Increasing population numbers have created many issues in cities all over the world. I will discuss some of these problems, as well as potential solutions, in the following essay.
There are a number of immediate problems with the growing rate of inhabitants in cities. The most pressing of these is the strain of traffic congestion, and how this affects commuters, businesses and daily life. Billions of people around the world spend countless hours stuck in traffic almost every day, which is an incredible waste of time and money. Additionally, businesses lose billions of dollars on the inefficiency of transporting goods and services on clogged roadways. A second major problem is the pollution created from all of these people living in close proximity to each other. Their numerous vehicles burn fossil fuels, and their consumption creates endless trash. These two factors lead to an enormous environmental problem that needs to be dealt with.
Despite all of these issues, there are a number of ways to alleviate these problems. By incorporating more efficient public transportation, a large amount of the traffic jams could be avoided. In Japan, the extensive rail system is efficient, reliable and affordable, and the result of that is relatively free moving traffic. Also in Japan, they have incorporated state of the art air filtration systems in their largest cities, which sit in the median of roadways, filtering car exhaust as it is produced. They have also created a comprehensive system for waste removal, with one of the best incinerator systems on earth. Only 6 percent of all trash in Japan goes into a landfill. The rest is burned, with the smoke absorbed by more high tech air filtration, and the energy created producing electricity.
While growing populations have introduced a number of new problems in urban areas, there are many ways that these problems can be minimized. By using advanced public transportation and new methods of trash collection and recycling, these cities could experience much less traffic and pollution.