With the urban population growing, more and more people live in a home with small or no outdoor areas. Is it a positive or negative development?

It is true that an increasing number of residents tend to live in houses with only small or even no outdoor spaces

as a consequence

of urbanisation.

While

there might be some benefits, I would have to argue that the shrinking outdoor areas of housing have a negative impact. There are several reasons why

this

could have a beneficial impact on city dwellers.

Firstly

, with a small or no outdoor area, the price of housing can be cheaper and newcomers would be more likely to afford a house.

For example

, the price of a house with a spacious garden is undoubtedly much more expensive than that of an apartment with only a small terrace.

Secondly

, more high-rise housing can be built in the town centre, which means that people coming from rural areas are provided with more accommodation. Despite the reasons mentioned above, I would argue that there are more drawbacks. Children are more likely to suffer from limited areas for outdoor activities.

For instance

, they used to play around in large parks with peers and make friends when they lived in the countryside, but now they have to stay at home and spend their leisure time playing video games because of the lack of playgrounds.

Moreover

, as more people move to the city, the city is becoming crowded, and the environment and air quality deteriorate, which has a detrimental impact on people's health. In conclusion,

although

a small or no outdoor area could reduce the price of houses, I believe that the drawbacks of

this

outweigh its benefits.