Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems
It is true that the high population density happening in metropolitan areas has become a pressing issue in modern society. Although several negative consequences on the urban environment and people's quality of life have undoubtedly resulted from this tendency, governments can take a number of effective solutions to tackle these problems.
As the population of urban areas has been increasing at alarming rates, several related problems can be anticipated. The main issue would be obviously more private means of transport and industrial activities, which is identified as the primary culprit of air pollution in cities. It is because exhaust fumes from petrol-consuming vehicles and gas emissions from factories result in a higher concentration of carbon dioxide and particulate matter in the atmosphere, causing air quality degradation. As a result, city dwellers might suffer from a wide range of chronic health concerns such as asthma, dermatitis, respiratory infection, and even lung cancer. Another issue would be the possibility of non-renewable resource depletion such as fresh water, cropland and fossil fuels. This is happening because there is an overexploitation of natural resources for the huge demand for housing, food and industrial manufacturing in urbanized areas.
There are several actions that governments could take to mitigate the problems described above. Firstly, governments can run resettlement programs by investing more life-sustaining necessities in rural areas such as education, recreation, health care and job opportunities. This will motivate citizens to relocate voluntarily to these newly constructed areas, which reduces the population density in big cities. Another solution would be enforcing laws to inhibit high birth rates in cities and encourage family planning movements by incorporating a one-child policy or tax exemption regulations for couples having one child in the marital law-making process. Finally, it is imperative for scientists to develop more renewable and environmentally-friendly energy sources to radically address the matter of resource exhaustion caused by overpopulation in the long run.
In conclusion, while there are various problems that are certain to arise from the overpopulation of urban areas nowadays, they can be combated effectively with resettlement programs and birth-control policies. These governmental actions, if done properly, can hopefully address these problems and avert the future degradation of the environment and public welfare.