【明報專訊】As pointed out by the World Health Organization, urbanization is a result of population migration from rural areas in addition to natural urban demographic growth. It is a process of global scale changing the social and environmental landscape on every continent. According to the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects published by the United Nations in May 2018, 55% of the world's population live in cities. The percentage is expected to rise to 68 percent by 2050.

Ozone concentration reaching a 20-year high

In January 2019, the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong published a report declaring that the annual average concentration of ozone had reached a 20-year high in 2018. Dr Cheng Luk Ki, director of Greenpower, said that urbanization made it easier for temperatures to rise and ozone to accumulate. A higher concentration of ozone can affect the upper respiratory tract and lead to coughing.

Urban-rural symbiosis at Lai Chi Wo

There are more than 600 villages in Hong Kong. However, as villagers move into urban areas, the urban culture is rapidly disappearing. In 2016, the Lai Chi Wo village, which has a history of over 300 years, was granted a loan of $10 million dollars for the resumption of farming on land measuring 40 thousand square feet. The Hong Kong Jockey Club also subsidized the restoration of bed and breakfasts to draw tourists who want to get a taste of Hakka culture.

Beijing's expulsion of "low-end population"

Beijing's rural-urban fringe zone was inhabited by many low-income people who came from other parts of China. They lived in structures that resembled subdivided flats in Hong Kong or even illegal structures. In November 2017, a fire in Xinjian Village, Daxing District resulted in nineteen deaths. The government launched a massive clear-up operation that lasted for 40 days, driving people away from homes that posed a safety threat. The move was criticised as a bid to drive out the "low-end population" and reduce the population of Beijing.

Falling insect variety

As reported by the Guardian in February 2019, a study based on 73 pieces of research found that more than 40% of insect species were declining and a third were endangered, with urbanization being one of the main causes. Experts said that if the situation remained unchanged, all insect species would become extinct within one hundred years. The food chain would be affected.

Translated by Terence Yip

[通通識 第593期]