Chapter 5 Urban Environment

Abstract

Abstract This chapter summarizes urbanization and its consequences to the environment. As more people concentrate in cities and as the urban population is increasing, serious environmental challenges arise which need to be tackled. This chapter describes the impact of urbanization on transport and land use. Furthermore, the problems related to water resources, waste management, and air pollution are discussed. The discussion is complemented with interesting case studies from all over the world. The concentration of people in cities needs to be tackled by appropriate planning and through effective management. In many cases, environmental problems of the past have been successfully dealt with, but there are still many challenges to be addressed at a local and global level in the future.