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IWA - Urbanization in China
IWA - Urbanization in China
IWA - Urbanization in China
Introduction
As the world changes, the demography of the human race also changes. As humans work
towards development, trends show that urban sprawl is increasing among countries. According to
the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, urbanization is the spreading of urban developments. There are
lots of international migration, and people usually tend to leave rural areas. According to
Worldometers, the population in China in 2018 was around 1.4 billion. China is a country with
the largest amount of people in the world sharing around 18.54% of the world population
(Worldometers 2018). As China’s economy rises, it has become a global leader, especially in
The United Nations projects that developing countries will experience more urbanization,
and there will be less rural dwellers. By 2050, two-thirds of the population will be living in urban
cities. This urban demographic change actually is influenced by trends in the economic
development worldwide (Montgomery 2008). Working towards more development, China has
been one of the global leaders running the world economy over the past several decades. China’s
gross domestic product grows at an average annual rate of 9.5% (Zhou 2004). This led to an
increase of development in China, and China is slowly increasing its economy. Urbanization has
been closely linked to environmental issues. While Montgomery (Montgomery 2008) notes that
urbanization is growing in the developing world, Thatcher (Thatcher 1989) described how this
type of trend had a detrimental effect on the environment. As China’s urban sprawl increases,
there will be an increase in urbanization and development in China. As more people move into
China is a communist country with a market economy. As China’s market economy rises,
China will conduct more business, international cooperation, and become more connected with
the world (Lu 2018). The World Bank reports that China’s urban population grew from 191
million to 594 million from 1980 to 2007. They also indicate that while succeeding its rapid
urbanization movement, it has also maintained low urban poverty and unemployment (World
Bank 2008). Premier Li Keqiang believes that urbanization is a “huge engine” of China’s
economic growth (Qin 2016). Pan Jiahua, director of Institute of the Urban Environment at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), discussed how he believes that urbanization will
create better public resources, like public education and healthcare (Qin 2016). Urbanization
helps people get more connections, such as more rural residents getting more resources moving
to the city. They are able to attend schools, receive healthcare, and have more access to
resources.China’s GDP grew exponentially for 30 years. As China focuses on developing its
country, China’s production rate increases. China’s economy grows an annual rate of 7.7% each
year (Peston 2014), and demand for China’s production increases dramatically (Zhang 2011).
China’s financial institutions, labour resources, and and investments will make China become a
global market. Opening slowly towards the international market, China is now an economic
Decrease of Poverty
Economic growth has reduced poverty ever since 1980 in China (Amadeo 2019). Poor
households were able to have benefits due to targets of poverty reduction programs. These
programs received around 469 billion yuan from 1980 to 2016, which is around 70 billion US
dollars (Wu 2016). Poor areas were able to generate more income, thereby leading towards more
economic growth. As the economy improves, there is now a growing income inequality, but the
economic growth of China has benefited the people as a whole. Poverty in the rural areas of
China has decreased from 250 million to 29 million from 1978 to 2003. China has the largest
poverty population, as well as the country with the largest population (Zhang 2011). Now only
around 3.3% of China’s massive population lives under the poverty line (Amadeo 2019).
Employment rose due to tech, steel, aluminum companies employing a lot of people. The central
government of China aims to end extreme poverty by the year 2020, and hopefully fund more
Margaret Thatcher stated in her speech to the United Nations General Assembly in 1989,
“We are seeing a vast increase in the amount of carbon dioxide reaching the atmosphere. The
annual increase is three billion tonnes: and half the carbon emitted since the Industrial
Revolution still remains in the atmosphere (Thatcher 1989).” Not only China, but as the whole
world moves toward urbanization, there will be more destruction of tropical forests, killing of
many animals, and the pollution of the globe’s oceans (Thatcher 1989). As China’s urbanization
grows rapidly, China’s environment has been degrading. Pettinger addresses since around half of
the population live in urban cities, China suffers from massive contamination (Pettinger 2009).
What is the Main Impact Urbanization Brings to China?
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Factories, cars, and movement of people cause sewage problems, rising CO2 levels, heating of
the surface temperature, and smog in urban areas. In addition, treatment of electronic waste
contaminates China’s soil. China suffers from acid rain, polluted rivers, contaminated air, and a
quarter of the residents in China have no access to clean drinking water. Rivers are polluted with
untreated sewage that comes from fertilizers and pesticides, animal wastes, chemical wastes,
detergents, etc. (Zhang 2011). As more industries dump waste into rivers, there is a notable
government source in China also states that around a fifth of urban Chinese breathes heavily
polluted air (Zhang 2011). In addition, China does not only suffer from air pollution outside. The
World Bank states that indoor air pollution is what creates premature deaths. The World Health
Organization estimates that 300,000 premature deaths in China comes from air pollution (Kan
2009). As China relies mostly on coal combustion for fuel, many cities in China suffer from
rising sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels and acid rain (Zhang 2011). The Chinese government does not
regulate these power plants or maintains proper control of the rising SO2 levels. Not only air
pollution, but water pollution affects many regions in the country. China’s waters contain toxic
levels of arsenic, fluorine, and sulfates (Gibson 2018). Mostly coming from farm fertilizers,
electronic waste, and pollution-induced algae. For example, Dabo Guan, a professor at the
University of East Anglia in Britain believes one of the main issues in China is water pollution.
(Gibson 2018). As China’s industries dump waste in to lakes and rivers, rural villages are
exposed to toxic waste due to their reliance on natural resources. They use this water for
What is the Main Impact Urbanization Brings to China?
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washing, drinking, cleaning, etc. These villages are even called “cancer villages” due to the huge
risks of getting cancer (Gibson 2018). China’s water sources are linked to high rates of liver,
stomach, and esophageal cancer (Gibson 2018). Sadly, most of China’s regions that do not have
access to technology do not have a system to purify wastewater. To maintain public security and
Socially, China’s urban population live in clustered areas with narrow spaces. As there is
the largest population lives in China, China’s urban areas do not have enough land for living. As
China’s population keeps growing, even though there is less poverty, there is an increasing
wealth gap among society. For example, income isn’t really fairly established, and
discrimination is increased (Zhang 2011). The Gini Index, a measure of wealth inequality, is a
scale from 1 being the most equal to 100, being not equal. The Gini Index reports China at 50
points, one of the highest in Asia. It has increased about 15 points since 1990 (Jain-Chandra
2018). As inequality increases, China is still behind other OECD countries in public spending on
health, education and social assistance. Due to low spending, this will impact many people
migrating to urban areas, since China has an . In 2013, spending in rural and urban areas had
wide gaps, and generally, there is usually more consumption in the urban areas (World Bank
2008). In 2005, consumption in urban areas in China was around 2-3 times higher than rural
areas (Zhang 2011). As income disparity increases in China, economic growth in China could
soon be limited. The rich will keep getting richer, the poor getting poorer, affecting China’s
economy.
Conclusion
What is the Main Impact Urbanization Brings to China?
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China is relatively high. Its economy is even higher than the U.S., and is expected to grow even
more. Urbanization and development in China will increase. But as China grows, does its
China is a huge country with a huge population. Its urbanization has done many positives,
but China’s urbanization problems outweigh the positives. The main impact that urbanization
brings to China is, very noticeably, environmental problems. When looking up photos from
China online, smog and air pollution is very noticeable, as skies in most photos taken in China
look very gray. But the reason why environmental problems affect China the most, is not
because it affects the economy or the development of cities, but affects people’s health and
safety. The Chinese are constantly exposed to fatal air quality. Sadly, these environmental
problems not only affect China itself, but countries near China. This is why environmental
damage is the main cause of urbanization in China. Winds from China bring air pollution to
central Asia and east Asia, affecting billions of people (Medium 2019). Countries like South
Korea and Japan are the most affected, due to being close to China geographically. These
countries do not really partake in degrading China’s air quality, but are exposed to polluted air.
People around South Korea and Japan constantly get warnings about fine dust and smog, and
have to wear face masks to prevent damage to their lungs. Somedays, the people get warnings
saying they should not go outside at all. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
(KRISS) states that most of these “fine dusts” particles come from China from winds. Fine dust
is usually originates from the “combustion of fossil fuels or biomass” (Medium.com 2019).
These dust particles are brought to Korea and Japan from China, being exposed in to the air.
What is the Main Impact Urbanization Brings to China?
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These particles damage lungs and could even cause cancer, as they are carcinogens. Due to these
conflicts, China has to resolve these environmental issues with several countries, either
establishing treaties or have to pay a fine toward other countries. This in the end, could affect
their economy due to repairs of environmental damage. Health and the environment come before
the development of a society, therefore, being the most important impact of urbanization in
China.
Limitations to Research
There are several limitations that should be noted. For example, not all Chinese
government resources are reliable. China’s social media firewalls make it extremely difficult to
checked, and are not really trustworthy. In addition, China is making economic, environmental,
and social reforms constantly. As China changes in policies on the environment, the main impact
of urbanization could change in several years. Likewise, the environment and health of the
people are not the only impacts of urbanization. There are economical benefits for people, such
as reducing poverty, such as the poverty population decreasing (Zhang 2011). This can actually
benefit people in achieving a better lifestyle. As a whole society, urbanization improves China’s
development as a whole.
What is the Main Impact Urbanization Brings to China?
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