Environment and Urbanization
Abstract
Urban areas are often associated with environmental “problems.” Yet, while the dense concentration of people and economic activities in towns and cities can indeed generate very visible challenges related to pollution and solid waste, this simultaneously creates the opportunity for addressing these issues efficiently. This entry describes some of the main theoretical and policy approaches to engaging with the environment and urbanization which have evolved over time and have shown some notable successes. At the same time, it highlights how ongoing urbanization (particularly in the Global South) and evolving environmental challenges (such as those around climate change) mean that more radical approaches, which involve urban residents in more meaningful ways, will be required to face the local and global environmental challenges associated with urbanization.
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The rapid and anticipated urbanisation of the world poses significant and unprecedented challenges associated with sustainability.
“Indeed, the rapid and anticipated urbanisation of the world pose significant and unprecedented challenges associated with sustainability (e.g., [39,46,53]) due to the issues engendered by urban growth in terms of resource depletion, environmental degradation, intensive energy usage, air and water pollution, toxic waste disposal, endemic traffic congestion, ineffective decision-making processes, in”
From On the sustainability of smart and smarter cities in the era of big data: an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary literature review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
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Bibri, S. E. (2019) · Journal of Big Data · doi:10.1186/s40537-019-0182-7 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
- Authors
- Dodman, D.
- Affiliations
- International Institute for Environment and Development (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Dodman, David
- ORCID
- Dodman, David
- Venue
- International Encyclopedia of Geography
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-03-06
- Pages
- 1-9
- OpenAlex
- W4237365957
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- Type
- reference entry
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Encyclopedia of Geography (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- World Bank Group
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Development and Societal Issues
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Sustainable Development
- Keywords
- urbanization, urban environment, environmental policy, pollution, solid waste, climate change, Global South, citizen participation, urban residents, environmental problems
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