Introduction
Megacities in general can be defined as extremely large urban centers that are home to more
than 10 million people. In the recent past, there has been an extremely rising rate of these
cities that is mainly contributed to by the constant rural–urban migration of a majority of
people within a country. This constant rate of movement is contributed to by the rising rate of
poverty. Thus, most people tend to move into urban centers to look for employment
opportunities and any other opportunities that can enable them to carry out their lives
comfortably.to look into under our study (Alam, 2018). The high population within these
places normally has various problems that are exacerbated by the congestion witnessed
within the cities. These challenges normally range from social and environmental challenges
that we are going to look into under our study.
1. Environmental challenges facing megacities
With regards to the high population witnessed in the megacities, there is normally an
accompanying environmental threat that is associated with this large number. The large
number of people normally leads to an increase in various activities such as continuous
transport and more industrialization to increase employment opportunities for the people, in
addition to the demand for constant energy supply for the people (Han et al, 2018). These
activities have led to a high level of air pollution as a result of the harmful smoke they release
into the air, thus exposing people to various health risks from the continuous inhalation of
these harmful fumes. This kind of exposure to health hazards in return normally leads to a
greater economic impact as people fail to be able to attend to their daily activities, thus failing
to meet their monetary demands for their daily survival. Additionally, air pollution in the
megacities is also normally contributed by the large amounts of garbage that is disposed off
into the landfill by the people. In the process of their decay, these waste materials release an
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unfriendly smell into the environment, causing discomfort amongst the people living around
the dumpsites. This largely piled-up waste also interferes with the overall appearance of the
environment by projecting an unflattering image of the surrounding environment. In addition
to the great air pollution and the general damage to the environmental beauty caused, this
high numbers of people also contributes greatly to other kinds of pollution such as water
pollution and even soil pollution (Ignatieva et al, 2020). Water pollution is caused at the point
when the people dispose off there waste products into the water systems such as rivers and at
some point even the authorities fail by directing the sew age lines into the water bodies thus
greatly affecting the water systems within the city. When this kind of pollution is witnessed,
the people around are normally exposed to various dangerous diseases such as cholera and
typhoid that normally tend to be higher in these areas due to the poor hygiene witnessed in
the area by the uncontrolled waste disclosure strategies.
In conclusion, due to the obvious negative effects of overpopulation in megacities on the
environment, the government is normally obligated to adopt new strategies that will ease this
type of issue by implementing suitable strategies aimed at reducing congestion in urban
centers and also looking for ways of controlling various activities that have a negative
environmental impact.
2. Social challenges facing Megacities
With the high number of people living in these areas, there are normally several social issues
that do arise, thus affecting the general well-being of the people in them. A majority of the
people living in urban areas are normally middle-aged people. A greater number of these
youths normally end up being unemployed, thus being totally idle. This factor has promoted a
high level of insecurity within the urban centers as some of the youth tend to be involved in
different criminal activities so as to be able to support their livelihood. Resource allocation is
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another issue that affects the area due to the large occupancy (Li et al, 2018). The government
finds it difficult to reach out to each and every person within the city due to the
overpopulation. Thus, only a few people are always getting sufficient government resources
to live out quite a number of people. This act normally reflects some level of inequalities
amongst the people living in those cities. Due to the higher demand for social amenities such
as schools, hospitals, and other government offices within the city, there is normally a great
struggle for the social amenities such as schools, hospitals, and other government offices.
Traffic congestion is another pressing issue within the megacities. In the recent past, several
people have resorted to owning their own private cars. This factor has led to the evidenced
traffic congestion due to the excess number of vehicles on the roads, with all kinds of
vehicles ranging from private vehicles, passenger vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles having to
share one road at a similar time. Another problem linked to the social well-being of those
people living in the megacities is the lack of family ties with the other family members they
left in the rural area (Torre et al, 2021). This is typically seen in the case where a large number
of people who have moved to cities do not return to their hometown but instead major in the
cities.
Conclusion
From the discussion above, it is evident that there are several factors affecting the well-being
of the people living in the megacities due to the congestion caused by the overpopulation in
the area. Several people find life in the areas unbearable as a result of these factors, which
range from environmental challenges to social challenges. Additionally, the government also
finds it very difficult to offer equal and sufficient support to all the people in it. With respect
to these factors, the government is tasked with the role of ensuring there is a regulation on the
rate at which people move out of their rural areas into the cities. This one can be managed by
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offering alternative sources of surviving in the locality by promoting farming and even
putting up industries in the local areas to offer employment opportunities to the people in the
locality, thus minimizing the rural–urban migration amongst the people.
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