The city environment

The environmental problems most commonly associated with cities in Europe, Japan and North America such as high levels of air and water pollution and of solid wastes (including toxic or otherwise hazardous wastes) might be assumed to be less important in the Third World for two reasons. One reason is that a smaller proportion of the population lives in cities. A second is that the Third World is less industrialised and despite having more than three quarters of the world’s population, it still has a relatively small proportion of its industrial production. ¹ Rural and agricultural environmental problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution and deaths and disablement from pesticide use (and overuse) may seem more urgent even if, as described later, some of these have important linkages with cities.