Abstract This paper discusses the importance of child friendly spaces in urbanareas. It suggests that children and other pedestrians are often not taken into account when planning urbanareas. The paper argues that Commercial Drive in the Grandview Woodlands Park Area of Vancouver, BC should be "pedestrianized" and vehicular traffic should be diverted from the area. The paper briefly describes the benefits of such a move.
From the Paper "I would argue that these youthful rebels are correct - the space occupied by vehicular traffic on Commercial Drive should be allocated to children, youth and other residents. The No. 20 bus could easily be diverted to run on Victoria Drive for the section of road between Venables and 1st Avenue - or possibly even as far as Broadway. This should make the entire area a true children's paradise, where children could wander safely, without fear of traffic. It would also reduce the pollution that currently sails into the park and the schools, polluting the lungs of children. And it would facilitate the interaction of younger and older residents in a stress-free environment. The street could be converted into a park-cum-public space. All in all, Commercial Drive should be pedestrianized to create a much-needed public space for all local residents, thus facilitating inter-generational contact, and making the area safer and healthier for children."
Abstract This paper addresses the issues and problems related to public health that tend to be exclusively found in urbanareas and how several cities have implemented programs to address the health care needs of affected residents. It looks at how, since urbanareas tend to have more people with lower incomes, the unique problems of public health that exist include a higher percentage of people without health insurance, lead paint and asbestos in homes, AIDS and HIV, tuberculosis, and mental health issues. Furthermore, this paper discusses how different cities, with the help of the states and federal government, implement programs that will improve their public health system. These government-funded programs are often the only access these people have to health care.
From the Paper "There are numerous programs in Jersey City that are offered to assist people with mental health related problems. The most common services associated with mental health include, the Jersey City rape crisis center, bereavement groups, support groups for new parents and child abuse and domestic violence prevention services. These programs and services are offered by the Jersey Medical Center hospital and are available to people who need them. The goal of these mental health services is to help these people overcome the problems they are facing and to prevent these issues from getting worse by addressing it early on. The primary sources of funding for these programs are grants from the State of New Jersey and Federal government."
Abstract This paper examines the issue of land use zoning in urbanareas. Briefly the economists' critique of property and land use zoning is identified and outlined. The quality of Bradley Karkkainen's critique "Zoning: A Reply to the Critics" is then assessed.
This paper discusses the problems of urbanization, industrialization, and housing security in China and India as their populations immigrate from rural to urbanareas.
Abstract This paper explains that the spectacular growth and development of the urban habitation over the past 16 years is just the beginning of a gigantic phase of extension. The author points out that China's ecological problems from the speedy urbanization and industrialization process in the recent decades generate social effects, causing a great deal of harm to human health, instigating economic and welfare suffering, and harming the environment in both urban and rural areas of China. The paper relates that, because of increasing industrialization and urbanization, the majority of the Indian cities have exceedingly compact habitation that results in overcrowding, clogging, obstruction, traffic jams, air pollution, noise pollution, as well as major deficiencies of vital requirements and necessities of life
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Impact of Urbanization, Industrialization And Housing Security on China
Ecological Problems in Urban China
The Problem of Water and Cleanliness in Urban China
The Problem of Clearance of Waste-Water in Urban China
The Problem of Air Pollution in Urban China
The Impact of Urbanization, Industrialization And Housing Security on India
Conclusion
From the Paper "The velocity of urbanization and industrialization was extremely slow prior to the late 1970s when contrasted with other developing states. The proportion of urban inhabitants was 11.2 in 1950, and still barely 17.9 by 1978. This low degree of urbanization had been the consequence from purposeful procedures of restraining rural-urban immigration and urban increase. Economic restructurings have since accelerated the industrialization and urbanization procedures. Large numerals of towns, as well as, cities have surfaced, at the same time as old cities are quickly increasing their managerial spheres."
Abstract The paper explains why the contemporary refugee situation in most areas of the world is indeed related to urban features and residence. The paper looks at Southern Africa, Ukraine and Canada and discusses the multitude of problems caused by the influx of refugees into already heavily populated urbanareas. The paper then shows how the urban nature of the refugee situation has necessitated the development of management strategies and solutions.
Outline:
Introduction
Overview and Causative Factors
The Urban Refugee Phenomenon
Urban Integration and Management Issues
Conclusion
From the Paper "The problem and the phenomenon of refugees in the world have become increasingly related to urban areas and the urban environment. This is particularly problematic in regions such as Southern Africa where refugees tend to gravitate towards the urban area. In many cases, the urban management systems and cultural context cannot cope with the influx of refugees. This has resulted in a particular set of problems in Africa as well as in other regions of the world where refugees exist in the urban context. However, as will be discussed, these problems are not ubiquitous and different situations exist in developed countries and regions."
Abstract In 1938, Louis Wirth wrote an article about his observations and critiques of urbanization. While many of his observations are held to be true today, nobody can clearly define what makes up a city or an urbanarea. The paper argues that whether urbanization and industrialization are good is all a matter of personal opinion. While urbanization poses a threat to certain social classes and even the environment, it has also helped to evolve the way goods and services are made available to a broad area. The paper argues that ,if urbanization continues on the path that it is currently on, guidelines and boundaries will have to be put in place to prevent the destruction of all that urbanization has helped us achieve.
From the Paper "Alan Booth raised an issue of concern about overpopulation and crowding in urban areas. Urban crowding can affect a number of factors. First, the more people there are in an area, the more space people will desire due to the need for privacy. This can cause rapid expansion in what was a small crowded area. When an area expands rapidly, it can cause great environmental damage. It crowds wildlife populations and often destroys useful and fertile farm land or forests. Wildlife ecosystems respond with biological controls on fertility and birth rates that reduce populations and can lead species to become endangered in certain areas. The destruction of farm land is becoming more and more of an issue, especially in the mid-west where many of the United States' crops are grown. Land in the mid-west is fairly plentiful and peoples' desire for more personal space is leading real-estate developers to buy up land in the central U.S. and clear it for housing developments. This also applies to the metropolitan areas and some suburban areas within which the government provides housing (Booth 1976:1-10)."
Abstract This paper discusses how when the idea of welfare reform first took hold a few years ago many states jumped at the chance to implement its practices. It looks at how they hoped that by adopting and implementing welfare reform they could improve the financial situation their current system was in as well as improve the lives of those who were welfare participants. It shows how urbanareas faced different challenges than rural areas when it came to welfare reform and how those challenges sometimes caused the participants to fall through the cracks of the system and be lost. In particular, it discusses one major metropolitan area that has implemented welfare reform policies, Philadelphia. It evaluates how the reforms that were implemented since 1997 in Philadelphia outline several mandates that must be followed or the recipient faces the loss not only of their benefits but the eventual loss of their family's benefits as well. It analyzes whether five years on, these reforms have been effective and the effect they have had on the poverty stricken families in the Philadelphia area.
Outline
Statement of the problem
Definition of terms
Literature Review
Methodology
Data Collection
Future Use of Results
Conclusion
From the Paper "For many years the poverty stricken families in the Philadelphia area turned to welfare for their needs. The lack of housing and jobs and training caused them to become dependant on the system. As children grew up watching the adults model life on the welfare roles the children then applied as soon as they became adults without even trying to establish an independent welfare free life. The multigenerational welfare families were stuck in a vicious circle that seemed difficult to tackle(Welfare, 1997). The welfare reform mandates and guidelines were implemented to cap the number of years a family could remain dependant on the system."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth examination of the Third World urban crisis. The paper looks at high population growth rates and growing immigration into urbanareas that are causing huge problems for public services and governmental control of urban growth. The paper examines the informal sector of the economy, in which most urban poor are employed, together with possible suggestions on how to deal with the urban problem.
From the Paper "As a whole, the Third World urban population is growing at the rate of 4% per year. This is three times the urban growth rate of First World countries. Latin America and East Asia are almost as urbanized as the western world, as nearly 50% of their people live in cities with 500,000 or more inhabitants. As the new century begins, more than 20 of the world's cities will have a total population of 10 million or more. With the exceptions of Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, Osaka and Moscow, most of them will be in the Third World. The largest First World agglomerations were the world's biggest in the 1940?s, but are now smaller than much bigger Third World rivals such as Mexico City and Sao Paulo."
Abstract The paper discusses how the urbanareas of Ontario and Toronto are experiencing urban sprawl. The paper describes the characteristics of urban sprawl and how it can be measured. The paper looks at urban sprawl's negative impacts on the environment, taxpayers and on the population's cultural and social life. The paper offers recommendations for future land-use development that will sustainably manage growth and discourage urban sprawl.
Outline:
Issue
Analysis
Recommendations
From the Paper "Urban sprawl is not easy to define. "To paraphrase the United States Supreme Court's long-ago ruling on pornography, most people can't define sprawl--but they know it when they see it" (Fulton et al, 2001). Urban sprawl is a phenomenon that occurs around metropolitan areas, usually represented by suburbs, and it involved the spread of cities and the urbanization or areas around it previously undeveloped, used for agriculture or green fields and forests.
"There are several characteristics of urban sprawl by which it can be recognized. First, the land-use is segregated and usually entails single use zoning. This means that residential, commercial and industrial areas are separated from one another. Often there are large undeveloped, empty areas between them. Because these areas are separated, traveling from one to the other can only be done with a car."
Tags: suburbs, cities, urbanization, fields, low-density, development
Abstract This essay examines the problem of traffic congestion and how governments are dealing with it. Furthermore it analyses the main differences between the public and private sector in imposing tariffs and tolls, as well as how the optimum price of tolls is determined. Finally it suggests solutions that could reduce congestion in urbanareas
From the Paper "Congestion is mainly a problem as a result of shortage of road space, and luck of such facilities to satisfy the needs of passengers and travelers. In other words congestion problem deals with capacity Vs demand.Solutions that have been used until now seem not to work. Although the development in public transportation means (busses, trains, trolleys etc.) has had a tremendous growth in big cities, the problem not just remains the same but also increases other external problems such as ?"accidents, noise annoyance and environmental pollution, which all together contribute to an excessive social pressure"?.Why people still drive in cities? And why can"t we build more roads to cope with the problem" What differentiate congestion under the public and private sector? What's the government role in solving the problem of congestion?"
Abstract This paper explains the increasing phenomena of urban sprawl. The paper begins by trying to define what urban living is and concludes that it is a movement of segmented civilization away from a steadily de-popularized city center, into new, but nearby, insular developments that,nonetheless, rely on and interact with the mother city to a degree that serves to distinguish them from being entirely new, city-type entities. The writer uses the neighborhood of Hough in Cleveland as a typical example of an urbanarea and shows the make-up and design of this type of area. The paper includes a discussion of the issues that affect urban life, including race, politics, social issues, economic issues, and education.
From the Paper "The colors of urban sprawl are undeniably clear, visible from even casual experience and from statistics. Not all the number laundering in the world can hide the fact that the majority of those left in the urban centers are poor and black, and that the majority in the new suburbs are upper-class and white, and that the middle suburbs show a largely segregated gradient. The easiest conclusion to draw is the one drawn by many activists and social critics suggesting that the white majority oppresses and segregates the black minority to keep them poor. One might easily assume that the driving force in urban sprawl was the desire to keep cities segregated. ?In reality the residential mosaic is shaped in part by a combination of economic forces and group preferences, and it is simplistic to assume the driving force to be clearly racial animus.? (Clark, 3) However, race is a huge consideration in the creation of urban sprawl."
Tags: housing, race, politics, social, school, home, parent, jobs
Abstract As the world's population has grown, it has become increasingly concentrated in large urbanareas. The extent to which urbanization impacts the ecosystems of these cities is an important, emerging area of study. Access to nature is vital to the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of humans and their communities. This paper examines how increasing urbanization is depriving current and future generations of exposure to functional, productive, green space; contributing to rising crime, violence, social alienation, poverty, and hunger; and other individual and community-level dysfunctions. This paper examines the effects of urbanization on Chicago, an older developed city.
From the Paper "The rapid development of land for urban uses is the main threat to the remaining unprotected natural lands of Chicago, and in some cases it is causing serious degradation of protected lands, too (Chicago Wilderness, 1999). Development affects natural communities in a variety of ways. Urban development increases the number of paved surfaces, which changes the natural flow of water across the landscape (because the water is not absorbed). This changes the structure of wetlands, streams and rivers, and reduces water quality by allowing more silt and chemical pollutants to pollute the city's bodies of waters. Sprawling development reduces air quality because it forces residents to drive more than they might in well-planned communities. The more time people spend in their cars, the more air pollution they produce. Sprawling development also breaks natural areas into small fragments, threatening animals that can only breed successfully in large continuous habitats."
Abstract This paper examines the effects of urbanization on various factors affecting development, poverty and income inequality, based on empirical data obtained from various sources. The following factors are analyzed across various countries, based on the latest data available: Economic growth measured in terms of GDP per Capita in US$ (PPP), absolute poverty at $1 per day standard, poverty gap, Gini Index, openness of trade, percentage of population living in urbanareas, annual percentage migration of population to urbanareas, the Corruption Perception Index ,etc. These factors are analyzed to arrive at correlations they have with urbanization in order to determine to some extent whether urbanization is inevitable for development of a country and what are the consequences associated with the phenomenon.
Paper Outline:
Urbanization and other factors affecting Economic Growth
Factors affecting Urbanization Determinants of Poverty Deepening (Poverty Gap)
Factors Affecting Absolute Poverty
Factors Affecting Gini Index
Determinants of Human Development Index
Concluding Remarks
References and Bibliography
From the Paper "However, contrary to above, it can be seen that absolute poverty alone is not the cause for urbanization. In other words, where even in urban areas people do not find enough jobs, they would like to stay in rural areas. The negative correlation between absolute poverty (measured in terms of earning per capita less than $1 per day), and the percentage of urban population means that as poverty increases, urbanization decreases. However, this may not be the trend the world over. If we have a glance at the countries considered in this analysis, it can be seen that they are least developed countries."
Tags: cpi, globalization, openness, demographics, population
This paper looks at the urban crisis in Detroit, while studying the works "Detroit Arcadia" by Rebecca Solnit and "The Origins of the Urban Crisis' by Thomas Sugrue.
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that as the industrial powerhouse that the United States was in the years of and immediately following World War II began to slow down in the 1960s, many of America's urbanareas saw the economic base eroding with the disappearance of industry as well as the huge migration of Caucasians from the cities when the economies of the cities fell into decline. The writer discusses that the by-product of all of these occurrences was the fight to prevent racial integration of the suburban areas into which the Caucasians fled, and a swift decline of American cities. The writer looks at the city of Detroit that has been devastated over the years because of economic and racial issues. Such urban crises are the focus of this research. The research studies and cites the works of two pivotal writers on the topic in an effort to better understand the topic itself.
Outline:
Introduction
Historical Consequences of the Urban Crisis
Political Consequences of the Urban Crisis
Agreements/Disagreements
Conclusion
From the Paper "A brief history lesson of the socioeconomic history of Detroit is the best way to begin to understand the historical consequences of the urban crisis as well as what the crisis is in and of itself. During and immediately after World War II, the machine shops and automobile plants of Detroit, and as a result the other supporting businesses, were flush with cash because of the need for implements of war, during the war years of course, and the need for consumer vehicles after the war, as men and women returning from battle settled back into a state of normalcy and went on a buying spree in unprecedented quantities. Because of the proliferation of available jobs, Caucasians and African-Americans alike were able to gain employment; true, the racial inequality was existent, but it was not as acute or damaging at this point as it would eventually become. With the passage of time, however, the gap between the races was intensified by the power of capitalism, and the African-Americans of Detroit, as well as elsewhere, soon saw the economic and social gap between them and their racial opposites increasing to their disadvantage."
Abstract This paper takes a look at how interconnected the current problems of racial profiling, the war on drugs, and urban poverty are. It first looks at the historical aspects of the war on drugs in minority-heavy areas. Then it looks at why these areas might be targeted by racial profiling. Finally, the writer tries to find justification for racial profiling as a tool to end the drug problem and help urbanareas, ultimately deciding that there is no good answer, that the problems are too intertwined.
From the Paper "Ever since September 11th and the Al Qaeda-led hijackings of that tragic day, our country has been aware of racial profiling that has occurred in our airports and along our borders, where people of Arab descent have been stopped, questioned, even detained because their skin, profile, or dress matches some pre-conceived notion of a terrorist. Yet, even before Arabs were being pulled aside or looked at suspiciously as they put carry-on luggage into overhead compartments, racial profiling was an issue that needed to be discussed and dealt with in the United States. Every day, in inner cities and well-to-do suburbs, men and women of color are stopped for DWB, or driving while black, or for being of any ethnic minority, for that matter."
