EFFECT OF

OVERPOPULATION
ON URBAN
CENTRES
Human Settlement Sciences

INTRODUCTION
Overpopulation is a generally undesirable condition where an organism's numbers exceed
the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the
human population and its environment, the Earth, or smaller geographical areas such as
countries. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates,
an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. It is
possible for very sparsely populated areas to be overpopulated if the area has a meager or
non-existent capability to sustain life (e.g. a desert).
The population has been growing continuously since the end of the Black Death, around the
year 1400, although the most significant increase has been in the last 50 years, mainly due
to medical advancements and increases in agricultural productivity. Although the rate of
population growth has been declining since the 1980s, the United Nations has expressed
concern on continued excessive population growth in sub-Saharan Africa. As of May 11,
2012 the world human population is estimated to be 7.013 billion by the United States
Census Bureau, and over 7 billion by the United Nations. Most estimates for the carrying
capacity of the Earth are between 4 billion and 16 billion. Depending on which estimate is
used, human overpopulation may or may not have already occurred. Nevertheless, the rapid
recent increase in human population is causing some concern. The population is expected to
reach between 8 and 10.5 billion between the year 2040 and 2050.

In May 2011, the United Nations increased the medium variant projections to 9.3 billion for
2050 and 10.1 billion for 2100.
The recent rapid increase in human population over the past two centuries has raised
concerns that the planet may not be able to sustain present or larger numbers of
inhabitants. Steve Jones, head of the biology department at University College London, has
said, "Humans are 10,000 times more common than we should be". The Inter Academy
Panel Statement on Population Growth has stated that many environmental problems, such
as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution, are aggravated
by the population expansion. Other problems associated with overpopulation include the
increased demand for resources such as fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition,
consumption of natural resources faster than the rate of regeneration (such as fossil fuels),
and a decrease in living conditions. However, some believe that waste and overconsumption, especially by wealthy nations, is putting more strain on the environment than
overpopulation.

Limiting birth rates through legal regulations, educating people about family planning,
increasing access to birth control and contraception, and extra-terrestrial settlement have
been suggested as ways to mitigate overpopulation in the future. China and other nations
already have regulations limiting the birth rate, with China using the one child policy.
Contraception is a response to the fact that nearly 40% of pregnancies are unintended and
that in the poorest regions mothers often lack information and the means to control the size
of their families.

EFFECTS OF OVERPOPULATION ON CITIES

Food Shortage
The more people there are, the greater amount of food is needed. If there is not enough
food to feed people in a specific place, then there is food shortage in that place.
When people do not get enough food, their health is affected. People become
undernourished when they do not have enough food to eat. Undernourished children are
more likely to get sick.
Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g.
rickets) becomes common.

Water Shortage
When population increases, the demand for water also increases. Farmers need more water
to irrigate their fields so that they can produce more crops. Factories need more water to
use in manufacturing more goods. More households need more water for drinking, cooking,
washing clothes, personal hygiene and many other activities. Water shortage is evident
when people have to walk a long way to get water, or when they have to queue up to get
it.Many people do not have access to potable water. They get their water from springs,
rivers, wells and rain.
The quality of water that people get may be poor.
Water shortage in a community can bring about problems related to sanitation and health.
Inadequate fresh water for drinking water use as well as sewage treatment and effluent
discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-expensive desalination to solve the
problem of water shortages.

Limited Space
The population of a place increases in just a short time. However, the space in a place
remains the same.
When the houses in a neighborhood are overcrowded, it shows that the population in the
area is too big. This is a common sight in a city.
Many poor people build shanties along creeks, in dumpsites or along railroads. More than
one family may share a shanty.
Overpopulation in a community can limit space for housing.

Health Problems
Food shortage, overcrowding, poor water supply and environmental pollution affect the
health of the people, particularly the children.
Poor environmental sanitation is a major cause of diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid and
cholera. Dirty insects such as flies and cockroaches contaminate food with disease-causing
germs.
Many children who play barefoot in dirty areas and do not wash their hands before eating
become infected with worms.
Some respiratory diseases such as tuberculosos, pneumonia and bronchitis are worsened by
polluted air.
Communicable diseases can easily be transferred from one person to another in an
overpopulated area.

Environmental Degradation
More people generate more waste. Solid wastes such as plastics, tin cans and bottles, when
not properly disposed of, become eyesores in a place. Garbage and sewage, if left
untreated, can pollute the water supply.
More people need more things to use so more factories are built, more transportation
facilities are made and more products are manufactured. This means more fuels are burned.
The more fuels are burned, the more polluted the air becomes.
Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution.
Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of government

regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline substantially, even as

the population continues to grow.
Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon
dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.
Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming.
Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification. Deforestation and
desertification can be reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful
even while the human population continues to grow.

OTHER ISSUES
High infant and child mortality. High rates of infant mortality are caused by poverty. Rich
countries with high population densities have low rates of infant mortality.
Intensive factory farming to support large populations. It results in human threats including
the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria diseases, excessive air and water
pollution, and new viruses that infect humans.
Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. For many
environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition and
inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care, the poor are more likely to be
exposed to infectious diseases.
Low life expectancy in countries with fastest growing populations.
Unhygienic living conditions for many and formation of slums and squatters.