Question

What are some of the central issues we face in regard to population and urbanization in the next century?  What can be done at the macrolevel to lessen these problems?  What can be done at the microlevel?

Answer 1

Answered:--
With rapidly growing populations in cities, and thus expansive urbanization, comes a few significant issues. These include providing sufficient and affordable housing (otherwise peri-urban areas and slums form, often "illegally occupied" land), managing the distribution of wealth and reducing poverty levels, and preventing violence. Based on most studies, the latter seems to be the one researchers are most concerned about. In large cities violence can be present on different levels: on a smaller level there's drug-related and other common street violence, and on a larger scale there's civil unrest or terrorism.


While having a functional, incorrupt and well-trained law enforcement system is important for reducing violence, there are other strategies that must be taken. One imperative solution is creating social capital, or rather a network of support and trust in communities. It's essential to promote this in low-income neighborhoods as a lot of research shows that violence is associated with inequality. An example of social capital would be employing youth in 'at-risk' neighborhoods; it provides them valuable job experience, connections for future jobs, and hopefully new friends, in addition to helping keep them off the streets and providing them an income. At a more macro-level, similar to what I mentioned before, the state/government must provide sufficient and affordable housing, and excellent infrastructure (water supply, basic utilities etc.)


Here's a website I found that outlines a lot of what I was saying: http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Programs/Social_and_Economic_Policy/Governance_Security_and_Justice/Documents/Researching-the-Urban-Dilemma-Baseline-summary_e.pdf
Hope this helps!
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