Urban Geography, Essay Example

Having witnessed the problem in my local area, I have seen what it looks like and has come to know of its effects. Housing has become a major problem in society, resulting in housing problems made evident by the numbers of homeless people around the globe. The problems in housing are that there are many individuals without proper housing and those with the capability to rent or buy out a house. The housing problem is one that has brought with it many effects and implications, such as homelessness and the disparity in lifestyles among society people. The problem is one that is caused by several factors that suffocate the housing sector, especially in urban areas and cities. Urban geography is a geographical subdiscipline that focuses its study on urban areas and cities. The subdiscipline highlights aspects of these areas, including the built environment and urban life. A city is a large town, and a metropolitan area refers to the area surrounding the town, which becomes so after the influence of the town.

Urban geography is linked to the contemporary times of housing, highlighting the development of urban areas and housing over the years to the present times. The housing problem is one that affects urban areas and cities, touching the field of urban geographers. The following essay on the housing problem seeks to synthesize insight and knowledge on issues in urban geography, such as the housing problem that has led to other consequences such as homelessness.

The human population has grown over time, and the rise is expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. The rise in population gives rise to the migration of this population to urban areas for financial, social, and other reasons. The influx of people in urban areas results in housing problems, further resulting in problems such as overcrowding, inaccessibility within certain areas, inadequate social amenities, and unsatisfactory environmental conditions, among others (Cox et al., 2019). With the rise in population, there is a lack of enough space to cater to everyone as lands become scarce, leading to their overpricing. The major cause of housing problems is pricing, which drives some people to the streets because of their low economic status and their inability to keep up with the economic times. Housing projects are often highly-priced because of the demand for land and space, making it hard for some people to afford them.

With housing being a problem, it makes it difficult for the life of those without the means to cater to such a need. I have witnessed the effects of homelessness and other housing problems in my area because of the high prices, lack of personal funding, and even support from the government. Communities lack social amenities or are subjected to poor services, live in environmentally unfavorable conditions, and struggle with the economy still. An issue like this is worth synthesizing and applying insight and knowledge on the problem to overcome the matter and help the community (Cox et al., 2019).

The problem of housing is connected to the society frame and state of social, economic, political, and even cultural factors. The movement of persons from one area to these urban areas may be for various reasons, such as unemployment and the search for better opportunities. There is then the understanding of how to deal with and manage the situation in understanding. Looking at the causes of housing problems, overpopulation comes off as one example. This means that the population of an area becomes excessively so that the area cannot support further populations, and if it does, then it will be in unfavorable ways, such as the topic in this essay. People moving from otherwise rural areas to go to urban areas leads to regional inequality, which refers to inequality in population and resources between certain regions (Sun, 2020).

The movement of people to urban areas can be managed by the urbanization of the rural areas (https://www.adb.org/publications/promoting-logistics-development-rural-areas)

In search of employment, greener pastures, new experiences, and endeavors, people move to urban areas from rural areas, overpopulating these urban centers and lowering the population in rural areas. The fair distribution of social amenities, infrastructure, economic opportunities, and general resources among regions would help curb this issue of housing problems in contemporary urban society. People would be likely to settle in these areas because the space, availability, and fair prices-proving to are an effective way of lowering cases and causes of housing problems (Aizawa et al., 2020).

The building of houses and development of housing in rural areas is an example of tackling the issue, as this would result in people choosing to live in their rural areas as these housing projects are there, rather than going out to urban centers and cities. The creation of shelter and transitional homes in urban areas is a course of action to take in the management of the problem, which would subsequently lead to regional equality, lowering of prices, and the low movement of people into urban centers. This development should not only focus on housing but on other areas, too, such as technology, firms, industries, infrastructure, resources, etc. (Sun, 2020).

Another way of looking at it could be the encouragement of innovation to solve such matters and develop innovative alternatives to combat the issue. Coming up with innovative ways to build faster and increase productivity should be another focus on the issue, whose result would be the lowering of housing prices, meaning that housing problems will lower. With the influx of housing and population in urban centers, it would be encouraged to build and develop other areas as well, away from the city, to reduce the overpopulation witnessed and give rise to regional equality. Apart from the mentioned practices of managing the matter, policies also play a major role in the contribution of the matter. It would make a difference in the review of policies and regulations that play a part in the pressurizing of society and urban centers (Sun, 2020).

The relevance of urban geography is to have implications on urban life and ways of living, which includes the assessment and management of issues such as housing problems in contemporary times. Insight and knowledge from the subdiscipline should be synthesized into coming up with ways and applications of innovation to solve contemporary issues of overpriced housing, homelessness, regional inequality, and housing problems.

References

Aizawa, T., Helble, M., & Lee, K. O. (2020). Housing Inequality in Developing Asia and the United States: Will Common Problems Mean Common Solutions? Cityscape, 22(2), 23–60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26926892

Cox, R., Henwood, B., Rodnyansky, S., Rice, E., & Wenzel, S. (2019). Road Map to a Unified Measure of Housing Insecurity. Cityscape, 21(2), 93–128. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26696378

Sun, L. (2020). A Global View of Housing Affordability. In Housing Affordability in Chinese Cities (pp. 2–4). Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep24404.4