Lesson Objectives

• Differentiate between land Cover and Land Use, and describe how people affect both

• Explain how and where urbanization occurs

• Describe the environmental impacts of ubanization

Land Cover

• Land cover: Vegetation and structures that cover land.

• Includes trees, grass, crops, wetlands, etc.

Land Use

• Land use: Human activities that occur on land

• Includes farming, grazing, logging, mining, residential, etc.

• Directly ties to the land cover of the area

Humans and Land

• Humans change land cover, especially in urban areas.

• These changes have environmental and economic effects.

Urban & Rural Areas

• Urban: Land mostly covered with buildings and roads (includes suburbs)

  • human population of 2500+

  • Suburbs: Smaller towns or cities outside of a large city

• Rural: Any other type of land use or land cover (includes forests, cropland, etc.)

Urbanization

• Urbanization: a shift from rural areas to cities

• Started during the Industrial Revolution when improved farming provided more time for other developments, which led to new industry

• Cities are not new, but the enormous size of today’s cities is.

  • More than 20 cities have at least 10 million residents.

  • Number of people in cities has more than quadrupled since 1950

The Rise of Cities

• Factors that contribute to the rise of urbanization include population growth and industrialization.

  • Jobs in a city draw more people to them

• Most cities are located near a transportation route such as a large body of water, railroad, or highway.

Environmental Costs of Urbanization-Pollution

• Both Passive and active

  • Many areas take their waste and transport it somewhere else, masking the problem

• Increased waste

• industrial byproducts

• noise pollution

• light pollution

• Not evenly distributed among residents

  • Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) Phenomenon

Environmental Costs of Urbanization-Heat

• Heat islands: Cities, several degrees warmer than surrounding areas, affect local weather and trap pollutants.

• Infrastructure: the facilities services, and installations needed for functioning

  • Replaces grass areas and other natural plants with concrete, which traps heat

  • Affects local weather, more storms

Environmental Costs of Urbanization-Resources

• Imported resources: Resources that are transported from one location to another

  • Fossil fuels are burned to import food, water, fuel, and raw materials.

Environmental Benefits of Urbanization

• Efficiency: Once resources arrive in cities, Less fuel and resources are needed to distribute goods and services to residents

• Universities and research centers: Urban areas tend to foster education and innovation.

• Land Preservation: Dense urban centers leave room for agriculture, wilderness, biodiversity, and privacy.