In many developing countries, where the economic disparities between rural and urban areas are large, there has been a trend of labourers migrating from the countryside to big cities. This essay will elaborate on factors leading to this trend and discuss the consequences for individuals and society.
The influx of residents moving from rural areas to cities is an obvious consequence of two main factors. Firstly, cities can attract a large number of local and multinational corporations across various economic sectors, such as manufacturing and services, thereby providing ample job opportunities with promising wages, compared to agriculture-oriented activities with low salaries for blue-collar workers in the countryside. Therefore, young people in suburban zones tend to migrate to urban areas to take up available employment opportunities, thus securing a stable income and raising their families. Secondly, most of the top-tier hospitals with specialized doctors and technology-driven services are found in urban areas rather than in suburban zones, despite a universal healthcare system across the country. Hence, more citizens moving to cities can experience superior patient accessibility and better healthcare services, thereby enjoying improved living standards.
This rural-urban migration would lead to two desirable implications for individuals and society. To be specific, despite an increasing demand for housing facilities in cities due to dense populations, the supply of housing is inadequate. Consequently, this might result in unaffordable mortgages and high costs of other amenities, making young people vulnerable to financial strains from incurring unpayable credit debts to afford housing prices. Moreover, more people relocating to big cities can result in more personal vehicles being used on the streets. As a result, this might contribute to worse traffic congestion and road accidents, causing economic stagnation on a large scale.
In conclusion, various job opportunities and better hospitals in big cities should be the main reasons behind the influx of people moving to cities. Addressing this issue would require more effort to provide more housing facilities and improve transport systems in urban areas.