Urban Poverty

Urban Poverty

            According to World Bank statistics, around a billion people live in informal settlements in major cities across the world. Large scale urbanization happens to be a global phenomenon in our contemporary world. Increase in migration from rural to urban areas, the establishment of new urban centres and extension of urban boundaries have increased the rate of urbanization   Countries have tried to curb the urban poverty menace in vain due to swelling population coupled with other social factors. Despite countries struggling to eradicate urban poverty, some are underestimating it, thus leading to poor enactment of policies that are poised to end the social issue. Urban poverty leads to poor housing, inadequate supply of basic needs such as water and food, poor sanitation, waste disposal, and drainage. Urban poverty also leads to difficulties in accessing education and a lack of proper healthcare. The paper seeks to explore the causes and solutions of urban poverty in major cities across the world.

Urban poverty is caused by many social factors such as the migration of low-income people from rural areas to urban centres; an increase of foreign workers, and an increase in the rate of unemployment (Newman and Ellis 59). Foremost, the migration of low-income people from rural areas to urban centres has contributed to urban poverty in various ways. When this group of low-income people comes into urban centres, they increase the completion of available resources, thus making the already existing people in cities poorer. Ideally, when the population of low-income people increases, the rate of urban poverty consequently increases because people do not have funds to survive in urban centres. The costly life in cities worsens the situation because the group does not have enough money to sustain their lives in urban areas. The little cash is depleted within a few days, and they start begging around the cities, thus increasing the rate of urban poverty. The low-income group migrating into urban centres cause urban poverty in that they compete for urban services such as water, housing, and food. Increased population brought by low-income migrants from rural areas leads to congestion in accessing the available infrastructure, thus breeding poverty in urban areas. Social amenities like schools are congested because the government cannot afford to offer education to such a large number in urban areas.

The influx of foreign workers has, to a greater extent, caused urban poverty. Just like the migration of low-income groups, the foreign workers increase the urban population hence leading to competition on available job opportunities (Massey and Denton 168). Foreign workers are known to take the job vacancies that would have otherwise be occupied by locals, thus rendering them jobless. Most urban centres are characterized by foreign workers who leave their country in search of job opportunities, a move that disadvantages local people because foreigners increase competition in the job market. The increase of foreign workers is deemed to increase the urban poverty levels because most locals are not able to access job opportunities, thus making them work as casuals with little wages that cannot sustain the expensive urban life. The low salaries from casual work are ideally depleted within a single day, thereby leaving nothing to save or for investment. Lack of disposable income for investment makes people poorer than before, thus increasing the rate of urban poverty. Nonetheless, foreign workers increase competition on social amenities like schools, hospitals, and recreational centres (Enzo 9). Foreign workers increase the urban population, which ideally makes hospitals and schools to be overcrowded, thus making some children drop out of schools due to lack of classrooms to do their studies. Increased population brought by foreign migrants further causes urban poverty in that hospitals to deplete their resources earlier than expected hence providing low quality health services to the urban residents.

Increased unemployment is the leading cause of urban poverty (William14). Most urban centres are characterized by a large number of unemployed people, which makes it difficult for them to access basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. Without a job, especially in urban centres, people hardly eat since they do not have the funds to simply buy food. Additionally, some people are wearing torn clothes because they are not able to buy new ones due to lack of employment. Lack of employment has forced many people to live in an informal settlement where there are poor drainage sanitation and poor waste disposal. Apparently, unemployment is the root cause of poverty in our contemporary urban centres. Many people in urban centres earn their living through employment, and therefore, unemployment makes it difficult for individuals in cities and towns to access food and shelter. Unemployment also causes urban poverty in that people do not have savings that might be used for investment, thus making the rate of the economy in urban centres to decline. Lack of employment for the people reduce the rate of expenditure per day, thus forcing some business to close down due to reduced sales. Closure of business is a sign of urban poverty because people cannot afford to buy goods under the prevailing market prices.

Nevertheless, low education levels and large size of families are other social factors causing urban poverty (Young 236). For instance, the level of education determines the poverty level of society. Low levels of education are associated with poverty because people without skills cannot access lucrative jobs. Urban poverty is caused by a lack of education in that such people only get a casual job that requires no skills, but they pay little wages that cannot meet the expenses of urban life. Urban areas are characterized by technical jobs that require skilled and educated people; thus, low level education disadvantages people from accessing the employment hence making them languish in poverty throughout their lives. The large size of the family is another bottleneck of living a high end life. People with large families tend to be very poor in that the children cannot access good education, and health care is also a challenge. A large family drains all the savings a person could have since it is very expensive to maintain it. Individuals with large families find it challenging to save funds for investment, thus breeding poor generation in urban centres. Urban poverty is arguably caused and increased by people with large families because they increase competition for the available resources.

Countries have tried to eradicate the increasing urban poverty by enacting policies deemed to improve the lives of people living in urban areas. The solution to urban poverty is the enactment of policies that would create employment opportunities, developing the education sector, and implementing strategies to have affordable housing for the people (Fainstein 16). Moreover, encouraging the people in urban centres to venture into business would alleviate urban poverty. For example, if countries embark on employment creation in both urban and rural areas, there will be no rural-urban migration since people can work at their home places without necessarily relocating to urban centres. The creation of employment will ensure everybody in the society has his or her house, can afford health services, clothing, and food. Moreover, venturing in income-generating activities will be possible due to the availability of funds in the form of salaries, thus eradicating urban poverty. Improvement in education is a solution to urban poverty because people will be able to access job opportunities due to their expertise. With education, a person will be guaranteed to compete favorably in the most lucrative job opportunities in town; hence, he will improve his or her living standards. Enacting policies to encourage local people to venture into the business will eradicate the urban poverty menace. Such policies could be an exemption from taxes for small microenterprises, provision of government incentives, and cheap process of acquiring operating license would increase the rate of economic growth, thus alleviating urban poverty among the urban residents.

In conclusion, urban poverty is mainly caused by unemployment, migration of low-income groups into urban centres, the influx of foreign workers who come to compete for the available job opportunities, low education levels, and large size of families. Urban poverty can be mitigated if countries enact effective policies aimed at improving lives of people in the society such as creating employment opportunities for the people, improving the education sector to equip the people with skills and knowledge required in the job market and encouraging people to venture in income-generating activities like businesses.