Urban areas often experience a disproportionate increase in population, compared to rural areas. There are several reasons for this development, notably the concentration of job opportunities in urban areas, and the availability of high class facilities and amenities in these major towns and cities. This problem can be solved by improving infrastructure and services and relocating major industries to these areas.
Primarily, people move to cities due to the higher probability of being exposed to job opportunities and gaining access to improved facilities. Urban centers have many businesses and industries, which can be tempting for most residents living in remote regions with few opportunities. Furthermore, due to the increased population, the government is likely to improve funding for these major towns; hence, improving their infrastructure and amenities. Gaining access to high quality services, such as healthcare and entertainment, is likely to convince most people to move to these areas. For instance, Kenya has a large concentration of category 5 hospitals, the highest in the country, concentrated in major towns.
In order to solve this problem, governments should improve the aforementioned facilities and relocate industries to remote regions of the country. If these people could get access to improved infrastructure in their local areas, they are more likely to be pursuaded to stay put. By doing this, the citizens will not only gain access to most services they would get in urban centers, but they would also be closer home to their friends and families. An additional method where the movement of people to urban areas can be curtailed is by moving industries to small towns. Building industries, which are renowned for their job creation ability, is more likely to convince locals to stick to their homes because they can earn a living. For example, rural Texas has managed to retain a good percentage of its residents due to the local car assemblies and food production industries.
To conclude, although the population surge in cities has been brought by the infrastructure and career opportunities available, this issue can be solved by ensuring rural areas also have good facilities and well-run industries.