Urban Planning and Environmental Challenges in Modern Cities

Public and Private Urban Spaces

Public administration and places of entertainment include buildings intended for several administrations, education, hospitals, parks, and more. Private areas consist of residential zones, which are distinguished by income level, facility access, transportation, and the level and quality of services. The forms of distribution and planning vary across these areas.

Economic and Industrial Zones

Areas of economic activities include commercial zones that provide services to residential areas. There are also industrial zones, which are usually located far from residential suburbs; for this purpose, specific industrial estates are built.

Environmental Challenges in Cities

Air and Noise Pollution

Part of the energy sources we use, such as fossil fuels, release carbon particles and gases from industrial activities and motor vehicles, which severely pollute the urban atmosphere. In cities, these gases and resulting suspended particles create a dense, misty atmosphere harmful to health, known as smog (or boirum). This phenomenon is more intense during winter due to temperature inversion, which prevents the movement of air currents. Smog can be controlled by reducing emissions.

Solid Waste and Water Management

The large amount of solid waste generated by urban populations poses a serious problem. A portion of organic waste goes through a composting process to be used as fertilizer in agriculture, while another part is discharged into landfills. Various types of waste materials can be recycled if collected selectively.

Water pollution is another critical issue. The discharge of industrial waste into rivers pollutes urban waters. In some regions, drying conditions have led to obtaining potable water from seawater desalination plants. In underprivileged neighborhoods within third-world cities, the lack of sewers causes water contamination and creates unfavorable living conditions.

Urbanization in Developing Countries

In 2017, half of the population in developing countries lived in urban villages. The growth of cities in Latin America, Asia, and Africa has been very significant over the last 50 years. There are megacities such as Beijing with 10.7 million residents and Shanghai with 14.5 million.

Many of these cities suffer from uncontrolled growth. The arrival of thousands of people fleeing hunger and misery has given rise to large rural districts with houses or shacks that lack infrastructure and do not meet minimum conditions of habitability.