The Effects of Urbanisation
6
THE EFFECTS OF URBANISATION ON LIVING CONDITIONS
Urbanisation causes changes in the living conditions under which people live and work. Especially in developing countries, this often leads to adverse living conditions (see introductory remarks in Section 1.2.5). In the particular setting of urbanising villages, there are places where chaotic urbanisation and industrialisation causes hardship, particularly for local residents. This is not the whole story, however. There are also many positive effects of urbanisation: improving housing conditions, better amenities and services, and higher living standards. Yet these benefits are often ignored in the literature on urban environmental issues in developing countries. As argued in this chapter, the selective impact that one can observe there depends to a large degree on the type of settlement, the socio-economic position of the population, and people’s occupations. This is illustrated by presenting the case of the fully urbanised and industrialised village of Samaipur. It was chosen for a case study because of its radical and rapid transformation; Samaipur was a rural village until 15 years ago. Presently, this ‘village’ is the scene of many of the environmental problems generally ascribed to urbanisation mentioned in the literature (Section 1.2.5). Before turning to the case study, it is instructive to describe the prevailing situation regarding urban amenities and services in the region. In this respect, the situation of the urbanising area of Delhi stands out favourably. Subsequently, the description narrows in on environmental problems, treating pollution, congestion and pressure on amenities. These adverse effects, which economists call negative externalities, usually go uncompensated; e.g. a factory is not held directly responsible to pay compensation to nearby residents who suffer from its pollution (Pearce 1981). A discussion of externalities belongs to a more economic approach. In contrast, this study
THE EFFECTS OF URBANISATION ON LIVING CONDITIONS
Urbanisation causes changes in the living conditions under which people live and work. Especially in developing countries, this often leads to adverse living conditions (see introductory remarks in Section 1.2.5). In the particular setting of urbanising villages, there are places where chaotic urbanisation and industrialisation causes hardship, particularly for local residents. This is not the whole story, however. There are also many positive effects of urbanisation: improving housing conditions, better amenities and services, and higher living standards. Yet these benefits are often ignored in the literature on urban environmental issues in developing countries. As argued in this chapter, the selective impact that one can observe there depends to a large degree on the type of settlement, the socio-economic position of the population, and people’s occupations. This is illustrated by presenting the case of the fully urbanised and industrialised village of Samaipur. It was chosen for a case study because of its radical and rapid transformation; Samaipur was a rural village until 15 years ago. Presently, this ‘village’ is the scene of many of the environmental problems generally ascribed to urbanisation mentioned in the literature (Section 1.2.5). Before turning to the case study, it is instructive to describe the prevailing situation regarding urban amenities and services in the region. In this respect, the situation of the urbanising area of Delhi stands out favourably. Subsequently, the description narrows in on environmental problems, treating pollution, congestion and pressure on amenities. These adverse effects, which economists call negative externalities, usually go uncompensated; e.g. a factory is not held directly responsible to pay compensation to nearby residents who suffer from its pollution (Pearce 1981). A discussion of externalities belongs to a more economic approach. In contrast, this study