Urban and rural housing
Day to day activities of man have led to the creation of two principal type of environment namely Rural and Urban environments. Each of this environment can be classified on the basis of such factor like population, housing type, land use pattern, occupational structure and infrastructural facilities. The various factors that can be used to describe each of the environments are given blow:
a. Urban environments
An urban environment is where almost every socio economic activities take place; it can be identified with such like commercial, residential, industrial and many others. Unlike the rural area, many kind of services are provided in the urban area such as health, education, banking, communication, transportation, commerce and industry. In fact an urban centre is where diversity of function exists, that is, where all types of occupation, industries and services are represented. For an area to be referred to as urban, it is expected to have the following amongst others:
- Population over 20,000
- Minimum of three banks
- A general hospital
- Secondary school
- Newspaper production and distribution centres.
- Public administration centres and cinema houses with industries.
Characteristics of urban area
Condensed development and intensive user of land: Developments in urban centres are physically located very close to one another. Every portion of land in commercial areas of urban centre is intensively used such as where multi storey buildings are constructed. Mixed uses like commercial and residential exist side by side and even within the same structure.
Traffic congestion: this is a common phenomenon in urban centres especially in developing countries of the world. Roads in any of these areas are mostly below standard and always in bad state of repairs. They are narrow, winding and full of potholes with blocked drains. It is in urban centres that roads are put into uncomplimentary use like double parking on the roads for lack of parking spaces trading along walk ways, on the shoulder of the road and eve up to the middle of the road.
High population density: urban centres attracts people from rural areas and surrounding settlements. This results in high population concentration. Those in search of employment, modern education, good health and enjoyment of available infrastructure flood the cities regularly from the rural areas. Consequently there is high population density in urban area.
Poor infrastructure facilities: the urban centres in many of the developing countries have the best social economic, recreational and even administrative facilities. However due to rural urban migration, the cities have continued to grow at a rate faster than the capacities of the infrastructural facilities initially provided. The results are poor performance and deficiencies in modern basic facilities.
Pollution: this is another characteristic of urban centre. Due to concentration of virtually every socio economic activity there is confusion and conflict everywhere. Common pollution types are noise, air and water.
Poor housing: as there are modern housing in cities so also are poor ones which even outnumbered the good ones. Poor standard, inadequate facilities, overcrowding and dirt environment are the common identities of many houses in urban centres. It is in the urban centres that you see people sleeping in uncompleted building and under bridge.
Slum areas: slum areas is also a notable characteristics of urban centres. It is the direct consequence of high rate congestion and poor financial condition of most urban dwellers.
High crime rate: urban centres are places where the rate of crime is the highest. This is not unconnected with the influx of job seekers that are always more than the available vacancies. As a result juvenile delinquencies, drug addiction, prostitution, armed robbery, house breaking, hired assassin, kidnapping, thuggery, fighting and other social vices are on the increase.
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