研究生英语课件以及课后详细答案第二单元.pptVIP

Unit Two Effects of Urbanization on Natural Environments Joan Lowy, Scripps Howard News Service 2002 Questions 1. How can we tell whether an area is urbanized or not? 2. Why is the trend toward urbanization both promising and alarming? 3. What may be brought about by human land use in the urban environment? 4. Is it true that the struggle to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy will be won or lost in the world’s urban areas? Text The trend toward urbanization is as old as civilization, although it accelerated with the industrial revolution of the 19th century and kicked into overdrive during the last 50 years. The US Bureau of the Census defines an area as being urbanized if a central city and its closely settled surrounding territory are of a certain size with 50,000 people and density of at least 1,000 people per square mile. A component of the definition denotes that human influence is a main aspect of urbanized areas in the process of urbanization. The global urban population reached 2.9 billion in 2000 and is expected to rise to 5 billion by 2030, according to the United Nations Population Division. While 30 percent of the world population lived in urban areas in 1950, the proportion of urban dwellers rose to 47 percent by 2000 and is projected to attain 60 percent by 2030. The trend is both promising and alarming. Cities are home to art, industry, communications and information and there is reason to believe that, on balance, people lead more successful lives in cities. Unfortunately in order to create an urbanized area, a natural environment must be destroyed. Urbanization and human activity within an urban system produces many destructive and irreversible effects on natural environments such as climate change, air pollution, sediment and soil erosion, increased flooding magnitude, and loss of habitat. Cities in an urban environment change the local climate dramatically. Temperatures are always warmer in the city