1.4.3  Challenges to society

Increasing urbanisation puts pressures on society as a whole as well as on the environment. People who migrate to cities may become unemployed and then need to be provided for. This puts pressure on welfare provision and on the charities that provide assistance to the hungry and the homeless. Even people who have jobs find it difficult to find somewhere to live and may develop illegal unplanned settlements that affect the planning and service provision of the government sectors. These settlements also add to the city’s sanitation and waste problems.

The urban population requires daily supplies of food, fuel and other goods which can put pressure on the infrastructure needed to deliver and sell these goods. Once goods reach the end of their lives they become waste, increasing the pressure on the waste collection and treatment systems.