Urbanization trends

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

URBANIZATION TRENDS

CHECKPOINT ASSIGNMENT WK 7

SOCIOLOGY 120

PROFESSOR LEE DAFFIN

MECHELLE DAVIDSON

12/16/2011

Urbanization TrendsDecember 16, 2011

LAGOS NIGERIA’S URBANIZATION TRENDS

As urban living fast becomes the predominant of the world’s population growth, it is

changing societies with affects to the health and economics of those living within these urban

areas. Nigeria currently have six cities with a current population of one million or more, As

these populations growth demands for urban accommodations in Nigeria rises by the day, so

too does the disadvantage of living conditions available to them (Awofes, 2010/2011). With

70% of Nigerians urban population living in crude disadvantaged housing developments, and

showing only to multiply across Nigeria with very few of these new migrants able to afford

adequate housing. Urbanization trends within Lagos, Nigeria has evidence suggesting that it is

forecasted to reach a population of 25 million by 2025, making Lagos the third largest city after

that of Mumbai and Tokyo (Awofes, 2010/2011).

Urban Disadvantages

With the perceived economic opportunities available within Nigeria’s growing cities,

Lagos receives more rural-urban migration than any other does, skirting currently 18 million

inhabitants. This population growth trend far exceeds the already overstretched economic

infrastructure of these urban development’s benefits, while increasing the socioeconomically

disadvantages of these areas has shown a direct association connected with increasing

mortality risks for these areas (Antai & Moradi, 2010).

Nigeria having the fastest urbanization growth within the world is leading cause for

poverty influenced economic developments increase of infectious diseases and diarrhea’s

associated with safe drinking water and housing quality contributing to the increasing child


mortalities and increased health risks of urbanization. As poor disadvantaged urban

communities characterized by overcrowding, unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitary waste

services, and other hazardous pollutions increases, so shall the availability of resources for

which urban livings benefits that were ideal to those of low to middle income migrants (Antai

& Moradi, 2010).

Economic Performances

With economic performances failing along with governance, housing policies, and legal

institutions falling short in the capacity for developing urban economics by providing only a

fraction of the growing social needs within these urban areas being met also. This continuation

of Nigerians rural-urban migration to perceived areas of opportunities will persist in providing

increased challenges for matching infrastructures, public utilities, and other social amenities

that are over whelming both the state and local governments as of current.

When Lagos became one of sub-Saharan Africa’s’ first mega-urban regions with a

metropolitan population of 10 million inhabitants, and continues to grow scientists’ declare

that by 2015 an estimated 16 million will assure Lego’s eleventh place as the largest urban

system of the world (Antai & Moradi, 2010).

Place like Lagos of increasing population in urban living under these disadvantaged

conditions will only contribute further to the limited financial, human, and material resources

available and important for the safe developments of communities within these areas of rapid

economic and industrial growth areas.


Environmental Safeguards

As inequalities in the distribution, access, availability, and use result in new and re-

accruing hazards to the health and well-being of both individuals and environments occurring

just as rapidly. It is important that education, training, research, and preventative practice to

provide as safeguards to the environmental health and wellbeing of these communities

(Shendell & Ana, 2011). Environmental health sciences coupled with its management will help

to further educate and train those Nigerians already semi-skilled officers in the EPH, and

increase the advantages associated with the safety of our environments health. These will only

be the start of needed safety policies and practices that scientists specialized educations in

epidemiology, biotechnology, and toxicology as important concentrations with environmental

health sciences in keeping the worlds environment healthy worldwide.


References

Antai, D., & Moradi, T. (2010). Urban area Disadvantage and Under -5 Mortality. Environmental

Health Perspectives, 877-883.

Awofes, P. O. (2010/2011). One out of Every Two Nigerians Now Live in A City. World Policy

Instatute, 67-73.

Shendell, D. G., & Ana, G. R. (2011). Promoting Environmental Public Health inRapidly

Urbanizing Areas of Less-Developed Countries in Africa . Journal of Environmental

Health, 26-35.

Education

Urbanization trends