Negative Effects Of Urbanization

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In 2007, 50% of the world’s population became urban dwellers, this meant that approximately 3.3 billion persons were dwelling in cities across the globe. It is also projected that another 500 million persons will become urban dwellers in another 5 years, and there are further indications that by 2030, about 60% of the world’s population will be urban dwellers (FIG Commission, 2010).

Wealth generation and economic development have birthed a new phenomenon known as megacities, which are urban areas with an average population of 10 million or more persons, and 19 of such cities exist around the world at the moment. It is also projected that by 2020, the number of such mega cities would be about 27. This trend is more prevalent

When ecosystem services are altered, their capacity to satisfy even basic human needs starts to be compromised (Vitousek, et al, 1997)

The FIG commission, 2010, posits that urbanization comes with negative and positive impacts depending on how it is managed or planned for. Urbanization brings along development which in turn gives rise to higher living standards, which will also give rise to further urbanization.

Poorly planned rapid urbanization carries with it grave consequences in the form of urban environmental hazards which include flash floods, mudslides and the like. These hazards increase as urbanization increases. Thus there is need to plan and properly manage the process rapid urbanization (Nyambod, 2010).

The scarcity of land to meet the accommodation needs of the rising urban population impinges on the existence of wetlands which play an important role in the general wellbeing of the city. As a result of their non-renewable nature, they play a vital role in the health of the ecosystem. Thus the key to the preservation of the wetlands lies in planning policies and their implementation (Wang, et al,

3.2 SAMPLING FRAME AND POPULATION.

The sampling population will be determined using the Yamane formula, as propounded by Taro Yamane (1967), cited in (Israel, 2013), which is given as follows: n = N___ 1 + N(e)2

Where

N = population size, n = estimated sample population, e = level of precision.

However, before the application of the Yamane formula, the current population of the study area must be estimated, and this is gotten from the 1999 census data, using the linear exponential model, which is given as follows:

Pn = Po (1+r)n

Where

Pn = Projected population

Po = Population of base year (in this case 2002)

1 = Constant r = Growth rate (5%) n = Difference of years, between bvase year and year in focus Using the two formulae, and the base year population is given as

i. For study area A (GRA axis), the population as captured in the 2002 census,