Hi everyone, I am Lareina Yang from China. This is my first ambassador report. I sincerely hope in the next sixth month, I will be able to share with you interesting topics that allow us to appreciate the planet we lived on but also become more aware of the environmental problems we need to solve.

I was born in Shenzhen, China, a city that undergoes years of urbanization. Despite my blurry childhood memory, I still remembered the time when we had no iPads or Air pods, when majority of Chinese urban housing consists of low-rise multifamily units and when we have limited public transportations. The living standards have now improved and Chinese population soars as its economy shifts from primary sector to secondary and tertiary sectors, yet I think many overlook the consequences of this urban sprawl.

When a population migrates from populated towns and cities to low density areas to develop over more and more rural land [3], causing further urbanization, this is known as urban sprawl. This is not just a phenomenon in China, but also occur in many other countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands [4].  

Source: https://fee.org/articles/the-unbearable-truth-about-infrastructure-and-urban-sprawl/

As a result of urbanization, the economic activities develops and expands over a larger area. However, there are a few consequences accompanying it. In this report, I will investigate a few aspects in regards to environmental exploitation as well as air pollutions due to increasing use of private transportations.

As population outpaces the ability to grow its own food, food become less and less affordable, as well as housing. People rush to the suburb areas find more affordable housing and other supplies, which leads to environmental exploitation. This, on one hand, increases agricultural capacity, on the other hand, causes the damage on natural habitats. Deforestation and environmental destruction forbids wild animals to migrate and reduces their food and water supply, not to mention all the water pollution in rivers or lakes containing heavy metals and dusts. Due to agricultural purposes, the properties of soil have been changed. This leads to loss of nutrients and water permeability with low ability to recover its original state. In Germany, it is estimated that 52 % of the soil in built-up areas is sealed (or the equivalent of 15 m2 per second over a decade) [1]. [soil sealing refers to land or soil being exploited to build housing.]

Besides these damages due to expansion, there is a significant factor that speeds up the destruction — car dependency. As people migrate to the suburb, they have to rely on cars to commute to their workplace. This can adds up a large amount of air pollution.  It intensifies traffic congestion and increases the need for extensive infrastructure (such as more highways) [1]. This will negatively affect our environment by exploiting more natural resources such as metals and fossil fuels. 

By estimation, the world's population is around 7.6 billion, and with an estimated 1.4 billion cars on the road, that puts the vehicle saturation at around 18 per cent [2]. Locally, in Shenzhen, traffic congestion is one of the most common phenomenon in our daily lives. This could lead to waste in fuels and energy, as well as loss in productivity.

Yet it is not all gloom. Many countries around the world has started to subsidize production of electric cars, as a measure to reduce carbon dioxide emission. Individually, we can all choose to use more public transportation and choose to be more active in our lives by riding more bicycle or choosing to walk more. In fact, many places now have businesses related to bike-sharing, such as Mobike in China.

Lastly, I hope this report has encouraged you to recognize the importance of green living and to use less private transportations to contribute in saving our planet.

References:

1. Fisher, Matthew R. “15.3 The Impacts of Urban Sprawl | Environmental Biology.” Environmental Biology, courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-monroe-environmentalbiology/chapter/17-3-the-impacts-of-urban-sprawl/.
2. How Many Cars Are There in the World. CarsGuide, resources.carsguide.com.au/static/geo-message.html.
3. Rinkesh. Causes and Effects of Urban Sprawl. Conserve Energy Future, 25 Dec. 2016, www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-urban-sprawl.php.
4. Urban Sprawl by Country and within Countries (2009). European Environment Agency, 18 Feb. 2015, www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/urban-sprawl-in-europe-on-1#tab-chart_1_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22sortFilter%22%3A%5B%22wup_reversed%22%5D%7D.