east, combined with variations in the availability of natural and human resources and industrial infrastructure, has produced significantly wide gaps in the regional economies of China. By taking both the economic development level and natural geography into account, China can be loosely classified into Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Eastern China is generally wealthier than the interior, resulting from closeness to coastlines and the Open-Door Policy favoring coastal regions. Western China is historically behind in economic development because of its high elevation and rugged topography, which creates barriers in the transportation infrastructure construction and scarcity of arable lands. Central China, echoing its name, is in the process of economic development. This region neither benefited from geographic convenience to the coast nor benefited from any preferential policies, such as the Western Development Campaign.

Division based on spatial autocorrelation relationship

The second type of division follows the fact that adjacent cities are likely to form air pollution clusters due to the mixing and diluting nature of air pollutants 71 , i.e., cities share similar pollution levels as its neighbors. The underlying processes driving the formation of pollution hot spots and cold spots may differ. Thus, we further divided the city into groups based on the spatial clusters of PM 2.5 level changes.

Local indicators of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) was used to determine the local patterns of PM 2.5 distribution by clustering cities with a significant association. In the presence of global spatial autocorrelation, LISA indicates whether a variable exhibits significant spatial dependence and heterogeneity at a given scale 72 . Practically, LISA relates each observation to its neighbors and assigns a value of significance level and degree of spatial autocorrelation, which is calculated by the similarity in variable \(z\) between observation \(i\) and observation \(j\) in the neighborhood of \(i\) defined by a matrix of weights \({w}_{ij}\) 7 , 73 :

where \({I}_{i}\) is the Moran’s I value for location \(i\) ; \({\sigma }^{2}\) is the variance of variable \(z\) ; \(\bar{z}\) is the average value of \(z\) with the sample number of \(n\) . The weight matrix \({w}_{ij}\) is defined by the k-nearest neighbors distance measure, i.e., each object’s neighborhood consists of four closest cites.

The computation of Moran’s I enables the identification of hot spots and cold spots. The hot spots are high-high clusters where the increase in the PM 2.5 level is higher than the surrounding areas, whereas cold spots are low-low clusters with the presence of low values in a low-value neighborhood. A Moran scatterplot, with x-axis as the original variable and y-axis as the spatially lagged variable, reflects the spatial association pattern. The slope of the linear fit to the scatter plot is an estimation of the global Moran's I 72 (Fig.  2 ). The plot consists of four quadrants, each defining the relationship between an observation 74 . The upper right quadrant indicates hot spots and the lower left quadrant displays cold spots 75 .

Moran’s I scatterplot. Figure was produced by R 3.4.3 76 .

Division based on population size

The last division was based on population size, which is a proven factor in changing per capita emissions in a wide selection of global cities, even outperformed land urbanization rate 77 , 78 , 79 . We used the 2014 urban population to classify the cities into four groups based on United Nations definitions 80 : (1) large agglomerations with a total population larger than 1 million; (2) mid-sized cities, 500,000–1 million; (3) small cities, 250,000–500,000, and (4) very small cities, 100,000–250,000.

Panel data analysis

The panel data analysis is an analytical method that deals with observations from multiple entities over multiple periods. Its capacity in analyzing the characteristics and changes from both the time-series and cross-section dimensions of data surpasses conventional models that purely focus on one dimension 81 , 82 . The estimation equation for the panel data model in this study is given as:

where the subscript \(i\) and \(t\) refer to city and year respectively. \(\upbeta _{{0}}\) is the intercept parameter and \(\upbeta _{{1}} - { }\upbeta _{{{18}}}\) are the estimates of slope coefficients. \(\varepsilon \) is the random error. All variables are transformed into natural logarithms.

Two methods can be used to obtain model estimates, separately fixed effects estimator and random effects estimator. The fixed effects estimator assumes that each subject has its specific characteristics due to inherent individual characteristic effects in the error term, thereby allowing differences to be intercepted between subjects. The random effects estimator assumes that the individual characteristic effect changes stochastically, and the differences in subjects are not fixed in time and are independent between subjects. To choose the right estimator, we run both models for each group of cities based on the Hausman specification test 83 . The null hypothesis is that random effects model yields consistent and efficient estimates 84 : \({H}_{0}{:}\,E\left({\varepsilon }_{i}|{X}_{it}\right)=0\) . If the null hypothesis is rejected, the fixed effects model will be selected for further inferences. Once the better estimator was determined for each model, one optimal panel data model was fit to each city group of one division type. In total, six, four, and eight runs were conducted for socioeconomic, spatial autocorrelation, and population division separately and three, two, and four panel data models were finally selected.

Spatial patterns of PM 2.5 level changes

During the period from 2000 to 2014, the annual mean PM 2.5 concentration of all cities increases from 27.78 to 42.34 µg/m 3 , both of which exceed the World Health Organization recommended annual mean standard (10 µg/m 3 ). It is worth noting that the PM 2.5 level in the year 2014 also exceeds China’s air quality Class 2 standard (35 µg/m 3 ) that applies to non-national park places, including urban and industrial areas. The standard deviation of annual mean PM 2.5 values for all cities increases from 12.34 to 16.71 µg/m 3 , which shows a higher variability of inter-urban PM 2.5 pollution after a decadal period. The least and most heavily polluted cities in China are Delingha, Qinghai (3.01 µg/m 3 ) and Jizhou, Hubei (64.15 µg/m 3 ) in 2000 and Hami, Xinjiang (6.86 µg/m 3 ) and Baoding, Hubei (86.72 µg/m 3 ) in 2014.

Spatially, the changes in PM 2.5 levels exhibit heterogeneous patterns across cities (Fig.  3 b). According to the socioeconomic level division (Fig.  3 a), the Eastern, Central, and Western region experienced a 38.6, 35.3, and 25.5 µg/m 3 increase in annual PM 2.5 mean , separately, and the difference among regions is significant according to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) results (Fig.  4 a). When stratified by spatial autocorrelation relationship (Fig.  3 c), the differences in PM 2.5 changes among the spatial clusters are even more dramatic. The average PM 2.5 increase in cities belonging to the high-high cluster is approximately 25 µg/m 3 , as compared to 5 µg/m 3 in the low-low clusters (Fig.  4 b). Finally, cities at four different population levels have significant differences in the changes of PM 2.5 concentration (Fig.  3 d), except for the mid-sized cities and large city agglomeration (Fig.  4 c).

( a ) Division of cities in China by socioeconomic development level and the locations of provincial capitals; ( b ) Changes in annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations between the year 2000 and 2014; ( c ) LISA cluster maps for PM 2.5 changes at the city level; High-high indicates a statistically significant cluster of high PM 2.5 level changes over the study period. Low-low indicates a cluster of low PM 2.5 inter-annual variation; No high-low cluster is reported; Low–high represents cities with high PM 2.5 inter-annual variation surrounded by cities with low variation; ( d ) Population level by cities in the year 2014. Maps were produced by ArcGIS 10.7.1 85 .

Boxplots of PM 2.5 concentration changes between 2000 and 2014 for city groups that are formed according to ( a ) socioeconomic development level division, ( b ) LISA clusters, and ( c ) population level. Asterisk marks represent the p value of ANOVA significant test between the corresponding pair of groups. Note ns not significant; * p value < 0.05; ** p value < 0.01; *** p value < 0.001; H–H high-high cluster, L–H low–high cluster, L–L denotes low–low cluster.

The effects of urban forms on PM 2.5 changes

The Hausman specification test for fixed versus random effects yields a p value less than 0.05, suggesting that the fixed effects model has better performance. We fit one panel data model to each city group and built nine models in total. All models are statistically significant at the p  < 0.05 level and have moderate to high predictive power with the R 2 values ranging from 0.63 to 0.95, which implies that 63–95% of the variation in the PM 2.5 concentration changes can be explained by the explanatory variables (Table 2 ).

The urban form—PM 2.5 relationships differ distinctly in Eastern, Central, and Western China. All models reach high R 2 values. Model for Eastern China (refer to hereafter as Eastern model) achieves the highest R 2 (0.90), and the model for the Western China (refer to hereafter as Western model) reaches the lowest R 2 (0.83). The shape metrics FRAC and CONTIG are correlated with PM 2.5 changes in the Eastern model, whereas the area metrics AREA demonstrates a positive effect in the Western model. In contrast to the significant associations between shape, area metrics and PM 2.5 level changes in both Eastern and Western models, no such association was detected in the Central model. Nonetheless, two aggregation metrics, LSI and AI, play positive roles in determining the PM 2.5 trends in the Central model.

For models built upon the LISA clusters, the H–H model (R 2  = 0.95) reaches a higher fitting degree than the L–L model (R 2  = 0.63). The estimated coefficients vary substantially. In the H–H model, the coefficient of CONTIG is positive, which indicates that an increase in CONTIG would increase PM 2.5 pollution. In contrast, no shape metrics but one area metrics AREA is significant in the L–L model.

The results of the regression models built for cities at different population levels exhibit a distinct pattern. No urban form metrics was identified to have a significant relationship with the PM 2.5 level changes in groups of very small and mid-sized cities. For small size cities, the aggregation metrics COHESION was positively associated whereas AI was negatively related. For mid-sized cities and large agglomerations, CONTIG is the only significant variable that is positively related to PM 2.5 level changes.

Urban form is an effective measure of long-term PM 2.5 trends

All panel data models are statistically significant regardless of the data group they are built on, suggesting that the associations between urban form and ambient PM 2.5 level changes are discernible at all city levels. Importantly, these relationships are found to hold when controlling for population size and gross domestic product, implying that the urban landscape patterns have effects on long-term PM 2.5 trends that are independent of regional economic performance. These findings echo with the local, regional, and global evidence of urban form effect on various air pollution types 5 , 14 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 39 , 78 .

Although all models demonstrate moderate to high predictive power, the way how different urban form metrics respond to the dependent variable varies. Of all the metrics tested, shape metrics, especially CONTIG has the strongest effect on PM 2.5 trends in cities belonging to the high-high cluster, Eastern, and large urban agglomerations. All those regions have a strong economy and higher population density 86 . In the group of cities that are moderately developed, such as the Central region, as well as small- and mid-sized cities, aggregation metrics play a dominant negative role in PM 2.5 level changes. In contrast, in the least developed cities belonging to the low-low cluster regions and Western China, the metrics describing size and number of urban patches are the strongest predictors. AREA and NP are positively related whereas TA is negatively associated.

The impacts of urban form metrics on air quality vary by urbanization degree

Based on the above observations, how urban form affects within-city PM 2.5 level changes may differ over the urbanization stages. We conceptually summarized the pattern in Fig.  5 : area metrics have the most substantial influence on air pollution changes at the early urban development stage, and aggregation metrics emerge at the transition stage, whereas shape metrics affect the air quality trends at the terminal stage. The relationship between urban form and air pollution has rarely been explored with such a wide range of city selections. Most prior studies were focused on large urban agglomeration areas, and thus their conclusions are not representative towards small cities at the early or transition stage of urbanization.

The most influential metric of urban form in affecting PM 2.5 level changes at different urbanization stages.

Not surprisingly, the area metrics, which describe spatial grain of the landscape, exert a significant effect on PM 2.5 level changes in small-sized cities. This could be explained by the unusual urbanization speed of small-sized cities in the Chinese context. Their thriving mostly benefited from the urbanization policy in the 1980s, which emphasized industrialization of rural, small- and mid-sized cities 87 . With the large rural-to-urban migration and growing public interest in investing real estate market, a side effect is that the massive housing construction that sometimes exceeds market demand. Residential activities decline in newly built areas of smaller cities in China, leading to what are known as ghost cities 88 . Although ghost cities do not exist for all cities, high rate of unoccupied dwellings is commonly seen in cities under the prefectural level. This partly explained the negative impacts of TA on PM 2.5 level changes, as an expanded while unoccupied or non-industrialized urban zones may lower the average PM 2.5 concentration within the city boundary, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the air quality got improved in the city cores.

Aggregation metrics at the landscape scale is often referred to as landscape texture that quantifies the tendency of patch types to be spatially aggregated; i.e., broadly speaking, aggregated or “contagious” distributions. This group of metrics is most effective in capturing the PM 2.5 trends in mid-sized cities (population range 25–50 k) and Central China, where the urbanization process is still undergoing. The three significant variables that reflect the spatial property of dispersion, separately landscape shape index, patch cohesion index, and aggregation index, consistently indicate that more aggregated landscape results in a higher degree of PM 2.5 level changes. Theoretically, the more compact urban form typically leads to less auto dependence and heavier reliance on the usage of public transit and walking, which contributes to air pollution mitigation 89 . This phenomenon has also been observed in China, as the vehicle-use intensity (kilometers traveled per vehicle per year, VKT) has been declining over recent years 90 . However, VKT only represents the travel intensity of one car and does not reflect the total distance traveled that cumulatively contribute to the local pollution. It should be noted that the private light-duty vehicle ownership in China has increased exponentially and is forecast to reach 23–42 million by 2050, with the share of new-growth purchases representing 16–28% 90 . In this case, considering the increased total distance traveled, the less dispersed urban form can exert negative effects on air quality by concentrating vehicle pollution emissions in a limited space.

Finally, urban contiguity, observed as the most effective shape metric in indicating PM 2.5 level changes, provides an assessment of spatial connectedness across all urban patches. Urban contiguity is found to have a positive effect on the long-term PM 2.5 pollution changes in large cities. Urban contiguity reflects to which degree the urban landscape is fragmented. Large contiguous patches result in large CONTIG_MN values. Among the 626 cities, only 11% of cities experience negative changes in urban contiguity. For example, Qingyang, Gansu is one of the cities-featuring leapfrogs and scattered development separated by vacant land that may later be filled in as the development continues (Fig.  6 ). Most Chinese cities experienced increased urban contiguity, with less fragmented and compacted landscape. A typical example is Shenzhou, Hebei, where CONTIG_MN rose from 0.27 to 0.45 within the 14 years. Although the 13 counties in Shenzhou are very far scattered from each other, each county is growing intensively internally rather than sprawling further outside. And its urban layout is thus more compact (Fig.  6 ). The positive association revealed in this study contradicts a global study indicating that cities with highly contiguous built-up areas have lower NO 2 pollution 22 . We noticed that the principal emission sources of NO 2 differ from that of PM 2.5. NO 2 is primarily emitted with the combustion of fossil fuels (e.g., industrial processes and power generation) 6 , whereas road traffic attributes more to PM 2.5 emissions. Highly connected urban form is likely to cause traffic congestion and trap pollution inside the street canyon, which accumulates higher PM 2.5 concentration. Computer simulation results also indicate that more compact cities improve urban air quality but are under the premise that mixed land use should be presented 18 . With more connected impervious surfaces, it is merely impossible to expect increasing urban green spaces. If compact urban development does not contribute to a rising proportion of green areas, then such a development does not help mitigating air pollution 41 .

Six cities illustrating negative to positive changes in CONTIG_MN and AREA_MN. Pixels in black show the urban areas in the year 2000 and pixels in red are the expanded urban areas from the year 2000 to 2014. Figure was produced by ArcGIS 10.7.1 85 .

Conclusions

This study explores the regional land-use patterns and air quality in a country with an extraordinarily heterogeneous urbanization pattern. Our study is the first of its kind in investigating such a wide range selection of cities ranging from small-sized ones to large metropolitan areas spanning a long time frame, to gain a comprehensive insight into the varying effects of urban form on air quality trends. And the primary insight yielded from this study is the validation of the hypothesis that the determinants of PM 2.5 level trends are not the same for cities at various developmental levels or in different geographic regions. Certain measures of urban form are robust predictors of air quality trends for a certain group of cities. Therefore, any planning strategy aimed at reducing air pollution should consider its current development status and based upon which, design its future plan. To this end, it is also important to emphasize the main shortcoming of this analysis, which is generally centered around the selection of control variables. This is largely constrained by the available information from the City Statistical Yearbook. It will be beneficial to further polish this study by including other important controlling factors, such as vehicle possession.

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Acknowledgements

Lu Liang received intramural research funding support from the UNT Office of Research and Innovation. Peng Gong is partially supported by the National Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (2016YFA0600104), and donations from Delos Living LLC and the Cyrus Tang Foundation to Tsinghua University.

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Liang, L., Gong, P. Urban and air pollution: a multi-city study of long-term effects of urban landscape patterns on air quality trends. Sci Rep 10 , 18618 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74524-9

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Geospatial Analytics for Environmental Pollution Modeling pp 163–185 Cite as

Urban Areas and Air Pollution: Causes, Concerns, and Mitigation

• Shivali Gupta 5 &
• Rakesh Kumar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4139-300X 5  
• First Online: 02 December 2023

149 Accesses

Urbanization has proven to be a catalyst for global economic growth. However, the concomitant progress in economic development has led to a degradation in air quality within urban settlements, primarily attributable to copious anthropogenic sources of pollutant emissions. Air pollution has numerous negative impacts on the well-being of humans and the environment. This includes the deleterious impacts on climate change as well as the emergence of serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. This chapter, therefore, discusses urban air pollution, encompassing the causal factors, associated concerns, and various strategies employed to mitigate its adverse effects. These strategies involve regulatory, technological, and behavioural responses, which are imperative to effectively address the issue of air pollution. Therefore, the examination of the complex interplay between urbanization across varying stages of development and air pollution is integral in attaining ambient air quality targets with respect to upcoming economic advancement and sustainable progression.

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Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Urbanization refers to the process of increasing population and industrialization in urban areas. As cities continue to grow and expand, pollution caused by urbanization has become a significant environmental concern. Urbanization leads to increased pollution in many forms, including air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution.

Air pollution is one of the most significant environmental problems caused by urbanization. Urban areas typically have a high concentration of vehicles, industry, and power plants, all of which are major sources of air pollution. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, releases harmful pollutants, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, into the air. These pollutants can have a range of negative health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, air pollution can also damage crops and buildings, and contribute to climate change.

Water pollution

Water pollution is another major problem caused by urbanization. Urban areas typically have a high population density, which leads to an increase in the amount of waste and sewage produced. This can lead to the pollution of water sources, including rivers, lakes, and oceans, with harmful chemicals and pollutants. In addition, urbanization can also lead to the destruction of natural habitats, such as wetlands and rivers, which can negatively impact local ecosystems.

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is another environmental problem caused by urbanization. Urban areas typically have a high level of traffic and industrial noise, which can have negative effects on human health and well-being. Noise pollution can cause hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and stress, and can also negatively impact wildlife.

Urbanization also contributes to the destruction of natural habitats and loss of biodiversity. Urban areas often require large amounts of land for development, which leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats. This can have a negative impact on local ecosystems and wildlife, and can also contribute to climate change.

Urbanization can also lead to a lack of green spaces and access to nature in urban areas. This can have negative effects on human health and well-being, as well as negatively impacting local ecosystems.

To address the pollution caused by urbanization, there are several actions that can be taken. One approach is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and promote the use of clean energy sources, such as solar and wind power. This can help to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, strict regulations and laws can be implemented to control and minimize pollution from industrial and transportation sources.

Another approach is to promote sustainable urban planning and development. This can include incorporating green spaces and access to nature in urban areas, promoting compact and efficient land use, and encouraging the use of public transportation.

Finally, individuals can also play a role in reducing pollution caused by urbanization by making eco-friendly choices and taking actions such as reducing energy consumption, using public transportation, and recycling.

Urbanization leads to a range of environmental problems, including air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, loss of biodiversity, and lack of green spaces. To address these problems, a combination of policy measures, urban planning and individual actions are required. These measures include reducing the use of fossil fuels, promoting sustainable urban planning and development, and encouraging individuals to make eco-friendly choices and take actions to reduce pollution. By taking these actions, we can help to reduce the negative impact of urbanization on the environment and improve the health and well-being of both people and the planet.

• Letter to the Editor
• Open access
• Published: 02 January 2020

Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?

• Md Abdul Kuddus 1 , 2 , 4 ,
• Elizabeth Tynan 3 &
• Emma McBryde 1 , 2  

Public Health Reviews volume  41 , Article number:  1 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Urbanization has long been associated with human development and progress, but recent studies have shown that urban settings can also lead to significant inequalities and health problems. This paper is concerned with the adverse impact of urbanization on both developed and developing nations and both wealthy and poor populations within those nations, addressing issues associated with public health problems in urban areas. The discussion in this paper will be of interest to policy makers. The paper advocates policies that improve the socio-economic conditions of the urban poor and promote their better health. Further, this discussion encourages wealthy people and nations to become better informed about the challenges that may arise when urbanization occurs in their regions without the required social supports and infrastructure.

Urbanization refers to the mass movement of populations from rural to urban settings and the consequent physical changes to urban settings. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that more than half the world’s population (4.2 billion people) now live in urban area and by 2041, this figure will increase to 6 billion people [ 1 ].

Cities are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies. They are the heart of technological development and economic growth of many nations, while at the same time serving as a breeding ground for poverty, inequality, environmental hazards, and communicable diseases [ 2 ]. When large numbers of people congregate in cities, many problems result, particularly for the poor. For example, many rural migrants who settle in an urban slum area bring their families and their domesticated animals—both pets and livestock—with them. This influx of humans and animals leads to vulnerability of all migrants to circulating communicable diseases and the potential to establish an urban transmission cycle. Further, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks, and water basins subject to landslides, flooding, or industrial hazards. All of these factors lead to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pollution, poor nutrition, road traffic, and so on [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The problems faced by the poor spill over to other city dwellers. As the trend to urbanization continues, this spillover effect increases and takes on a global dimension as more and more of the world’s populations are affected [ 3 ].

Some of the major health problems resulting from urbanization include poor nutrition, pollution-related health conditions and communicable diseases, poor sanitation and housing conditions, and related health conditions. These have direct impacts on individual quality of life, while straining public health systems and resources [ 6 ].

Urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations. Because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities, the urban poor lack nutritious diets and this leads to illness, which contributes to loss of appetite and poor absorption of nutrients among those affected. Furthermore, environmental contamination also contributes to undernutrition; street food is often prepared in unhygienic conditions, leading to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses (e.g., botulism, salmonellosis, and shigellosis) [ 6 ]. Urban dwellers also suffer from overnutrition and obesity, a growing global public health problem. Obesity and other lifestyle conditions contribute to chronic diseases (such as cancers, diabetes, and heart diseases). Although obesity is most common among the wealthy, international agencies have noted the emergence of increased weight among the middle class and poor in recent years [ 7 ].

Populations in poor nations that suffer from protein-energy malnutrition [ 8 ] have increased susceptibility to infection [ 9 ] through the impact of micronutrient deficiency on immune system development and function [ 10 ]. Around 168 million children under 5 are estimated to be malnourished and 76% of these children live in Asia [ 11 ]. At the same time, the World Health Organization is concerned that there is an emerging pandemic of obesity in poor countries that leads to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and stroke [ 12 ].

Obesity is caused by increased caloric intake and decreased physical activity [ 13 ], something historically associated with wealth. However, people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure. In these areas, infrastructure is often lacking, including sufficient space for recreational activities. Further, in developing countries, as in developed countries, large employers frequently place head offices in urban capitals and work is increasingly sedentary in nature [ 14 ]. Another culprit associated with the risk of developing obesity is the change in food intake that has led to the so-called nutrition transition (increased the consumption of animal-source foods, sugar, fats and oils, refined grains, and processed foods) in urban areas. For instance, in China, dietary patterns have changed concomitantly with urbanization in the past 30 years, leading to increased obesity [ 15 ]. In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 300 million adults were affected, the majority in developed and highly urbanized countries [ 16 ]. Since then, the prevalence of obesity has increased. For example, in Australia, around 28% of adults were obese in 2014–2015 [ 17 ].

Pollution is another major contributor to poor health in urban environments. For instance, the World Health Organization estimated that 6.5 million people died (11.6% of all global deaths) as a consequence of indoor and outdoor air pollution and nearly 90% of air-pollution-related deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries [ 18 ]. Poor nutrition and pollution both contribute to a third major challenge for urban populations: communicable diseases. The poor live in congested conditions, near open sewers and stagnant water, and are therefore constantly exposed to unhealthy waste [ 6 ]. Inadequate sanitation can lead to the transmission of helminths and other intestinal parasites. Pollution (e.g., from CO 2 emission) from congested urban areas contributes to localized and global climate change and direct health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer for both the rich and the poor.

In addition to human-to-human transmission, animals and insects serve as efficient vectors for diseases within urban settings and do not discriminate between the rich and poor. The prevalence and impact of communicable diseases in urban settings, such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, cholera, dengue, and others, is well established and of global concern.

National and international researchers and policy makers have explored various strategies to address such problems, yet the problems remain. For example, research on solutions for megacities has been ongoing since the early 1990s [ 19 , 20 ]. These studies have concluded that pollution, unreliable electricity, and non-functioning infrastructure are priority initiatives; nevertheless, air pollution, quality of water in cities, congestion, disaster management issues, and infrastructure are not being systematically addressed [ 19 , 20 ].

The impact of inner city transportation on health, such as road traffic, is emerging as a serious problem. Statistics show that a minimum of 10 people die every day on the railways in the city of Mumbai, India [ 21 ]. Vietnam is another example of a country that has seen a remarkable increase in road traffic accidents [ 22 ]. Improvements to the country’s infrastructure have not been able to meet the increasing growth of vehicular and human traffic on the street. Vietnam reportedly has a population of 95 million and more than 18 million motorbikes on its roads. A deliberate policy is needed to reduce accidents [ 21 ].

Although urbanization has become an irreversible phenomenon, some have argued that to resolve the problems of the city, we must tackle the root causes of the problem, such as improving the socio-economic situation of the urban poor.

Until the conditions in rural areas improve, populations will continue to migrate to urban settings. Given the challenges that rural development poses, the root causes are unlikely to be addressed in the near future. Therefore, governments and development agencies should concentrate on adapting to the challenges of urbanization, while seeking to reduce unplanned urbanization.

Some examples of policies and practices that should be considered include (i) policies that consider whole-of-life journeys, incorporating accessible employment, community participation, mobility/migration and social transition, to break generational poverty cycles; (ii) policies addressing urban environmental issues, such as planned urban space and taxes on the use of vehicles to reduce use or to encourage vehicles that use less fuel as well as encourage bicycle use, walking, and other forms of human transportation; (iii) greater cooperative planning between rural and urban regions to improve food security (e.g., subsidies for farmers providing locally produced, unprocessed and low cost food to urban centers); (iv) social protection and universal health coverage to reduce wealth disparity among urban dwellers; including introduction of programs and services for health, for example by establishing primary healthcare clinics accessible and affordable for all including those living in urban slums [ 23 ].

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The authors would like to thank the editor for his/her thoughtful comments and efforts towards improving the manuscript.

This work was conducted as a part of a PhD programme of the first authors and funded by the College of Medicine and Dentistry at the James Cook University, Australia (JCU-QLD-933347).

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Kuddus, M.A., Tynan, E. & McBryde, E. Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?. Public Health Rev 41 , 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-019-0116-0

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Urban and air pollution: a multi-city study of long-term effects of urban landscape patterns on air quality trends

1 Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, TX 76203 USA

2 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

3 Tsinghua Urban Institute, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China

4 Center for Healthy Cities, Institute for China Sustainable Urbanization, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China

Most air pollution research has focused on assessing the urban landscape effects of pollutants in megacities, little is known about their associations in small- to mid-sized cities. Considering that the biggest urban growth is projected to occur in these smaller-scale cities, this empirical study identifies the key urban form determinants of decadal-long fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) trends in all 626 Chinese cities at the county level and above. As the first study of its kind, this study comprehensively examines the urban form effects on air quality in cities of different population sizes, at different development levels, and in different spatial-autocorrelation positions. Results demonstrate that the urban form evolution has long-term effects on PM 2.5 level, but the dominant factors shift over the urbanization stages: area metrics play a role in PM 2.5 trends of small-sized cities at the early urban development stage, whereas aggregation metrics determine such trends mostly in mid-sized cities. For large cities exhibiting a higher degree of urbanization, the spatial connectedness of urban patches is positively associated with long-term PM 2.5 level increases. We suggest that, depending on the city’s developmental stage, different aspects of the urban form should be emphasized to achieve long-term clean air goals.

Introduction

Air pollution represents a prominent threat to global society by causing cascading effects on individuals 1 , medical systems 2 , ecosystem health 3 , and economies 4 in both developing and developed countries 5 – 8 . About 90% of global citizens lived in areas that exceed the safe level in the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines 9 . Among all types of ecosystems, urban produce roughly 78% of carbon emissions and substantial airborne pollutants that adversely affect over 50% of the world’s population living in them 5 , 10 . While air pollution affects all regions, there exhibits substantial regional variation in air pollution levels 11 . For instance, the annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5  μ m (PM 2.5 ) in the most polluted cities is nearly 20 times higher than the cleanest city according to a survey of 499 global cities 12 . Many factors can influence the regional air quality, including emissions, meteorology, and physicochemical transformations. Another non-negligible driver is urbanization—a process that alters the size, structure, and growth of cities in response to the population explosion and further leads to lasting air quality challenges 13 – 15 .

With the global trend of urbanization 16 , the spatial composition, configuration, and density of urban land uses (refer to as urban form) will continue to evolve 13 . The investigation of urban form impacts on air quality has been emerging in both empirical 17 and theoretical 18 research. While the area and density of artificial surface areas have well documented positive relationship with air pollution 19 – 21 , the effects of urban fragmentation on air quality have been controversial. In theory, compact cities promote high residential density with mixed land uses and thus reduce auto dependence and increase the usage of public transit and walking 21 , 22 . The compact urban development has been proved effective in mitigating air pollution in some cities 23 , 24 . A survey of 83 global urban areas also found that those with highly contiguous built-up areas emitted less NO 2 22 . In contrast, dispersed urban form can decentralize industrial polluters, improve fuel efficiency with less traffic congestion, and alleviate street canyon effects 25 – 28 . Polycentric and dispersed cities support the decentralization of jobs that lead to less pollution emission than compact and monocentric cities 29 . The more open spaces in a dispersed city support air dilution 30 . In contrast, compact cities are typically associated with stronger urban heat island effects 31 , which influence the availability and the advection of primary and secondary pollutants 32 .

The mixed evidence demonstrates the complex interplay between urban form and air pollution, which further implies that the inconsistent relationship may exist in cities at different urbanization levels and over different periods 33 . Few studies have attempted to investigate the urban form–air pollution relationship with cross-sectional and time series data 34 – 37 . Most studies were conducted in one city or metropolitan region 38 , 39 or even at the country level 40 . Furthermore, large cities or metropolitan areas draw the most attention in relevant studies 5 , 41 , 42 , and the small- and mid-sized cities, especially those in developing countries, are heavily underemphasized. However, virtually all world population growth 43 , 44 and most global economic growth 45 , 46 are expected to occur in those cities over the next several decades. Thus, an overlooked yet essential task is to account for various levels of cities, ranging from large metropolitan areas to less extensive urban area, in the analysis.

This study aims to improve the understanding of how the urban form evolution explains the decadal-long changes of the annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations in 626 cities at the county-level and above in China. China has undergone unprecedented urbanization over the past few decades and manifested a high degree of heterogeneity in urban development 47 . Thus, Chinese cities serve as a good model for addressing the following questions: (1) whether the changes in urban landscape patterns affect trends in PM 2.5 levels? And (2) if so, do the determinants vary by cities?

City boundaries

Our study period spans from the year 2000 to 2014 to keep the data completeness among all data sources. After excluding cities with invalid or missing PM 2.5 or sociodemographic value, a total of 626 cities, with 278 prefecture-level cities and 348 county-level cities, were selected. City boundaries are primarily based on the Global Rural–Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP) urban extent polygons that were defined by the extent of the nighttime lights 48 , 49 . Few adjustments were made. First, in the GRUMP dataset, large agglomerations that include several cities were often described in one big polygon. We manually split those polygons into individual cities based on the China Administrative Regions GIS Data at 1:1 million scales 50 . Second, since the 1978 economic reforms, China has significantly restructured its urban administrative/spatial system. Noticeable changes are the abolishment of several prefectures and the promotion of many former county-level cities to prefecture-level cities 51 . Thus, all city names were cross-checked between the year 2000 and 2014, and the mismatched records were replaced with the latest names.

PM 2.5 concentration data

The annual mean PM 2.5 surface concentration (micrograms per cubic meter) for each city over the study period was calculated from the Global Annual PM 2.5 Grids at 0.01° resolution 52 . This data set combines Aerosol Optical Depth retrievals from multiple satellite instruments including the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), and the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS). The global 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem is further applied to relate this total column measure of aerosol to near-surface PM 2.5 concentration, and geographically weighted regression is finally used with global ground-based measurements to predict and adjust for the residual PM 2.5 bias per grid cell in the initial satellite-derived values.

Human settlement layer

The urban forms were quantified with the 40-year (1978–2017) record of annual impervious surface maps for both rural and urban areas in China 47 , 53 . This state-of-art product provides substantial spatial–temporal details on China’s human settlement changes. The annual impervious surface maps covering our study period were generated from 30-m resolution Landsat images acquired onboard Landsat 5, 7, and 8 using an automatic “Exclusion/Inclusion” mapping framework 54 , 55 . The output used here was the binary impervious surface mask, with the value of one indicating the presence of human settlement and the value of zero identifying non-residential areas. The product assessment concluded good performance. The cross-comparison against 2356 city or town locations in GeoNames proved an overall high agreement (88%) and approximately 80% agreement was achieved when compared against visually interpreted 650 urban extent areas in the year 1990, 2000, and 2010.

Control variables

To provide a holistic assessment of the urban form effects, we included control variables that are regarded as important in influencing air quality to account for the confounding effects.

Four variables, separately population size, population density, and two economic measures, were acquired from the China City Statistical Yearbook 56 (National Bureau of Statistics 2000–2014). Population size is used to control for the absolute level of pollution emissions 41 . Larger populations are associated with increased vehicle usage and vehicle-kilometers travels, and consequently boost tailpipes emissions 5 . Population density is a useful reflector of transportation demand and the fraction of emissions inhaled by people 57 . We also included gross regional product (GRP) and the proportion of GRP generated from the secondary sector (GRP2). The impact of economic development on air quality is significant but in a dynamic way 58 . The rising per capita income due to the concentration of manufacturing industrial activities can deteriorate air quality and vice versa if the stronger economy is the outcome of the concentration of less polluting high-tech industries. Meteorological conditions also have short- and long-term effects on the occurrence, transport, and dispersion of air pollutants 59 – 61 . Temperature affects chemical reactions and atmospheric turbulence that determine the formation and diffusion of particles 62 . Low air humidity can lead to the accumulation of air pollutants due to it is conducive to the adhesion of atmospheric particulate matter on water vapor 63 . Whereas high humidity can lead to wet deposition processes that can remove air pollutants by rainfall. Wind speed is a crucial indicator of atmospheric activity by greatly affect air pollutant transport and dispersion. All meteorological variables were calculated based on China 1 km raster layers of monthly relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed that are interpolated from over 800 ground monitoring stations 64 . Based on the monthly layer, we calculated the annual mean of each variable for each year. Finally, all pixels falling inside of the city boundary were averaged to represent the overall meteorological condition of each city.

Considering the dynamic urban form-air pollution relationship evidenced from the literature review, our hypothesis is: the determinants of PM 2.5 level trends are not the same for cities undergoing different levels of development or in different geographic regions. To test this hypothesis, we first categorized city groups following (1) social-economic development level, (2) spatial autocorrelation relationship, and (3) population size. We then assessed the relationship between urban form and PM 2.5 level trends by city groups. Finally, we applied the panel data models to different city groups for hypothesis testing and key determinant identification (Fig.  1 ).

Methodology workflow.

Calculation of urban form metrics

Based on the previous knowledge 65 – 67 , fifteen landscape metrics falling into three categories, separately area, shape, and aggregation, were selected. Those metrics quantify the compositional and configurational characteristics of the urban landscape, as represented by urban expansion, urban shape complexity, and compactness (Table ​ (Table1 1 ).

Definition and description of the urban form metrics.

A , total landscape area; a j , area of patch j ; C jr , contiguity value for pixel r in patch j ; E , total length of the edge in landscape in terms of cell surfaces; g ii , number of like adjacencies between pixels of urban patch i based on the single-count method; m a x → g ii , maximum number of like adjacencies between pixels of urban patch; n , number of urban patches; p j , perimeter of patch j ; v , sum of the values in a 3-by-3 cell template; . denotes p value < 0.1; * p value < 0.05; ** p value < 0.01; *** p value < 0.001. Cells in grey shadow show descriptive statistics of the corresponding variables in 2014.

Area metrics gives an overview of the urban extent and the size of urban patches that are correlated with PM 2.5 20 . As an indicator of the urbanization degree, total area (TA) typically increases constantly or remains stable, because the urbanization process is irreversible. Number of patches (NP) refers to the number of discrete parcels of urban settlement within a given urban extent and Mean Patch Size (AREA_MN) measures the average patch size. Patch density (PD) indicates the urbanization stages. It usually increases with urban diffusion until coalescence starts, after which decreases in number 66 . Largest Patch Index (LPI) measures the percentage of the landscape encompassed by the largest urban patch.

The shape complexity of urban patches was represented by Mean Patch Shape Index (SHAPE_MN), Mean Patch Fractal Dimension (FRAC_MN), and Mean Contiguity Index (CONTIG_MN). The greater irregularity the landscape shape, the larger the value of SHAPE_MN and FRAC_MN. CONTIG_MN is another method of assessing patch shape based on the spatial connectedness or contiguity of cells within a patch. Larger contiguous patches will result in larger CONTIG_MN.

Aggregation metrics measure the spatial compactness of urban land, which affects pollutant diffusion and dilution. Mean Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance (ENN_MN) quantifies the average distance between two patches within a landscape. It decreases as patches grow together and increases as the urban areas expand. Landscape Shape Index (LSI) indicates the divergence of the shape of a landscape patch that increases as the landscape becomes increasingly disaggregated 68 . Patch Cohesion Index (COHESION) is suggestive of the connectedness degree of patches 69 . Splitting Index (SPLIT) and Landscape Division Index (DIVISION) increase as the separation of urban patches rises, whereas, Mesh Size (MESH) decreases as the landscape becomes more fragmented. Aggregation Index (AI) measures the degree of aggregation or clumping of urban patches. Higher values of continuity indicate higher building densities, which may have a stronger effect on pollution diffusion.

The detailed descriptions of these indices are given by the FRAGSTATS user’s guide 70 . The calculation input is a layer of binary grids of urban/nonurban. The resulting output is a table containing one row for each city and multiple columns representing the individual metrics.

Division of cities

Division based on the socioeconomic development level.

The socioeconomic development level in China is uneven. The unequal development of the transportation system, descending in topography from the west to the east, combined with variations in the availability of natural and human resources and industrial infrastructure, has produced significantly wide gaps in the regional economies of China. By taking both the economic development level and natural geography into account, China can be loosely classified into Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Eastern China is generally wealthier than the interior, resulting from closeness to coastlines and the Open-Door Policy favoring coastal regions. Western China is historically behind in economic development because of its high elevation and rugged topography, which creates barriers in the transportation infrastructure construction and scarcity of arable lands. Central China, echoing its name, is in the process of economic development. This region neither benefited from geographic convenience to the coast nor benefited from any preferential policies, such as the Western Development Campaign.

Division based on spatial autocorrelation relationship

The second type of division follows the fact that adjacent cities are likely to form air pollution clusters due to the mixing and diluting nature of air pollutants 71 , i.e., cities share similar pollution levels as its neighbors. The underlying processes driving the formation of pollution hot spots and cold spots may differ. Thus, we further divided the city into groups based on the spatial clusters of PM 2.5 level changes.

Local indicators of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) was used to determine the local patterns of PM 2.5 distribution by clustering cities with a significant association. In the presence of global spatial autocorrelation, LISA indicates whether a variable exhibits significant spatial dependence and heterogeneity at a given scale 72 . Practically, LISA relates each observation to its neighbors and assigns a value of significance level and degree of spatial autocorrelation, which is calculated by the similarity in variable z between observation i and observation j in the neighborhood of i defined by a matrix of weights w ij 7 , 73 :

where I i is the Moran’s I value for location i ; σ 2 is the variance of variable z ; z ¯ is the average value of z with the sample number of n . The weight matrix w ij is defined by the k-nearest neighbors distance measure, i.e., each object’s neighborhood consists of four closest cites.

The computation of Moran’s I enables the identification of hot spots and cold spots. The hot spots are high-high clusters where the increase in the PM 2.5 level is higher than the surrounding areas, whereas cold spots are low-low clusters with the presence of low values in a low-value neighborhood. A Moran scatterplot, with x-axis as the original variable and y-axis as the spatially lagged variable, reflects the spatial association pattern. The slope of the linear fit to the scatter plot is an estimation of the global Moran's I 72 (Fig.  2 ). The plot consists of four quadrants, each defining the relationship between an observation 74 . The upper right quadrant indicates hot spots and the lower left quadrant displays cold spots 75 .

Moran’s I scatterplot. Figure was produced by R 3.4.3 76 .

Division based on population size

The last division was based on population size, which is a proven factor in changing per capita emissions in a wide selection of global cities, even outperformed land urbanization rate 77 – 79 . We used the 2014 urban population to classify the cities into four groups based on United Nations definitions 80 : (1) large agglomerations with a total population larger than 1 million; (2) mid-sized cities, 500,000–1 million; (3) small cities, 250,000–500,000, and (4) very small cities, 100,000–250,000.

Panel data analysis

The panel data analysis is an analytical method that deals with observations from multiple entities over multiple periods. Its capacity in analyzing the characteristics and changes from both the time-series and cross-section dimensions of data surpasses conventional models that purely focus on one dimension 81 , 82 . The estimation equation for the panel data model in this study is given as:

where the subscript i and t refer to city and year respectively. β 0 is the intercept parameter and β 1 - β 18 are the estimates of slope coefficients. ε is the random error. All variables are transformed into natural logarithms.

Two methods can be used to obtain model estimates, separately fixed effects estimator and random effects estimator. The fixed effects estimator assumes that each subject has its specific characteristics due to inherent individual characteristic effects in the error term, thereby allowing differences to be intercepted between subjects. The random effects estimator assumes that the individual characteristic effect changes stochastically, and the differences in subjects are not fixed in time and are independent between subjects. To choose the right estimator, we run both models for each group of cities based on the Hausman specification test 83 . The null hypothesis is that random effects model yields consistent and efficient estimates 84 : H 0 : E ε i | X it = 0 . If the null hypothesis is rejected, the fixed effects model will be selected for further inferences. Once the better estimator was determined for each model, one optimal panel data model was fit to each city group of one division type. In total, six, four, and eight runs were conducted for socioeconomic, spatial autocorrelation, and population division separately and three, two, and four panel data models were finally selected.

Spatial patterns of PM 2.5 level changes

During the period from 2000 to 2014, the annual mean PM 2.5 concentration of all cities increases from 27.78 to 42.34 µg/m 3 , both of which exceed the World Health Organization recommended annual mean standard (10 µg/m 3 ). It is worth noting that the PM 2.5 level in the year 2014 also exceeds China’s air quality Class 2 standard (35 µg/m 3 ) that applies to non-national park places, including urban and industrial areas. The standard deviation of annual mean PM 2.5 values for all cities increases from 12.34 to 16.71 µg/m 3 , which shows a higher variability of inter-urban PM 2.5 pollution after a decadal period. The least and most heavily polluted cities in China are Delingha, Qinghai (3.01 µg/m 3 ) and Jizhou, Hubei (64.15 µg/m 3 ) in 2000 and Hami, Xinjiang (6.86 µg/m 3 ) and Baoding, Hubei (86.72 µg/m 3 ) in 2014.

Spatially, the changes in PM 2.5 levels exhibit heterogeneous patterns across cities (Fig.  3 b). According to the socioeconomic level division (Fig.  3 a), the Eastern, Central, and Western region experienced a 38.6, 35.3, and 25.5 µg/m 3 increase in annual PM 2.5 mean , separately, and the difference among regions is significant according to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) results (Fig.  4 a). When stratified by spatial autocorrelation relationship (Fig.  3 c), the differences in PM 2.5 changes among the spatial clusters are even more dramatic. The average PM 2.5 increase in cities belonging to the high-high cluster is approximately 25 µg/m 3 , as compared to 5 µg/m 3 in the low-low clusters (Fig.  4 b). Finally, cities at four different population levels have significant differences in the changes of PM 2.5 concentration (Fig.  3 d), except for the mid-sized cities and large city agglomeration (Fig.  4 c).

( a ) Division of cities in China by socioeconomic development level and the locations of provincial capitals; ( b ) Changes in annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations between the year 2000 and 2014; ( c ) LISA cluster maps for PM 2.5 changes at the city level; High-high indicates a statistically significant cluster of high PM 2.5 level changes over the study period. Low-low indicates a cluster of low PM 2.5 inter-annual variation; No high-low cluster is reported; Low–high represents cities with high PM 2.5 inter-annual variation surrounded by cities with low variation; ( d ) Population level by cities in the year 2014. Maps were produced by ArcGIS 10.7.1 85 .

Boxplots of PM 2.5 concentration changes between 2000 and 2014 for city groups that are formed according to ( a ) socioeconomic development level division, ( b ) LISA clusters, and ( c ) population level. Asterisk marks represent the p value of ANOVA significant test between the corresponding pair of groups. Note ns not significant; * p value < 0.05; ** p value < 0.01; *** p value < 0.001; H–H high-high cluster, L–H low–high cluster, L–L denotes low–low cluster.

The effects of urban forms on PM 2.5 changes

The Hausman specification test for fixed versus random effects yields a p value less than 0.05, suggesting that the fixed effects model has better performance. We fit one panel data model to each city group and built nine models in total. All models are statistically significant at the p  < 0.05 level and have moderate to high predictive power with the R 2 values ranging from 0.63 to 0.95, which implies that 63–95% of the variation in the PM 2.5 concentration changes can be explained by the explanatory variables (Table ​ (Table2 2 ).

Results of fix effected panel model.

*Significance level of 0.05; **significance level of 0.01; ***significance level of 0.001.

The urban form—PM 2.5 relationships differ distinctly in Eastern, Central, and Western China. All models reach high R 2 values. Model for Eastern China (refer to hereafter as Eastern model) achieves the highest R 2 (0.90), and the model for the Western China (refer to hereafter as Western model) reaches the lowest R 2 (0.83). The shape metrics FRAC and CONTIG are correlated with PM 2.5 changes in the Eastern model, whereas the area metrics AREA demonstrates a positive effect in the Western model. In contrast to the significant associations between shape, area metrics and PM 2.5 level changes in both Eastern and Western models, no such association was detected in the Central model. Nonetheless, two aggregation metrics, LSI and AI, play positive roles in determining the PM 2.5 trends in the Central model.

For models built upon the LISA clusters, the H–H model (R 2  = 0.95) reaches a higher fitting degree than the L–L model (R 2  = 0.63). The estimated coefficients vary substantially. In the H–H model, the coefficient of CONTIG is positive, which indicates that an increase in CONTIG would increase PM 2.5 pollution. In contrast, no shape metrics but one area metrics AREA is significant in the L–L model.

The results of the regression models built for cities at different population levels exhibit a distinct pattern. No urban form metrics was identified to have a significant relationship with the PM 2.5 level changes in groups of very small and mid-sized cities. For small size cities, the aggregation metrics COHESION was positively associated whereas AI was negatively related. For mid-sized cities and large agglomerations, CONTIG is the only significant variable that is positively related to PM 2.5 level changes.

Urban form is an effective measure of long-term PM 2.5 trends

All panel data models are statistically significant regardless of the data group they are built on, suggesting that the associations between urban form and ambient PM 2.5 level changes are discernible at all city levels. Importantly, these relationships are found to hold when controlling for population size and gross domestic product, implying that the urban landscape patterns have effects on long-term PM 2.5 trends that are independent of regional economic performance. These findings echo with the local, regional, and global evidence of urban form effect on various air pollution types 5 , 14 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 39 , 78 .

Although all models demonstrate moderate to high predictive power, the way how different urban form metrics respond to the dependent variable varies. Of all the metrics tested, shape metrics, especially CONTIG has the strongest effect on PM 2.5 trends in cities belonging to the high-high cluster, Eastern, and large urban agglomerations. All those regions have a strong economy and higher population density 86 . In the group of cities that are moderately developed, such as the Central region, as well as small- and mid-sized cities, aggregation metrics play a dominant negative role in PM 2.5 level changes. In contrast, in the least developed cities belonging to the low-low cluster regions and Western China, the metrics describing size and number of urban patches are the strongest predictors. AREA and NP are positively related whereas TA is negatively associated.

The impacts of urban form metrics on air quality vary by urbanization degree

Based on the above observations, how urban form affects within-city PM 2.5 level changes may differ over the urbanization stages. We conceptually summarized the pattern in Fig.  5 : area metrics have the most substantial influence on air pollution changes at the early urban development stage, and aggregation metrics emerge at the transition stage, whereas shape metrics affect the air quality trends at the terminal stage. The relationship between urban form and air pollution has rarely been explored with such a wide range of city selections. Most prior studies were focused on large urban agglomeration areas, and thus their conclusions are not representative towards small cities at the early or transition stage of urbanization.

The most influential metric of urban form in affecting PM 2.5 level changes at different urbanization stages.

Not surprisingly, the area metrics, which describe spatial grain of the landscape, exert a significant effect on PM 2.5 level changes in small-sized cities. This could be explained by the unusual urbanization speed of small-sized cities in the Chinese context. Their thriving mostly benefited from the urbanization policy in the 1980s, which emphasized industrialization of rural, small- and mid-sized cities 87 . With the large rural-to-urban migration and growing public interest in investing real estate market, a side effect is that the massive housing construction that sometimes exceeds market demand. Residential activities decline in newly built areas of smaller cities in China, leading to what are known as ghost cities 88 . Although ghost cities do not exist for all cities, high rate of unoccupied dwellings is commonly seen in cities under the prefectural level. This partly explained the negative impacts of TA on PM 2.5 level changes, as an expanded while unoccupied or non-industrialized urban zones may lower the average PM 2.5 concentration within the city boundary, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the air quality got improved in the city cores.

Aggregation metrics at the landscape scale is often referred to as landscape texture that quantifies the tendency of patch types to be spatially aggregated; i.e., broadly speaking, aggregated or “contagious” distributions. This group of metrics is most effective in capturing the PM 2.5 trends in mid-sized cities (population range 25–50 k) and Central China, where the urbanization process is still undergoing. The three significant variables that reflect the spatial property of dispersion, separately landscape shape index, patch cohesion index, and aggregation index, consistently indicate that more aggregated landscape results in a higher degree of PM 2.5 level changes. Theoretically, the more compact urban form typically leads to less auto dependence and heavier reliance on the usage of public transit and walking, which contributes to air pollution mitigation 89 . This phenomenon has also been observed in China, as the vehicle-use intensity (kilometers traveled per vehicle per year, VKT) has been declining over recent years 90 . However, VKT only represents the travel intensity of one car and does not reflect the total distance traveled that cumulatively contribute to the local pollution. It should be noted that the private light-duty vehicle ownership in China has increased exponentially and is forecast to reach 23–42 million by 2050, with the share of new-growth purchases representing 16–28% 90 . In this case, considering the increased total distance traveled, the less dispersed urban form can exert negative effects on air quality by concentrating vehicle pollution emissions in a limited space.

Finally, urban contiguity, observed as the most effective shape metric in indicating PM 2.5 level changes, provides an assessment of spatial connectedness across all urban patches. Urban contiguity is found to have a positive effect on the long-term PM 2.5 pollution changes in large cities. Urban contiguity reflects to which degree the urban landscape is fragmented. Large contiguous patches result in large CONTIG_MN values. Among the 626 cities, only 11% of cities experience negative changes in urban contiguity. For example, Qingyang, Gansu is one of the cities-featuring leapfrogs and scattered development separated by vacant land that may later be filled in as the development continues (Fig.  6 ). Most Chinese cities experienced increased urban contiguity, with less fragmented and compacted landscape. A typical example is Shenzhou, Hebei, where CONTIG_MN rose from 0.27 to 0.45 within the 14 years. Although the 13 counties in Shenzhou are very far scattered from each other, each county is growing intensively internally rather than sprawling further outside. And its urban layout is thus more compact (Fig.  6 ). The positive association revealed in this study contradicts a global study indicating that cities with highly contiguous built-up areas have lower NO 2 pollution 22 . We noticed that the principal emission sources of NO 2 differ from that of PM 2.5. NO 2 is primarily emitted with the combustion of fossil fuels (e.g., industrial processes and power generation) 6 , whereas road traffic attributes more to PM 2.5 emissions. Highly connected urban form is likely to cause traffic congestion and trap pollution inside the street canyon, which accumulates higher PM 2.5 concentration. Computer simulation results also indicate that more compact cities improve urban air quality but are under the premise that mixed land use should be presented 18 . With more connected impervious surfaces, it is merely impossible to expect increasing urban green spaces. If compact urban development does not contribute to a rising proportion of green areas, then such a development does not help mitigating air pollution 41 .

Six cities illustrating negative to positive changes in CONTIG_MN and AREA_MN. Pixels in black show the urban areas in the year 2000 and pixels in red are the expanded urban areas from the year 2000 to 2014. Figure was produced by ArcGIS 10.7.1 85 .

Conclusions

This study explores the regional land-use patterns and air quality in a country with an extraordinarily heterogeneous urbanization pattern. Our study is the first of its kind in investigating such a wide range selection of cities ranging from small-sized ones to large metropolitan areas spanning a long time frame, to gain a comprehensive insight into the varying effects of urban form on air quality trends. And the primary insight yielded from this study is the validation of the hypothesis that the determinants of PM 2.5 level trends are not the same for cities at various developmental levels or in different geographic regions. Certain measures of urban form are robust predictors of air quality trends for a certain group of cities. Therefore, any planning strategy aimed at reducing air pollution should consider its current development status and based upon which, design its future plan. To this end, it is also important to emphasize the main shortcoming of this analysis, which is generally centered around the selection of control variables. This is largely constrained by the available information from the City Statistical Yearbook. It will be beneficial to further polish this study by including other important controlling factors, such as vehicle possession.

Acknowledgements

Lu Liang received intramural research funding support from the UNT Office of Research and Innovation. Peng Gong is partially supported by the National Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (2016YFA0600104), and donations from Delos Living LLC and the Cyrus Tang Foundation to Tsinghua University.

Author contributions

L.L. and P.G. wrote the main manuscript text. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Introduction.

We often consider urbanisation to be a positive phenomenon. To a large extent, it is rightly so. We know how remote areas get developed, and huge infrastructure is set up as part of urbanisation. This leads to the creation of many educational and job opportunities so that people can lead better lives. Well, urbanisation sounds really interesting, right? But we must also be aware of how it contributes to pollution, and this essay on pollution due to urbanisation will be helpful to know more about it.

Children are familiar with air pollution , water pollution, and land pollution. It is time that we teach them how urbanisation leads to pollution and causes harm to the environment. Like building schools, hospitals and factories, and roads are also developed as part of urbanisation, increasing the chances of pollution by air, water or land. This short essay on pollution due to urbanisation will delve more into this topic.

Negative Effects of Urbanisation

Due to urbanisation, factories and industries are springing up in different places, and the number of vehicles on the road is increasing. The air and gases emitted from factories and vehicles contaminate the atmosphere, thus leading to pollution. In this essay on pollution due to urbanisation, we will see how urbanisation is a major threat to the environment .

The air in cities has become toxic due to the harmful gases and smoke given out by automobiles and factories. Besides, household and industrial wastes are dumped into the water bodies, thus making them unsafe for consumption and use.

We will also see other ways in which urbanisation is causing pollution in the environment through this short essay on pollution due to urbanisation. Trees are cut down to build houses and buildings, and there is a significant rise in noise pollution and land pollution because of urbanisation. Eventually, people will struggle to get clean food and water for survival and suffer from many health issues. Moreover, our environment will deteriorate as all our natural resources will get depleted, resulting in phenomena like global warming , deforestation and acid rain, among others.

Ways to Reduce Pollution Due to Urbanisation

We dream of making every village a city by constructing schools, buildings, offices and roads. Urbanisation is seen as a sign of development, and hence, we believe it to be good for us. But it is equally important to address the issues of pollution to truly enjoy the benefits of urbanisation. This essay on pollution due to urbanisation will now discuss some effective measures to curb pollution by various means.

By fixing leaky pipes, segregating dry/wet and paper/plastic waste, reusing plastic bottles, and using biogas for cooking, we can limit the pollution from households. Besides, we can ensure proper disposal of industrial waste without dumping it in water or land. Industries must also take care to use non-toxic chemicals or materials and set up efficient machines. Thus, this short essay on pollution due to urbanisation emphasises taking active steps to reduce pollution.

Urbanisation is an important developmental measure for any country, but we must ensure that it takes place without damaging the environment. Let us also make our children aware of this problem through this essay on pollution due to urbanisation. You can check out more amazing essays, stories , GK questions, and worksheets for kids on our website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is urbanisation.

Urbanisation is the process of turning rural villages and areas into modern cities by constructing roads, buildings, schools and offices.

Does urbanisation cause pollution?

Since urbanisation involves setting up factories and building roads, pollution is bound to happen through the air, water, soil, land, and noise.

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Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in English for Students Exams

December 29, 2023 entranciology Full Essays and Articles For All Competitive Exams 0

Urbanization, the rapid growth of cities and towns, is a defining feature of modern society. While it brings about economic development, improved infrastructure, and increased opportunities, it also comes with a hidden cost—pollution. As urban areas expand, pollution emerges as a pervasive challenge, affecting air, water, and soil quality. This essay explores the multifaceted impacts of pollution due to urbanization, highlighting the need for sustainable urban development and environmental stewardship.

Air Pollution

The concentration of industries, vehicular traffic, and increased energy consumption in urban areas contribute significantly to air pollution. Emissions from vehicles, industrial processes, and power plants release pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. These pollutants not only degrade air quality but also pose serious health risks, leading to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and other adverse health effects among urban populations.

Water Pollution

Urbanization often leads to increased impervious surfaces, such as roads and pavements, which hinder the natural filtration of water through soil. Consequently, urban runoff carries pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and debris into water bodies, contaminating rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Poorly managed wastewater disposal from industrial and residential sources further exacerbates water pollution, threatening aquatic ecosystems and jeopardizing the availability of safe drinking water.

Soil Contamination

Urbanization introduces a variety of contaminants into the soil, including heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Construction activities, improper waste disposal, and industrial runoff contribute to soil degradation. Contaminated soil not only affects the health of plants but also poses risks to human health through the consumption of contaminated food.

Noise Pollution

The bustling nature of urban areas, characterized by constant human activity, vehicular traffic, and industrial operations, results in elevated noise levels. Noise pollution has adverse effects on physical and mental well-being, causing stress, sleep disturbances, and hearing impairments. It also disrupts ecosystems, impacting wildlife behavior and communication.

Heat Island Effect

Urbanization leads to the creation of heat islands, where the abundance of concrete and asphalt surfaces absorbs and retains heat. This phenomenon raises local temperatures, contributing to increased energy consumption for cooling purposes and negatively affecting the urban microclimate. The heat island effect compounds the challenges of climate change, amplifying temperature extremes and impacting the overall livability of urban areas.

Solutions and Sustainable Urban Development

Addressing pollution due to urbanization requires a holistic approach to urban planning and development. Sustainable practices, such as green infrastructure, efficient waste management, and the promotion of public transportation, can mitigate the environmental impact of urbanization. Embracing renewable energy sources, implementing green building standards, and creating green spaces within urban landscapes contribute to a more sustainable and resilient urban environment.

Public Awareness and Advocacy

Public awareness is key to fostering a sense of responsibility and encouraging sustainable practices among urban dwellers. Education campaigns, community engagement, and advocacy for environmentally friendly policies can empower individuals to make informed choices that contribute to pollution reduction and overall environmental health.

As urbanization continues to shape the global landscape, it is imperative to acknowledge and address the environmental challenges it brings. Pollution resulting from urbanization poses threats to human health, biodiversity, and the overall well-being of urban environments. By embracing sustainable urban development practices, implementing effective policies, and fostering a culture of environmental responsibility, cities can navigate the path to growth without compromising the health of the planet and its inhabitants. The vision for the future must be one where urbanization and environmental sustainability coexist harmoniously, ensuring a healthy and thriving planet for generations to come.

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Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Students are often asked to write an essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Introduction.

Urbanisation is the shift of population from rural to urban areas. It’s a sign of progress, but it also brings pollution.

Causes of Pollution

Urbanisation leads to increased vehicles, industries, and waste, causing air, water, and land pollution.

Effects of Pollution

Pollution harms our health, affects wildlife, and contributes to climate change.

While urbanisation is necessary, we must also focus on sustainable development to reduce pollution.

250 Words Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Urbanisation, the shift of population from rural to urban areas, has been a global trend over the past century. While it has driven economic growth and development, it has also led to a significant increase in pollution, posing serious environmental challenges.

Types of Pollution

Urbanisation primarily contributes to air, water, and noise pollution. Rapid industrialisation, increasing vehicles, and construction activities have intensified the release of harmful pollutants into the air. Water sources are contaminated by industrial effluents and domestic waste, while the incessant noise from vehicles and industries disrupts the tranquillity of urban areas.

Impact on Environment and Health

This pollution has far-reaching impacts on both the environment and human health. It leads to climate change, biodiversity loss, and degradation of natural resources. For humans, exposure to polluted air and water increases the risk of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and other health problems.

Need for Sustainable Urbanisation

The current trend of urbanisation is unsustainable. There is an urgent need to adopt eco-friendly practices, promote green technologies, and improve waste management. Policymakers must also focus on creating urban spaces that balance development with environmental preservation.

Urbanisation is a double-edged sword. While it brings economic prosperity and societal advancement, it also leads to pollution and environmental degradation. The challenge is to harness the benefits of urbanisation while minimising its negative impacts, ensuring a sustainable future for all.

500 Words Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanisation

Urbanisation, the process of transforming rural areas into urban spaces, has been a double-edged sword for humanity. On one hand, it has brought about economic growth, social development, and technological advancements. On the other hand, it has led to an unprecedented increase in pollution, posing a serious threat to the environment and human health.

The Impact of Urbanisation on Air Quality

One of the most visible forms of pollution resulting from urbanisation is air pollution. As cities grow, the demand for energy, transportation, and industry escalates. This leads to increased emissions of harmful pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. These pollutants not only degrade air quality but also contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, affecting both human health and the environment.

Urbanisation and Water Pollution

Urbanisation also significantly contributes to water pollution. Rapid urban growth often outpaces the development of necessary infrastructure, such as sewage and waste treatment facilities. As a result, untreated waste often finds its way into rivers and lakes, leading to the contamination of water bodies. This not only harms aquatic life but also poses risks to human health, as polluted water is a major source of diseases like cholera and dysentery.

The Role of Urbanisation in Soil and Noise Pollution

Soil pollution is another environmental issue exacerbated by urbanisation. The construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure often involves the removal of topsoil, leading to soil degradation. Additionally, the improper disposal of solid waste in urban areas can lead to soil contamination.

Noise pollution, often overlooked, is a significant byproduct of urbanisation. The constant din of traffic, construction, and other urban activities can have serious implications for human health, including stress-related illnesses, hearing loss, and sleep disturbances.

Urbanisation and the Heat Island Effect

Urbanisation also contributes to the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. This occurs when urban areas, due to their concrete structures and lack of green spaces, absorb and retain more heat than surrounding rural areas. This not only increases energy consumption for cooling but also exacerbates global warming.

In conclusion, while urbanisation brings about numerous benefits, it also contributes significantly to various forms of pollution. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt sustainable urban planning and development practices. This includes promoting energy-efficient technologies, improving waste management systems, and preserving green spaces. Only through such measures can we ensure that the process of urbanisation is in harmony with the environment, thus securing a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

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Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in English

Table of Contents

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization: Pollution is one of the biggest issues that we as a society face today. The everyday deteriorating environment is a big challenge for humans. The mixing of any harmful substance or pollutants in our natural environment is called pollution. It is due to human activity, many contaminators get introduced into the natural environment thereby polluting it to harmful levels. There are many reasons why pollution occurs and one of the major one is urbanization.

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Long and Short Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in English

In this section we have tried to cover all aspects of pollution due to urbanization in varying lengths to help you with the same in your exam. You can select any Pollution due to Urbanization essay as per your need:

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization – Essay 1 (200 words)

Our mother earth is choking and we are helpless. We face many challenges today and one of them is pollution. When any contaminating substance is added in our environment and pollutes our natural resources called pollution. There are many reasons of pollution and human beings are responsible for most of it. Our activities have depleted our natural resources and our natural habitat.

One of the main reasons of human pollution is urbanization. When human being started establishing cities and industrialization happened than the level of pollution started increasing. The harsh reality of urbanization is that many beautiful valleys, mountains, hills stations and forests have been converted into vessels of pollution. The needs of human beings kept on increasing day by day and to satisfy those needs we exploited our mother earth. Trees were cut down, rivers and lakes were contaminated and natural reserves were misused.

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The result today is that we live in highly polluted cities where day to day life is becoming increasingly tuff. We face many health issues due to this urban pollution and the worst part is that we do not even realize that. It is high time that we must now adopt ways to curb this pollution and create a better world for our future generations.

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in India – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

The days are gone when kids would roam freely on streets and birds would fly in the sky. Such a nice scene has been very rare to see, nowadays. We should blame ourselves only! India was a land of villages; our culture arose from villages only. But than we did something so bad that we are paying the price of it even today. We have replaced the major part of earth with factories, mills and building causing pollution .

There are Various Levels at which Urban Pollution is happening like:

Types and Causes of Urban Pollution

• Air Pollution: The air in the urban areas is always polluted with harmful substances and it is becoming hazardous day by day to breathe. The air in the cities is choking. The smoke from automobiles, factories and power generators make the air unhealthy. There are other factors also like chemical spills and other toxic gases that contaminate the air.
• Water Pollution: As it is there are very less natural water sources in the urban areas and the ones that are there are getting increasingly polluted. There is a lot of disposal in the lakes and rivers like household & industrial disposal. A lot of waste gets mixed with rain and washed into the waters .
• Soil Pollution: The mixing of toxins in the soil is disturbing the eco-system.
• Noise Pollution: Urban areas are one of the noisiest ones. Various sources of noise pollution include traffic noises, loud-speakers and other unwanted noises cause many health issues .
• Radioactive Pollution: The accidental leakage by nuclear power plants poses a big threat.
• Visual Pollution: The over exposure of visuals in the cities in the form of signs, billboards, screens, high intensity lights etc. are also quite disturbing .
• Other than these there is also ‘Thermal pollution’ that is caused by excessive amount of heat trapped in earth’s atmosphere.

Conclusion:

The various means of pollution in urban areas can lead to many health issues in the people living in cities. We are everyday exposed to more than one of these health issues sources.

Essay about Problems Due To Urbanization – Essay 3 (400 words)

We achieved a big step when we urbanized our villages but it came with a price. We surely have a luxurious and a comfortable life in the modern day cities and towns but it has dent a big hole in the health of our environment. It has brought with it many problems that we face. The developing cities saw a rapid growth and this urbanization brought with it a web of difficulties and we seem to be stuck in them.

Problems Due to Urbanization

The need of free space to build roads, buildings and bridges etc made a massive deforestation happen. The trees were cut down, the fields were cleared and space was created to accommodate the ever rising population. It is a no-brainer that cutting of trees is a major reason of pollution. The high density of population created a lack of everything like space, natural resources like water, coal etc.

The interaction of urban population with environment caused some serious problems. The consumption patterns and the lifestyle of urban population changed the environment massively. The urban population consumes more food, energy and water. The air in urban areas is much more polluted than the rural ones. This is mainly because of the use of automobiles and building up of industries and factories that pollute the air at an increasing rate. Almost everything that we use works on electricity. The need for electricity in the cities is always rising and to meet that more power plants are build and that pollutes the air.

The lakes, rivers and any other water bodies in urban areas is always polluted by the dump of industrial waste and sewage. The marine life faces a lot of danger. We cannot ignore that noise pollution is one of the major causes of stress related issues in urban population. More and more trees are cut down to meet the needs of urban people and in exchange very less tress are planted. The use of plastic is another major reason of degradation of environment .

Studies show that urbanization is one of the major causes of depleting natural resources. We are constantly damaging our mother earth and the result is high pollution levels in the cities and towns. It is not possible to reverse the damage that we have already done but we can surely take some preventive measures and control the further damage. It is high time that we take some serious steps to save our planet and leave a better tomorrow .

Essay on Pollution Caused by Urbanization and Its Solutions – Essay 4 (500 words)

The advancement of technology and industrialization has caused the rapid growth in our lifestyle. Long back we started developing cities that are well equipped with all the facilities. The process of urbanization created a big dent in the health of our environment. The natural resources were depleted and this excessive use of technology and energy became a major source of pollution and today we live in a world that is highly polluted and unfit living .

Pollution Caused by Urbanization

There are various pollution that are caused by urbanization like air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, thermal pollution, global warming, deforestation etc. It is high time that now we must adopt ways and means by which we can improve the health of the environment.

There is a Number of Solutions that we can apply and create a Better Tomorrow.

Solutions and Prevention of Urban Pollution

• Conserve Energy: The urban area’s people always use more energy than the rural area’s people. The consumption of energy causes various kinds of pollution. Saving energy wherever possible is one of the best ways to curb pollution. Turn off the electrical appliances when they are not being used. This small step can help in a big way.
• Use less water: We waste a lot of water daily and this can lead to bad consequences. We must try and use as less water as possible .
• Plant more trees: The urban areas are the ones that have less greeneries. Try to plant many trees and vegetation as much as possible in your surrounding areas. Kitchen garden and small lawn near home is a good idea .
• Green belts: Government can help and declare some areas in every city as green belts so that trees and other plants can be grown there without any obstruction .
• Use less loudspeakers: The minimum use of loud speakers can reduce the noise pollution a lot. Decreasing the volume of music at functions after a certain time is also a good move.
• Indoors: The indoors of the homes are also highly polluted in cities. We must have some plants inside the homes also, that can filter the indoor polluted air.
• Industrial waste: The factory owners must try and make possible that industrial waste is not dumped in the lakes or rivers. Government can also make laws for the same.
• Say no to plastic: Plastic is one of the most harmful substances that can pollute air, water and soil all together. We must try and minimize the use of plastic as much as possible. Use just cloth bags instead of plastic.
• Use Public transport: Avoid using cars and bikes for daily use. Try to use public transport, bicycle and car pools. This will not only curb air pollution but will also decrease the traffic on roads.
• Walk: Try to go to nearby areas on foot i.e. walking, this will reduce pollution and will also improve your health .
• Better garbage disposal: Use the structural methods of garbage disposal in cities.

A small step can help in a big way and contribution of every citizen will make the urban areas more livable. Following these simple steps and with a little help from the government, we can definitely reduce the city pollution a lot. If we do not wake up today and do not realize the worst condition of natural resources then after some time our future generations will not be able to survive, It’s far to enjoy the environment .

Essay on Pollution Due To Urbanization and Digital India – Essay 5 (600 words)

In order to create a better tomorrow we have created a difficult toady. We have urbanized our villages and made them into hi-tech cities that have all the modern facilities and everyday we are creating something or the other new. Today we all dream of a digital India. In a country every citizen uses technology for his/her betterment. We aim to create a world where everything is just a button push away. Everyday more and more Indians are using technology for making their day to day life easy. Today we have become the slaves of technology and cannot live without technology even for a minute. We need to be connected all the time. Even our government is trying to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society.

Digital India and Environmental Importance

We see a smart phone in the hands of everybody even a labor of these days. Everybody understands the power and the reach of the internet. We no more call, now video call our loved ones. Any information can reach to any corner of the world in seconds now. We cannot ignore the power of digitalization. But what is the important question here is that can digitization of the digital movement be ‘environmental substantial’. We must ask this question to the founding fathers of digital India; can they assure that through this digitization our precious environment will not be harmed? Is it possible to move forward with modernization without harming the natural resources and without disturbing the ecological balance?

The digital revolution is such thing which touches every aspect of our life as it connects us to the rest of the world all the time. We all know that the digital appliances have carbon emissions and that has harmful effects on our eco system. We are also aware that these appliances emit radiations that are very harmful for humans. It is also advised not to keep mobile phones very near to your head or heart at night.

So in short, these digital devices are more harmful than helpful. We are also consuming power at a rapid speed and soon all the power will be exhausted. We are creating new and more advanced devices day by and day and we forget that all these use power and more devices means more use of power. The consumption is increasing day by day but what we do not realize that natural resources are scarce. There will be a day when they will not be able to satisfy our power needs. Soon there will be a time when these devices will become uncontrollable and we will then suffer from the harmful effects.

The digital India comes with a cost. It can have effects on us at many levels like, it pollutes our environment, it degrades our ecosystem and most importantly it causes many harmful effects on our physical health. The radiations cause vision problems, headaches and many other such issues. What we lack are the tools of awareness that can tell us how to control these effects. Do we really need a digital India today that cannot promise a better tomorrow?

There is a strong need to create a mass concern effort that can bring awareness about these problems. Digitization is good but it must be in controlled levels so that we can move forward but also make sure that our environment is safe. It is our duty to leave a pollution free environment and safe world for our future generations.

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Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay

Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay In English - 1200 in words

In the recent past few years, rural population is increasingly migrating to the cities, as they are also attracted by the comfortable lifestyle like the urban people. Urbanization has become one of the most important issues which has brought many dire consequences in most of the countries.

Short and Long Essay on Pollution Due to Urbanization in English

Increase in pollution due to urbanization - essay 1 (300 words).

introduction

Gone are the days when children roamed the streets freely and birds flew in the sky. Such a beautiful sight is rarely seen nowadays. We ourselves are responsible for this. India was a country of villages; Our culture was born in the villages itself. But we have polluted the whole earth due to factories, mills and urbanization.

Increase in pollution due to urbanization and industrialization

One of the main causes of human pollution is urbanization. When humans started setting up cities and started setting up industries, pollution had started starting from then. The harsh reality of urbanization is that many beautiful valleys, mountains, hill stations and forests have turned into a heap of pollution.

The needs of human beings are increasing day by day and to fulfill those needs, we have exploited our mother earth a lot. Deforestation, contamination of rivers and lakes and misuse of natural reserves are the major consequences of urbanization and industrialization.

River - most affected

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, the impact of pollution on rivers has increased in the last few years. Availability of water for irrigation, drinking, industrial use, electricity etc. has become a challenge. The discharge of untreated wastewater from riverside cities is a major source of pollution load in rivers.

Today the result is that we live in highly polluted cities, where day by day life is changing rapidly. We face many health issues due to this urban pollution and the worst part is that we do not even realize it. This is the right time, there is a need to adopt ways to curb this pollution and make a better world for our coming generations.

Urbanization and Pollution - Essay 2 (400 words)

“This dangerous poison of pollution is putting an eclipse on the environment . ,

Pollution is the biggest concern of today's time. The lifestyle of cities has added to this even more. As we are moving ahead on the path of modernity, we are polluting our mother earth. What is the use of such materialistic opulence, which is taking us closer to death.

urbanization and pollution

The presence of toxic and contaminants in our surroundings is wreaking havoc on our habitat and introducing harmful non-biodegradable substances.

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These harmful chemical toxic elements cause 'pollution'. Humans and their undesirable ways have polluted the environment around us, this has been going on for many years and has reached an alarming level today.

worse in cities

The concern is more serious in urban areas as the green cover in metros is very less and the pollution level is very high. There is virtually no control over pollution and no scientific investigation has been developed yet, which can have a permanent effect to bring down the pollution level.

vehicle network

In urban areas, the density of vehicles is high, the smoke emitted from the vehicles is very dangerous and invites many diseases. Due to this people are suffering from deadly diseases like cancer, asthma etc. Air, water and land pollution is completely contaminating the environment around us.

as a result of industrialization

Chemicals released from factories, such as potassium and sulfur levels, have a negative effect on the soil and can destroy the top layers of the soil. Thus even fertile land may become barren and unfit for cultivation. It is one of the major causes of soil pollution.

Urbanization - the main cause of noise pollution

Urban dwellers often have to deal with harmful levels of noise and air pollution every day. As a result the quality of life is getting reduced, and it is causing long term harm to our lives. Urbanization and climate change are likely to increase pollution further in the coming years.

Pollution is injurious to our health. Due to air pollution, there are very fine levels of particulates present in the air which can choke our lungs and harm the respiratory system.

Pollution Due to Urbanization - Essay 3 (500 words)

“The problem of pollution is like a termite, which is slowly making the environment hollow.”

Our Mother Earth is suffocating and we are helpless. We are facing many challenges today and one of them is pollution. When any contaminant is mixed in our environment, it is called pollution.

Pollution pollutes our natural resources the most. Human beings are most to blame for pollution. Our activities have destroyed our natural resources and our natural habitat. Urbanization also plays a leading role in the major causes of pollution.

pollution caused by urbanization

air pollution:

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The air in urban areas is always polluted with harmful substances and it is becoming dangerous day by day to breathe. Smoke from automobiles, factories and power generators makes the air unhealthy. There are other factors as well, such as chemical distribution and other toxic gases that contaminate the air.

Water Pollution:

Water sources in urban areas are becoming increasingly polluted. Much of the domestic and industrial waste is dumped into lakes and rivers. Also a lot of garbage gets mixed in the rain and gets washed away in the water.

Soil Pollution:

Soil pollution is caused by the mixing of toxins in the soil. It is very harmful for us. Because the trees, plants and grains that we all eat, they all grow on this soil. All of them are also getting toxic due to soil pollution.

Noise Pollution:

Various sources of noise pollution include traffic noise, loud-speakers and other unwanted noises, which cause many health issues.

Loud music, television, people talking on the phone, traffic and even pets make them bark in the middle of the night. All these have become a part of urban culture and add to the noise pollution.

Radioactive Pollution:

Accidental leakage by nuclear power plants poses a major threat. Radioactive pollution occurs when there is the presence or accumulation of radioactive substances in the atmosphere or atmosphere, especially where their presence is accidental and when it poses an environmental hazard due to radioactive decay.

The destruction caused by radioactive substances is caused by the emission of dangerous ionizing radiation (radioactive decay) such as beta or alpha particles, gamma rays, or neurons in the atmosphere.

Thermal Pollution :

In today's world, thermal pollution is a huge threat and is mainly affected by power plants and industrial manufacturers, which use water as a coolant. Generally, this occurs when people or industries cause a sudden decrease or increase in the temperature of natural water bodies, which may include lakes, rivers, oceans or ponds.

Various means of pollution in urban areas can lead to many health issues among the people living in cities. We have tampered with nature a lot for our comfort, due to which we humans have to bear the brunt, and will have to bear further.

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Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay In English

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization

Pollution is one of the biggest issues that we as a society face today. The everyday deteriorating environment is a big challenge for humans. The mixing of any harmful substance or pollutants in our natural environment is called pollution. It is due to human activity, many contaminators get introduced in the natural environment thereby polluting it to harmful levels. There are many reasons why pollution occurs and one of the major one is urbanization.

Long and Short Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in English

In this section we have tried to cover all aspects of pollution due to urbanization in varying lengths to help you with the same in your exam. You can select any Pollution due to Urbanization essay as per your need:

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization – Essay 1 (200 words)

Our mother earth is choking and we are helpless. We face many challenges today and one of them is pollution. When any contaminating substance is added in our environment and pollutes our natural resources called pollution. There are many reasons of pollution and human beings are responsible for most of it. Our activities have depleted our natural resources and our natural habitat.

One of the main reasons of human pollution is urbanization. When human being started establishing cities and industrialization happened than the level of pollution started increasing. The harsh reality of urbanization is that many beautiful valleys, mountains, hills stations and forests have been converted into vessels of pollution. The needs of human beings kept on increasing day by day and to satisfy those needs we exploited our mother earth. Trees were cut down, rivers and lakes were contaminated and natural reserves were misused.

The result today is that we live in highly polluted cities where day to day life is becoming increasingly tuff. We face many health issues due to this urban pollution and the worst part is that we do not even realize that. It is high time that we must now adopt ways to curb this pollution and create a better world for our future generations.

Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization in India – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

The days are gone when kids would roam freely on streets and birds would fly in the sky. Such a nice scene has been very rare to see, nowadays. We should blame ourselves only! India was a land of villages; our culture arose from villages only. But than we did something so bad that we are paying the price of it even today. We have replaced the major part of earth with factories, mills and building causing pollution .

There are Various Levels at which Urban Pollution is happening like:

Types and Causes of Urban Pollution

• Air Pollution: The air in the urban areas is always polluted with harmful substances and it is becoming hazardous day by day to breathe. The air in the cities is choking. The smoke from automobiles, factories and power generators make the air unhealthy. There are other factors also like chemical spills and other toxic gases that contaminate the air.
• Water Pollution: As it is there are very less natural water sources in the urban areas and the ones that are there are getting increasingly polluted. There is a lot of disposal in the lakes and rivers like household & industrial disposal. A lot of waste gets mixed with rain and washed into the waters .
• Soil Pollution: The mixing of toxins in the soil is disturbing the eco-system.
• Noise Pollution: Urban areas are one of the noisiest ones. Various sources of noise pollution include traffic noises, loud-speakers and other unwanted noises cause many health issues .
• Radioactive Pollution: The accidental leakage by nuclear power plants poses a big threat.
• Visual Pollution: The over exposure of visuals in the cities in the form of signs, billboards, screens, high intensity lights etc. are also quite disturbing .
• Other than these there is also ‘Thermal pollution’ that is caused by excessive amount of heat trapped in earth’s atmosphere.

Conclusion:

The various means of pollution in urban areas can lead to many health issues in the people living in cities. We are everyday exposed to more than one of these health issues sources.

Essay about Problems Due To Urbanization – Essay 3 (400 words)

We achieved a big step when we urbanized our villages but it came with a price. We surely have a luxurious and a comfortable life in the modern day cities and towns but it has dent a big hole in the health of our environment. It has brought with it many problems that we face. The developing cities saw a rapid growth and this urbanization brought with it a web of difficulties and we seem to be stuck in them.

Problems Due to Urbanization

The need of free space to build roads, buildings and bridges etc made a massive deforestation happen. The trees were cut down, the fields were cleared and space was created to accommodate the ever rising population. It is a no-brainer that cutting of trees is a major reason of pollution. The high density of population created a lack of everything like space, natural resources like water, coal etc.

The interaction of urban population with environment caused some serious problems. The consumption patterns and the lifestyle of urban population changed the environment massively. The urban population consumes more food, energy and water. The air in urban areas is much more polluted than the rural ones. This is mainly because of the use of automobiles and building up of industries and factories that pollute the air at an increasing rate. Almost everything that we use works on electricity. The need for electricity in the cities is always rising and to meet that more power plants are build and that pollutes the air.

The lakes, rivers and any other water bodies in urban areas is always polluted by the dump of industrial waste and sewage. The marine life faces a lot of danger. We cannot ignore that noise pollution is one of the major causes of stress related issues in urban population. More and more trees are cut down to meet the needs of urban people and in exchange very less tress are planted. The use of plastic is another major reason of degradation of environment .

Studies show that urbanization is one of the major causes of depleting natural resources. We are constantly damaging our mother earth and the result is high pollution levels in the cities and towns. It is not possible to reverse the damage that we have already done but we can surely take some preventive measures and control the further damage. It is high time that we take some serious steps to save our planet and leave a better tomorrow .

Essay on Pollution Caused by Urbanization and Its Solutions – Essay 4 (500 words)

The advancement of technology and industrialization has caused the rapid growth in our lifestyle. Long back we started developing cities that are well equipped with all the facilities. The process of urbanization created a big dent in the health of our environment. The natural resources were depleted and this excessive use of technology and energy became a major source of pollution and today we live in a world that is highly polluted and unfit living .

Pollution Caused by Urbanization

There are various pollution that are caused by urbanization like air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, thermal pollution, global warming, deforestation etc. It is high time that now we must adopt ways and means by which we can improve the health of the environment.

There is a Number of Solutions that we can apply and create a Better Tomorrow.

Solutions and Prevention of Urban Pollution

• Conserve Energy: The urban area’s people always use more energy than the rural area’s people. The consumption of energy causes various kinds of pollution. Saving energy wherever possible is one of the best ways to curb pollution. Turn off the electrical appliances when they are not being used. This small step can help in a big way.
• Use less water: We waste a lot of water daily and this can lead to bad consequences. We must try and use as less water as possible .
• Plant more trees: The urban areas are the ones that have less greeneries. Try to plant many trees and vegetation as much as possible in your surrounding areas. Kitchen garden and small lawn near home is a good idea .
• Green belts: Government can help and declare some areas in every city as green belts so that trees and other plants can be grown there without any obstruction .
• Use less loudspeakers: The minimum use of loud speakers can reduce the noise pollution a lot. Decreasing the volume of music at functions after a certain time is also a good move.
• Indoors: The indoors of the homes are also highly polluted in cities. We must have some plants inside the homes also, that can filter the indoor polluted air.
• Industrial waste: The factory owners must try and make possible that industrial waste is not dumped in the lakes or rivers. Government can also make laws for the same.
• Say no to plastic: Plastic is one of the most harmful substances that can pollute air, water and soil all together. We must try and minimize the use of plastic as much as possible. Use just cloth bags instead of plastic.
• Use Public transport: Avoid using cars and bikes for daily use. Try to use public transport, bicycle and car pools. This will not only curb air pollution but will also decrease the traffic on roads.
• Walk: Try to go to nearby areas on foot i.e. walking, this will reduce pollution and will also improve your health .
• Better garbage disposal: Use the structural methods of garbage disposal in cities.

A small step can help in a big way and contribution of every citizen will make the urban areas more livable. Following these simple steps and with a little help from the government, we can definitely reduce the city pollution a lot. If we do not wake up today and do not realize the worst condition of natural resources then after some time our future generations will not be able to survive,  It’s far to enjoy the environment .

Essay on Pollution Due To Urbanization and Digital India – Essay 5 (600 words)

In order to create a better tomorrow we have created a difficult toady. We have urbanized our villages and made them into hi-tech cities that have all the modern facilities and everyday we are creating something or the other new. Today we all dream of a digital India. In a country every citizen uses technology for his/her betterment. We aim to create a world where everything is just a button push away. Everyday more and more Indians are using technology for making their day to day life easy. Today we have become the slaves of technology and cannot live without technology even for a minute. We need to be connected all the time. Even our government is trying to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society.

Digital India and Environmental Importance

We see a smart phone in the hands of everybody even a labor of these days. Everybody understands the power and the reach of the internet. We no more call, now video call our loved ones. Any information can reach to any corner of the world in seconds now. We cannot ignore the power of digitalization. But what is the important question here is that can digitization of the digital movement be ‘environmental substantial’. We must ask this question to the founding fathers of digital India; can they assure that through this digitization our precious environment will not be harmed? Is it possible to move forward with modernization without harming the natural resources and without disturbing the ecological balance?

The digital revolution is such thing which touches every aspect of our life as it connects us to the rest of the world all the time. We all know that the digital appliances have carbon emissions and that has harmful effects on our eco system. We are also aware that these appliances emit radiations that are very harmful for humans. It is also advised not to keep mobile phones very near to your head or heart at night.

So in short, these digital devices are more harmful than helpful. We are also consuming power at a rapid speed and soon all the power will be exhausted. We are creating new and more advanced devices day by and day and we forget that all these use power and more devices means more use of power. The consumption is increasing day by day but what we do not realize that natural resources are scarce. There will be a day when they will not be able to satisfy our power needs. Soon there will be a time when these devices will become uncontrollable and we will then suffer from the harmful effects.

The digital India comes with a cost. It can have effects on us at many levels like, it pollutes our environment, it degrades our ecosystem and most importantly it causes many harmful effects on our physical health. The radiations cause vision problems, headaches and many other such issues. What we lack are the tools of awareness that can tell us how to control these effects. Do we really need a digital India today that cannot promise a better tomorrow?

There is a strong need to create a mass concern effort that can bring awareness about these problems. Digitization is good but it must be in controlled levels so that we can move forward but also make sure that our environment is safe. It is our duty to leave a pollution free environment and safe world for our future generations.

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Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay

Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay :- In the recent past few years, rural population is increasingly migrating to the cities, as they are also attracted by the comfortable lifestyle like the urban people. Urbanization has become one of the most important issues which has brought many dire consequences in most of the countries.

Essay 1 (300 words)

Introduction.

Gone are the days when children roamed the streets freely and birds flew in the sky. Such a beautiful sight is rarely seen nowadays. We ourselves are responsible for this. India was a country of villages; Our culture was born in the villages itself. But we have polluted the whole earth due to factories, mills and urbanization.

Increase in pollution due to urbanization and industrialization

One of the main causes of human pollution is urbanization. When humans started setting up cities and started setting up industries, pollution had started starting from then. The harsh reality of urbanization is that many beautiful valleys, mountains, hill stations and forests have turned into a heap of pollution.

The needs of human beings are increasing day by day and to fulfill those needs, we have exploited our mother earth a lot. Deforestation, contamination of rivers and lakes and misuse of natural reserves are the major consequences of urbanization and industrialization.

River – most affected

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, the impact of pollution on rivers has increased in the last few years. Availability of water for irrigation, drinking, industrial use, electricity etc. has become a challenge. The discharge of untreated wastewater from riverside cities is a major source of pollution load in rivers.

Today the result is that we live in highly polluted cities, where day by day life is changing rapidly. We face many health issues due to this urban pollution and the worst part is that we do not even realize it. This is the right time, there is a need to adopt ways to curb this pollution and make a better world for our coming generations.

Urbanization and Pollution – Essay 2 (400 words)

“This dangerous poison of pollution is putting an eclipse on the environment.

Pollution is the biggest concern of today’s time. The lifestyle of cities has added to this even more. As we are moving ahead on the path of modernity, we are polluting our mother earth. What is the use of such materialistic opulence, which is taking us closer to death.

Urbanization and pollution

The presence of toxic and contaminants in our surroundings is wreaking havoc on our habitat and introducing harmful non-biodegradable substances.

These harmful chemical toxic elements cause ‘pollution’. Man and his undesirable ways have polluted the environment around us, this has been going on for many years and has reached dangerous levels today.

worse in cities

The concern is more serious in urban areas as the green cover in metros is very less and the pollution level is very high. There is virtually no control over pollution and no scientific investigation has been developed yet, which can have a permanent effect to bring down the pollution level.

vehicle network

In urban areas, the density of vehicles is high, the smoke emitted from the vehicles is very dangerous and invites many diseases. Due to this people are suffering from deadly diseases like cancer, asthma etc. Air, water and land pollution is completely contaminating the environment around us.

As a result of industrialization

Chemicals released from factories, such as potassium and sulfur levels, have a negative effect on the soil and can destroy the top layers of the soil. Thus even fertile land may become barren and unfit for cultivation. It is one of the major causes of soil pollution.

Urbanization – the main cause of noise pollution

Urban dwellers often have to deal with harmful levels of noise and air pollution every day. As a result the quality of life is getting reduced, and it is causing long term harm to our lives. Urbanization and climate change are likely to increase pollution further in the coming years.

Pollution is injurious to our health. Due to air pollution, there are very fine levels of particulates present in the air which can choke our lungs and harm the respiratory system.

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Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization In 500+ Words Step by Step

Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization

Hello Friends, In this post “ Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization In 500+ Words “, we will read about Pollution Due to Urbanization as an Essay in detail with its all aspects. So…

Let’s Start…

Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization | Pollution Due to Urbanization Essay

Introduction.

Pollution due to Urbanization becomes increases day by day. because in industrialized cities pollution is a major problem. it may be caused by the industries or by the excessive movement of vehicles.

Today we consider urbanization as a symbol of development, but due to urbanization, our environment suffers a lot of damage.

The Urbanization words come from the Latin word  “Urbs”, which means “City” . The term urbanization means the Lifestyle that is common in a city becomes prevalent. This can happen in two different ways:

Through the growth of cities; called physical Urbanization and Through the change of behavior of people living in rural areas; called  Functional urbanization.

Urbanization refers to the concept of a rural area becoming developed as factories, good roads, good schools, etc . are build there.

“Act seriously over all the solution to pollution. Think about future generations and reduce pollution.”

Body (Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization)

If we talk about the problems of urbanization , then environmental problems become very important. The biggest problem of urbanization is pollution. People are getting serious diseases due to pollution and millions of people are also dying from it.

According to the United Nations Report , currently, half of the world’s population is living in cities. By the year 2050 , half of the population of India will start living in cities and metro cities.

Then it’s obvious that an increase in population will responsible for more Industrial Development in urban areas and as a result, pollution will increase, which level has been increasing over the years.

Cities are turning into heat Island due to concrete roads and buildings. The sacrifice of green areas for the development of cities is promoting global warming. Which is also a warning for very serious problems coming in the future.

Due to the sheets of road-laid concrete in the cities , on one hand, groundwater recycling is being affected, on the other hand, the cities are getting flooded due to unplanned urbanization and drainage system . Due to this, problems of drinking water are also increasing.

We achieved a big step when we urbanized our villages but it came with a price, we certainly have a luxurious and comfortable life in modern cities and towns, but due to this there is a big hole in the health of our environment.

This has brought with us many problems that we face. developing cities saw a boom and this urbanization brought with it a web of difficulties and we are getting entangled in them.

There is various pollution that is due to urbanization such as air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, Thermal Pollution, global warming, deforestation, etc .

It is high time that we should adopt the means by which we can improve the health of the environment . There are a number of solutions that we can implement and create a better tomorrow.

In the present scenario, pollution is becoming a serious challenge where breathing in the air is similar to poison. Areas of the Delhi NCR occupy an average severe category in the air quality index . where even a healthy person can become ill by breathing.

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There are many types of Pollution due to Urbanization:-

Soil pollution, water pollution, noise pollution.

• Air Pollution etc.

Due to overpopulation in the urban areas, the amount of garbage, plastic, non-biodegradable dustbin, etc, become increased and due to the establishment of factories, the number of trees also decreased which is the main cause of soil erosion as well as pollution due to urbanization.

Excessive use of water especially in urban areas by people as well as factories is also responsible for water pollution . because we do not have enough resources to stop the dirty water from getting into the river. So, dirty water mixed with the river makes it even more polluted, so that the creatures living in the water have to face difficulties.

The number of vehicles, Industries, construction, parties, functions, etc  becomes increased in the urban areas is the main reason for noise pollution due to urbanization .

Air Pollution

Due to increasing the population in urban areas the number of vehicles, industries, etc also increases. So, the air quality becomes decreased continuously is also the cause of air pollution due to urbanization.

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Conclusion ( Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization)

Pollution levels began to rise when humans started establishing cities and industrialization took place.

The harsh reality of urbanization is that many beautiful valleys, mountains, hill stations, and forests become polluted due to an increase in human activity.

Overall, Systematical urbanization is good for developing countries, by this, we can able to reduce “ pollution due to urbanization”.

If You have any queries about “ Essay On Pollution Due To Urbanization In 500+ Words “. So, please mention it in the comment sections.

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Essay on Pollution due to Urbanization

Hello, students today we have come up with an essay on Pollution due to Urbanization. In this essay we have given information about pollution caused due to urbanization. So let us start with the essay.

Pollution due to Urbanization Essay

Urbanization is the process by which more and more people move from rural areas to urban centers, resulting in the growth and development of cities. This process has numerous benefits, such as increased access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. However, it also has significant negative consequences, one of which is pollution.

In conclusion, urbanization can lead to pollution, which has negative consequences for the environment and human health. To address this issue, it is necessary to adopt sustainable development practices and educate the public about the importance of protecting the environment.

Students, what are your thoughts on pollution caused by urbanization? Do tell us in the comment section below.

This essay can be used by students of classes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th for their educational purposes.

Students, we hope this essay was helpful to you and if you need an essay any other topic then do tell us in the comment section below.

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April 12, 2024

14 min read

How Air Pollution Damages the Brain

The new science of "exposomics" shows how air pollution contributes to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, bipolar disorder and other brain diseases

By Sherry Baker & OpenMind Magazine

Indian schoolgirls walk to school after days off due to heavy smog in Amritsar.

Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

By 1992, burgeoning population, choking traffic, and explosive industrial growth in Mexico City had caused the United Nations to label it the most polluted urban area in the world. The problem was intensified because the high-altitude metropolis sat in a valley trapping that atmospheric filth in a perpetual toxic haze. Over the next few years, the impact could be seen not just in the blanket of smog overhead but in the city’s dogs, who had become so disoriented that some of them could no longer recognize their human families. In a series of elegant studies, the neuropathologist Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas compared the brains of canines and children from “Makesicko City,” as the capital had been dubbed, to those from less polluted areas. What she found was terrifying: Exposure to air pollution in childhood decreases brain volume and heightens risk of several dreaded brain diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as an adult.

Calderón-Garcidueñas, today head of the Environmental Neuroprevention Laboratory at the University of Montana, points out that the damaged brains she documented through neuroimaging in young dogs and humans aren’t just significant in later years; they play out in impaired memory and lower intelligence scores throughout life. Other studies have found that air pollution exposure later in childhood alters neural circuitry throughout the brain, potentially affecting executive function, including abilities like decision-making and focus, and raising the risk of psychiatric disorders.

The stakes for all of us are enormous. In places like China, India, and the rest of the global south, air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, has steadily soared over the course of decades. According to the United Nations Foundation , “nearly half of the world’s population breathes toxic air each day, including more than 90 percent of children.” Some 2.3 billion people worldwide rely on solid fuels and open fires for cooking, the Foundation adds, making the problem far worse. The World Health Organization calculates about 3 million premature deaths, mostly in women and children, result from air pollution created by such cooking each year.

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In the United States, meanwhile, average air pollution levels have decreased significantly since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. But the key word is average . Millions of Americans are still breathing outdoor air loaded with inflammation-triggering ozone and fine particulate matter. These particles, known as PM 2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter), can affect the lungs and heart and are strongly associated with brain damage . Wildfires—like the ones that raged across Canada this past summer—are a major contributor of PM 2.5 . A recent study showed that pesticides, paints, cleaners, and other personal care products are another major—and under-recognized—source of PM 2.5 and can raise the risk for numerous health problems, including brain-damaging strokes.

Untangling the relationship between air pollution and the brain is complex. In the modern industrial world, we are all exposed to literally thousands of contaminants. And not every person exposed to a given pollutant will develop the same set of symptoms, impairments, or diseases—in part because of their genes, and in part because each exposure may occur at a different point in development or impact a different area of the body or brain. What’s more, social disparities are at play: Poorer populations almost always live closer to factories, toxins, and pollutants.

The effort to figure it out and intervene has sparked a new field of study: exposomics, the science of environmental exposures and their effects on health, disease, and development. Exposomics draws on enormous datasets about the distribution of environmental toxins, genetic and cellular responses, and human behavioral patterns. There is a huge amount of information to parse, so researchers in the field are turning to another emerging science, artificial intelligence, to make sense of it all.

“Anything from our external environment—the air we breathe, food we eat, the water we drink, the emotional stress that we face every day—all of that gets translated into our biology,” says Rosalind Wright , professor of pediatrics and co-director of the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “All these things plus genes themselves explain the patterns of risk we see.” When an exposure is constant and cumulative, or when it overwhelms our ability to adapt, or “when you’re a fetus in utero, when you’re an infant or in early childhood or in a critical period of growth,” it can have a particularly powerful effect on lifelong cognitive clarity and brain health.

Neuroscientist Megan Herting at the University of Southern California (USC) has been studying the impact of air pollution on the developing brain. “Over the past few years, we have found that higher levels of PM 2.5 exposure are linked to a number of differences in the shape, neural architecture, and functional organization of the developing brain, including altered patterns of cortical thickness and differences in the microstructure of gray and white matter,” she says. On the basis of neuroimaging of exposed youngsters, Herting and fellow researchers suspect the widespread differences in brain structure and function linked with air pollution may be early biomarkers for cognitive and emotional problems emerging later in life.

That suspicion gains support from an international meta-analysis (a study of other studies) published in 2023 that correlated exposure to air pollution during critical periods of brain development in childhood and adolescence to risk of depression and suicidal behavior. The imaging parts of the studies showed changes in brain structure, including neurocircuitry potentially involved in movement disorders like Parkinson’s, and white matter of the prefrontal lobes, responsible for executive decision-making, attention, and self-control.

In a 2023 study , Herting and colleagues tracked children transitioning into adolescence, when brains are in a sensitive period of development and thus especially vulnerable to long-term damage from toxins. Among brain regions developing during this period is the prefrontal cortex, which helps with cognitive control, self-regulation, decision-making, attention, and problem-solving, Herting says. “Your emotional reward systems are also still being refined,” she adds.

Looking at scan data from more than 9,000 youngsters exposed to air pollution between ages 9 and 10 and following them over the next couple of years, the researchers found changes in connectivity between brain regions, with some regions having fewer connections and others having more connections than normal. Herting explains that these structural and functional connections allow us to function in our daily lives, but how or even whether the changes in circuitry have an impact, researchers do not yet know.

The specific pollutants involved in the atypical brain circuits appear to be nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and PM 2.5 —the small particles that worry many researchers the most. Herting explains: Limits set on fine particulate matter are stricter in the United States than in most other countries but still inadequate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently limits annual average levels of the pollutant to 12 micrograms per cubic meter and permits daily spikes of up to 35 micrograms per cubic meter. Health organizations, on the other hand, have called for the agency to lower levels to 8 micrograms and 25 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. Thus, even though it may be “safe” by EPA standards, “air quality across America is contributing to changes in brain networks during critical periods of childhood,” Herting says. And that may augur “increased risk for cognitive and emotional problems later in life.” She plans to follow her group of young people into adulthood, when advances in science and the passage of time should reveal more about the effect of air pollution exposure during adolescence.

Other research shows that air pollution increases risk of psychiatric disorder as years go by. In work based on large datasets in the United States and Denmark, University of Chicago computational biologist Andrey Rzhetsky and colleagues found that bad air quality was associated with increased rates of bipolar disorder and depression in both countries, especially when exposure occurs early in life. Rzhetsky and his team used two major sources: in Denmark, the National Health Registry, which contains health data on every citizen from cradle to grave; and in the United States, insurance claims with medical history plus details such as county of residence, age, sex, and importantly, linkages to family—specifics that helped reveal genetic predisposition to develop a psychiatric condition during the first 10 years of life.

“It's possible that the same environment will cause disease in one person but not in another because of predisposing genetic variants that are different in different people,” Rzhetsky says. “The different genetic predisposition, that’s one part of the puzzle. Another part is varying environment.”

Indeed, these complex diseases are spreading much faster than genetics alone seems to explain. “We definitely don’t know for sure which pollutant is causal. We can’t really pinpoint a smoking gun,” Rzhetsky says. But one pesky culprit continues to prove statistically significant: “It looks like PM 2.5 is one of those strong signals.” To figure it out specifically, we’ll need much more data, and exposomics will play a vital role.

"This is a wake-up call,” Frances Jensen told her fellow physicians at the American Neurological Society’s symposium on Neurologic Dark Matter in October 2022. The meeting was an exploration of the exposome –the sum of external factors that a person is exposed to during a lifetime— driving neurodegenerative disease. It was focused in no small part on air pollution. Jensen, a University of Pennsylvania neurologist and president of the American Neurological Association, argued that researchers need to pay more attention to contaminants because the sharp rise in the number of Parkinson’s diagnoses cannot be explained by the aging population alone. “Environmental exposures are lurking in the background, and they’re rising,” she said.

Parkinson’s disease is already the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Symptoms, which can include uncontrolled movements, difficulty with balance, and memory problems, generally develop in people age 60 and older , but they can occur, though rarely, in people as young as 20. Could something in the air explain the increasing worldwide prevalence of Parkinson’s? Researchers have not identified one specific cause, but they know Parkinson’s symptoms result from degeneration of nerve cells in the substantia nigra, the part of the brain that produces dopamine and other signal-transmitting chemicals necessary for movement and coordination.

A host of air pollution suspects are now thought to play a role in the loss of dopamine-producing cells, according to Emory University environmental health scientist W. Michael Caudle , who uses mass spectrometry to identify chemicals in our bodies. One suspect he’s looking at are lipopolysaccharides, compounds often found in air pollution and bacterial toxins. Although lipopolysaccharides cannot directly enter the brain, they inflame the liver. The liver then releases inflammatory molecules into the bloodstream, which interact with blood vessels in the blood-barrier. “Then the inflammatory response in the brain leads to loss of dopamine neurons, like that seen in Parkinson’s disease,” Caudle says.

More evidence comes from neuroepidemiologist Brittany Krzyzanowski , based at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Krzyzanowski had an “aha!” moment when she saw a map highlighting the high risk of Parkinson’s disease in the Mississippi–Ohio River Valley, including areas of Tennessee and Kentucky. At first she wondered whether the Parkinson’s hotspot was due to pesticide use in the region. But then it hit her: The area also had a network of high-density roads, suggesting that air pollution could be involved. “The pollution in these areas may contain more combustion particles from traffic and heavy metals from manufacturing, which have been linked to cell death in the part of the brain involved in Parkinson’s disease,” she said.

In a study published in Neurology in October 2023, Krzyzanowski and colleagues, using sophisticated geospatial analytic techniques, went on to show that those with median levels of air pollution have a 56 percent greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those living in regions with the lowest level of air pollution. Along with the Mississippi-Ohio River Valley, other hotspots included central North Dakota, parts of Texas, Kansas, eastern Michigan, and the tip of Florida. People living in the western half of the U.S. are at a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared with the rest of the nation.

As to the hotspot in the Mississippi-Ohio River Valley, Parkinson’s there is 25% higher than in areas with the lowest air particulate matter. Aside from that, Krzyzanowski and her research team noted something especially odd: Frequency of the disease rose with the level of pollution, but then it plateaued even as air pollution continued to soar. One reason could be that other air pollution-linked diseases, including Alzheimer’s, are masking the emergence of Parkinson’s; another reason could be an unusual form of PM 2.5 . “Regional differences in Parkinson’s disease might reflect regional differences in the composition of the particulate matter, and some areas may have particulate matter containing more toxic components compared to other areas,” Krzyzanowsk says. Tapping the tenets of exposomics, she expects to explore these issues in the months and years ahead.

The hunt is on for the connections between environmental factors and Alzheimer’s as well. USC neurogerontologist Caleb Finch has spent years studying dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than six million Americans. As with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s numbers are rising in the United State and much of the world. Degenerative changes in neurons become increasingly frequent after the age of 60, yet half of the people who make it to 100 will not get dementia. Many factors could explain those discrepancies. Air pollution may be an important one, Finch says.

Researchers like Finch and his USC colleague Jiu-Chiuan Chen are joining forces to explore the connections between environmental neurotoxins and decline in brain health. It’s a challenging project, since air pollution levels and specific pollutants vary on fine scales and can change from hour to hour in many areas of the globe. On the basis of brain scans of hundreds of people over a range of geographic areas, this much we know: “People living in areas of high levels of air pollution and who have been studied on three continents showed accelerated arterial disease, heart attacks, and strokes, and faster cognitive decline,” Finch says.

Not everyone reacts the same way when exposed to pollutants, of course. Greatest risk for Alzheimer’s seems to hit people who have a genetic variant known as apolipoprotein E (APOE4), which is involved in making proteins that help carry cholesterol and other types of fat in the bloodstream. About 25 percent of people have one copy of that gene, and 2 to 3 percent carry two copies. But inheriting the gene alone doesn’t determine a person’s Alzheimer’s risk. Environmental exposures count too.

A recent study by Chen, Finch, and colleagues published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease looked at associations between air pollution exposure and early signs of Alzheimer’s in 1,100 men, all around age 56 when the study began. By age 68, test subjects with high PM 2.5 exposures had the worst scores in verbal fluency. People exposed to high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) air pollution were also linked to worsened episodic memory. The men who had APOE4 genes had the worst scores in executive function. The evidence indicates that the process by which air pollution interacts with genetic risk to cause Alzheimer’s in later life may begin in the middle years, at least for men.

A separate USC study of more than 2,000 women found that when air quality improved, cognitive decline in older women slowed. When exposure to pollutants like PM 2.5 and NO 2 dropped by a few micrograms per cubic foot a year over the course of six years, the women in the study tested as being a year or so younger than their real age. This suggests that when exposure air pollution is lowered, dementia risk can go down.

In parallel, an international study by the Lancet Commission concluded that the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, can be lowered by modifying or avoiding 12 risk factors: hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, low social contact, low level of education, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury—and air pollution. Together, the 12 modifiable risk factors account for around 40 percent of worldwide dementias, which theoretically could be prevented or delayed.

In light of all this, Finch and Duke University social scientist Alexander Kulminski have proposed the “ Alzheimer’s disease exposome ” to assess environmental factors that interact with genes to cause dementia. Where medicines have failed, exposomics just might help. Studies of Swedish twins show that half of individual differences in Alzheimer’s risk may be environmental, and thus modifiable; and while vast sums of research funding have been poured into the genetic roots of the disease, it could be that altering the exposome would provide a better preventive than all the ongoing drug trials to date. Environmental toxins broadly disrupt cell repair and protective mechanisms in the brain, the researchers point out. And factors like obesity and stress contribute to chronic inflammation, which likely damages neurons’ ability to function and communicate. The research framework of the Alzheimer's disease exposome offers a comprehensive, systematic approach to the environmental underpinnings of Alzheimer's risk over individuals’ lifespans—from the time they are pre-fertilized gametes to life as a fetus in the womb to childhood and beyond.

For three decades, Rosalind Wright at Mount Sinai has wanted to trace critical problems in neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration to pollutants—from highway emissions to heavy metals to specific household chemicals and a host of other factors—but the mass of data has been overwhelming. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated neuroimaging technology, high-precision research using vast genomic databanks is finally possible. “I knew we needed to ask these kinds of questions, but I didn't have the tools to do it. Now we do and it’s very exciting,” Wright says.

Using machine learning—an AI approach to data analysis—Wright looks at giant datasets that include the precise location of an individual’s residence as well as the myriad of pollutants he or she encounters. “It's no different fundamentally from other statistical models we use,” she says. “It’s just that this one has been developed to be able to take in bigger and bigger data, more and more types of exposures.” The resulting data breakdown should tell us which factors drive which types of risk for which people. That information will help people know where they should target their efforts to reduce exposures to risky pollutants, and ultimately how to lower risk of impairment and disease, brain or otherwise.

The tools used by Wright and her colleagues are being trained on diseases like Alzheimer’s. If you put genes and the environment together, “you start to see who might be at higher risk and also what underlying mechanisms might be driving it in different ways in different populations,” Wright says. The exposome could also explains more subtle cognitive effects of pollution that may emerge over long periods, such as harms to attention, intelligence, and performance.

To address environmental brain risks, it’s important to know which pollutants are present—another target of exposomic research. In the United States, the EPA has placed stationary environmental monitors all over our major cities, conducting daily measurements of small particulates from traffic and industry, along with secondary chemicals that emerge as a result. There are also thousands of satellites all over the globe calibrating heat waves that can alter how the pollutants react with each other.

Pioneers like Wright are just starting to chart the terrain of environmental exposures that affect the brain. “As we measure more and more of the exposome, we may be able to tailor prevention and intervention strategies. New weapons include a silicone bracelet that we have in the laboratory. You wear it and it will tell us what pollutants you are exposed to,” Wright says. She also is exploring more ways to collect data on the toxins people have already encountered: “With a single strand of hair, we can tell you what you’ve been exposed to. Hair grows about a centimeter a month, so if we get a hair from a pregnant woman and she has nine centimeters of hair, we can go back a full nine months, over the entire life of the fetus. Or we can create a life-long exposome history when a child loses a tooth at age six.”

“We're designed to be pretty resilient,” Wright adds. The problem comes when the exposures are chronic and accumulative and overwhelm our ability to adapt. We’re not going to fix everything, “but if I know more about myself than before, that empowers me to think, ‘I’m optimizing the balance, and I’m intervening as best I can.’ ”

Additional reporting and editing was done by Margaret Hetherman.

This story is part of a series of OpenMind essays, podcasts, and videos supported by a generous grant from the Pulitzer Center 's Truth Decay initiative.

This story originally appeared on OpenMind , a digital magazine tackling science controversies and deceptions.