Question

Write short note.

Problems of urban community

Explain the problems of urban communities.

Answer 1

The problems of urban community are as follows:

1. Urban sprawl: Real expansion of the cities, both in population and geographical area, is the root cause of urban problems. In most cities, the economic base is incapable of dealing with the problems created by their excessive size. Massive immigration from rural areas and small towns has taken place almost consistently; thereby adding to the size of cities. The urban sprawl is taking place at the cost of valuable agricultural land. 
2. Overcrowding: It is a logical consequence of over-population in urban areas. It is naturally expected that cities having a large size of population squeezed in a small space will suffer from overcrowding. 
3. Housing and slums: Overcrowding leads to a chronic problem of shortage of houses. It is specifically more acute in those urban areas where there is a large influx of unemployed or underemployed immigrants. Slums are also a serious problem in urban areas. In Mumbai, almost 50% of the population is found in slums. In spite of the efforts of the Municipal Corporation, the problem remains unsolved. 
4. Unemployment: The unemployment rate in urban India is approximately 15 to 25% of the total workforce. The rate of unemployment is higher among the urban educated.
5. Beggary: It has become a way of life for a majority of the urban poor due to lack of education and skill to find jobs. Many people are pushed into beggary due to reasons ranging from abject poverty to taking beggary as a profession. There are also instances of children being sold into beggary or being kidnapped and then coerced into begging. 
6. Transport: With traffic bottlenecks and congestion, almost all urban areas suffer from acute transportation problems. They get worse and more complex as towns grow in size.
7. Water shortage: Supply of water falls short of demand as cities grow in size and number. In many cities, people get water from municipal sources for less than half an hour on every alternate day. In summer, taps remain dry for days together. Many small towns have no main water supply at all. They depend on such sources as individual tube wells, household open wells, private tankers or even rivers. 
8. Sewerage problems: There are insufficient and inefficient sewage facilities. Most cities do not have proper arrangements for treating the sewerage waste and it is drained into nearby rivers or into the sea, thereby polluting the water bodies.
9. Trash disposal: Huge quantities of garbage generated by cities pose serious health hazards. Most cities do not have proper arrangements for garbage disposal and the existing landfills are full to the brim, which become hotbeds of disease and innumerable poisons. People who live near the rotting garbage and raw sewage fall easy victims to several diseases.
10. Urban crime: Like other problems, the problem of crime increases with the growth in urbanisation. Violent crimes like abuse, rape, murder, kidnapping, cyber-crime, economic offences, and white-collar crimes are rampant. The problem is becoming more complicated in the present-day world as criminals often get protection from politicians, bureaucrats and other urban elites. The increasing urban crimes leads to tensions and insecurity which makes city life unsafe.