Today, the quality of life in large cities is decreasing. Discuss the causes and solutions.

The global phenomenon of urbanisation since the beginning of industrialisation to the present day has brought opportunity and prosperity, albeit at a cost in the quality of life. With an increasing urban population, the complexity of the challenges

also

increases, the causes and solutions for

this

are outlined below. The causes for the decrease in the quality of life are paradoxically the prosperity endowed on

such

metropolitan centres. Their growth is largely due to the increase of opportunities on offer, which in turn increases their attractiveness, essentially they are trapped in a positive self-reinforcing cycle.

However

,

this

eventually leads to a decrease in the quality of life as the city can experience overcrowding, exorbitant property prices, and increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks.

For instance

the density of London makes it a more efficient place to attack, when compared to a smaller city

such

as Bradford.

Therefore

, due to continuous growth and prosperity, urban citizens, especially the less well off, often experience a lower standard of living. Considering the solutions, greater investment in public transport would ease traffic congestion, as would bike lanes. In theory,

this

would reduce air pollution, and possibly improve the wellbeing of the population if they did adopt a more active lifestyle and cycle to work. To counter violent terrorist attacks, cities could embark on CCTV installations, so as to closely monitor for threats.

For example

, it is said, the CCTV in London has foiled many potential attacks, and

therefore

greatly increased the security of its citizens. To conclude, a wealthy city attracts a large population inflow, which

then

causes pressure on existing infrastructure and security. Various solutions exist to mitigate

such

drawbacks,

nevertheless

an indefinite solution has yet to be found.