Urbanization and Its Effects on Water Resources: An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract

Urbanization often causes environmental degradation and harms human health in developing countries. This study has an imperative focus on the effects of rapidly growing urban life and its impact on water resources in the Muzaffarabad city. The data for this paper comes from 20 in-depth interviews with members of the local government, political workers and local residents of the city, carried out during the year 2015, to analyze the ways in which increasing urban life is affecting water quality in the area. The findings indicate that waters of both rivers Jhelum and Neelum are being viciously contaminated by the local residents, which results in a scarcity of drinking water and a number of viral diseases.

Distribution of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Pathogens in Potable Spring Water of Eastern Indian Himalayas: Emphasis on Virulence Gene and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Escherichia coli

“…Safe and clean drinking water is a basic right to every human being for a healthy life. Globally freshwater is becoming a limited resource due to population expansion, anthropoegenic contamination and climate change (Hassan Rashid et al, 2018). Contaminated water can cause several illnesses including dysentery, cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, and in chronic cases leading to loss of life on a normal basis especially in developing countries.…”

Pressure of Urbanisation on the Fish Community Structure in Küçük Menderes River Basin (Turkey)

“…River basins have an essential role in the biosphere as a conduit for water and are used by humans for transportation, fisheries, hydropower, and domestic, industrial, and agricultural water supplies (Pompeu & Alves, 2005). Urbanization is a process of the increasing number of people in an area and it leads to a horizontal or vertical growth of urban areas (Hassan Rashid et al, 2018). Both increased human population and growth in urban areas increase the pressure, such as pollution and rising water requirement for domestic use, on water resources.…”

Tree Ecosystem Services, for Everyone? A Compositional Analysis Approach to Assess the Distribution of Urban Trees as an Indicator of Environmental Justice

“…The global phenomena of rapid urbanization has important consequences in the livability and environment of cities' inhabitants [1,2] and whose degree of impact depends on their development level [3]. Solid waste generation [4,5], water scarcity and pollution [6,7], air pollution [8,9], floods [10,11] and the heat island effect [12,13] are some of the consequences of this phenomenon. To mitigate these and make cities more resilient and sustainable, different authorities around the world have implemented green infrastructure into their political agendas.…”