In the past, urbanization was introduced as a mean to protect human beings from the attacks of wild nature. Large forests were cleared and buildings were erected for that very purpose. In the modern era today, urbanization took place to create cities for political, economic and industrial purposes. We may be envious of Tokyo and New York where people are affluent and enjoying never-ending night life, ogling at women clad in the most fashionable clothings in town and admire the beauty of those magnificent high-rise buildings that seem to represent a powerful city that has no limits. However, we fail to unveil the dark side of urbanization and the social problems it has created amidst the facade of a prosperous city.
The cities have transformed from centres of politics influence to centres of economic production. This made urbanization grew rapidly as people are attracted to the opportunities that the cities provide. People from rural settlements flood the urban cities to fill up the low-end manual jobs which were then, critical for the progress of the cities. With migration taking place at such a rapid pace and the cities’ development at a slower rate, many people face the problems of having not enough accommodation, limited health care facilities and end up living in slums and quarters. These people were in search of better lives and hoped to break the poverty cycle. They came to the cities to build houses, office buildings and entertainment parks for the rich but end up not enjoying a luxurious living. Who is to blame?
Personally, I would say it is the state’s fault. 1) Rural and urban areas are what the state says to be. It all depends on whether the area is accessible to trade routes, has a large enough land and if it is the capital of the country. The decision to develop it into a city hinges on a very simple yet shallow idea: how much economic power the area can ‘emit’. 2) Necessary resources to develop the area into a city will be needed. Most often, such essential resources are taken from the rural areas around the periphery of the city and pumped into the development of the city. This is unfair as these resources can be used to develop the rural areas as well. 3) Also, because the centre of attention is now on the city, the state will also provide better facilities in there, such as health care amenities and entertainment venues. 4) As cities are also seeking expansion, more land area from around the cities is also used for development. Farms are cleared and make way for factories. Put all these together, the state is actually the one creating social problems for its own society. They first deprive rural settlers from proper homes and jobs, then later deprive them of progression and development. Once these rural settlers migrate to the cities (of course, the state has successfully lured them into the city and able to use them as tools for economic production), they are again deprived of basic living conditions and personal development. The gap between the rich and the poor widens because of such economic capitalist process.
Right now, we see how urbanization has caused rural settlers to be marginalized, all in the name of economic prosperity. More social problems are to arise, such as, health problems from overcharged water, drainage and sewer networks, environmental hazards from traffic congestion and increasing refuse, social ills as a result of psychological problems when living in highly densed cities and the possibility of terrorist attacks. It seems like urbanization is an inevitable path for countries but they are not tackling the social problems that are likely to arise if urbanization is to progress at this alarming rate. Sociologists, please fall in.
