Urbanisation Without Development: Environmental and Health Implications in African Cities |
| |
Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Kwasi?BoadiEmail author Markku?Kuitunen Kolawole?Raheem Kari?Hanninen |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland;(2) Present address: Kwasi Boadi, Toykkalankatu, 17B 303, Turku, 20540, Finland |
| |
Abstract: | Sustainable development advocates for a balance between socio-economic development and the environment in the pursuit of human
advancement. In Africa, high population growth and inadequate infrastructure in urban areas exert pressure on the environment
and this threatens the health and wellbeing of urban residents. The population of the African continent until the 1960s was
predominantly rural. This scenario has taken a swift turn and some of the major shifts in the global urbanisation process
are taking place on the continent. Factors including natural increase in the population, rural–urban migration, strife and
hunger leading to the internal displacement of populations have exacerbated the urbanisation process in Africa. The situation
has been worsened by the imposition of Western development policies, including structural adjustment programmes on African
nations, which has eroded the subsistence base of rural agricultural communities and further ignited rural urban migration.
The failure of industry to absorb the increasing labour force has created massive unemployment and deepening poverty crisis
in urban centres. Inadequate provision of infrastructure and services to meet the growth in urban populations has resulted
in inefficient spatial development of urban centres, the proliferation of squatter settlements, inadequate basic amenities
including potable water, sanitation and waste disposal. Poor environmental sanitation has resulted in the upsurge of infectious
diseases and deteriorating urban health. Urban populations in Africa are also the worst affected by newly emerging diseases,
particularly HIV/AIDS. The poor bear a disproportionately large share of the problems due to their particular vulnerability
to environmental and health risks.
Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. |
| |
Keywords: | Africa environment health risks poverty rural– urban migration sanitation sustainability urbanisation |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|