Urbanization
As economies integrate into the global flows of trade and investments, people move from the rural areas into the urbanized cities to find work and employment. A high concentration of economic activities lead to land squeeze and rising property prices, making residential spaces unaffordable for the average workers. They are displaced from their families who stay in the suburbs, have no familial support, and are likely to find themselves facing housing problems. More often that not, they end up living in rented spaces, low-cost housing with many other displaced individuals, or worse still, in illegal shelters.
Even for the lucky ones who can manage the housing costs in the city, residential spaces are usually small and suitable only for satellite families. The large, extended families of the rural areas and suburbs cannot be brought into the cities, and the younger working generation starts to be distanced from their families. This causes a degeneration of the familial unit as a form of social support, sowing the seeds for many social problems to bud.
When the working hours are over and the workers all return home, the cities are void of life and character, giving rise to the term “death-by-night syndrome”. The cities, being the hub of economic activities, are also associated to stress, hectic schedules, fast pace of life and a heavy mind, for the typical workers. Unlike the city of Curitiba, which we have seen in the lecture as a model example of urban renewal, most cities suffer from urban decay or a lack of integration of infrastructure that promotes healthy social interactions. There is some sort of relationship between space and human behavior. Through effective utility of available public spaces in the urban city, we can attempt to fill the void in human lives by encouraging interaction and social activities. Parks and water features built in the cities help to integrate nature into the concrete jungle, and benches and pavilions allow passer-by to slow down their pace and enjoy the surroundings. All these will promote human interaction and ease the otherwise stressful and hectic atmosphere in the cities.
As we observe the hustle and bustle of the cities, and the throngs of people rushing about on the roads, we see a seemingly grand idea come to life – the city becomes a representative work of globalization on a local context, where people from different states or countries converge because of the need to work. And as with all other nations that are globalized, even the small cities cannot escape the perils of the problems associated with globalization. The problems have, in fact, all evolved from small individual to huge societal ones; from city-level to national-level. It is therefore imperative that apart from the function of enabling economic activities to take place, urban areas should also be spaces that encourage social activities, and strive to resolve the usual issues that globalization brings even before they surface.
Effective urban planning is essential to allow cities to reap the benefits that globalization brings, without sacrificing their characters and ‘souls’. Through the provision of proper shelters at affordable costs for everyone; and the integration of large, open social spaces to enable the cultivation of stronger communal spirit, the displaced and lonely individuals inhabiting the cities would likely enjoy more secured lives and experience greater social support; thereby nipping the potential problems in their buds.
