The past few decades have witnessed a rising tide of people migrating from countries to big cities. While urban expansion may have some positive effects, I believe that the harm to the environment is much more serious.
The main disadvantage of this trend is the increased possibility of environmental pollution. On the one hand, a growing number of residents living in the cities will definitely produce more household waste than before, adding to the burden of refuse disposal. As a result, garbage processing will aggravate air pollution and land degradation since it necessitates burning and dumping. On the other hand, new city arrivals who need to commute every day contribute to even greater usage of private vehicles, whose gas emissions would intensify air pollution and worsen the ecological condition. Additionally, in order to accommodate more citizens, limited natural green spaces tend to be occupied for the construction of houses and office buildings, which might cause unintentional damage to the urban ecosystem.
Some people may argue that the influx of new migrants would boost the local economy, so that the authorities would have more revenues accumulated for environmental preservation measures such as developing alternative energy or optimizing ways of waste disposal. However, there is no fundamental solution to a problem caused by a dense population, let alone an approach to dealing with the environmental damage that is by nature irreversible. Even if a brand-new waste disposal system is implemented, problems will still occur when the amount of waste far exceeds the system’s capacity to handle it.
In conclusion, I believe that when a large group of people move from countrysides to cities, it is more likely to cause environmental problems that are irreparable.
