Urban Sustainability and Urban Food Security

Sustainability is founded on the principle that both our well-being and survival is dependent, directly or indirectly to natural environment. For instance, human beings require air, water, and food for their survival. However, they massively exploit natural wealth, for example, fossil fuels to meet their needs and improve their living standards. The sustainability is spearheaded by critical concerns regarding the impacts of an increase in human population, economic growth and development and utilization of the natural resources. Natural resources were heavily utilized because of overconsumption in some parts of the country due to rapid growth and development in the economy. Economic growth is facilitated by political stability and capitalism, which favor sustainability of the urban areas and food increment. As a result, sustainable growth and development are viewed as a development strategy that establishes and upholds the conditions under which people and nature can freely exist and live in productive harmony Barthel (1338). As a result, sustainable development provides for the wants of current group without interfering with provision of same resources for future generation. It is aimed to meet the needs of human beings without overexploiting the natural resources. As such, it is evident that there is equity in intra and inter generation. The main pillars of sustainability are economic growth, protection of the environment and social equity. The components are viewed as a sustainable development, which results in food security, and urban developments. Discourse is strict on the environment as compared to social justice issues such as education, food, and housing. Besides, there are social and economic challenges that affect the performance of sustainable developments. Capitalism is a major hindrance to the protection of the environment. Patriarchy and racism affect achievement of social equity objectives. There should be effective strategies to ensure environmental sustainability by conserving the environment. Measures should be set aside to provide recycling of waste products to avoid the rate of pollution. Sustainability and neoliberalism A mix of larger social, economic circumstances, urbanization trends and demographic offer explanation to the changing development of slums in the developing nations. Belo Horizonte uses neoliberal for sustainable development. In this strategy, there is privatization of different services, and an individual fee is charged for instance in garbage collection. This makes it hard for people who do not have money to acquire such services, for example for garbage collection S. a. Barthel (234). As a result, their garbage remains uncollected, and the environment becomes dirty due to waste disposal at all over the place. The trash left on the ground results in environmental pollution such as blocking of drainage and this interferes with the hygiene of the environment. Consequently, the sustainability of the region is affected. Undermining of sustainability has significantly influenced the environment and resulted in higher levels of pollution. Besides, justice of the environment has been neglected and the distribution strategies reduced. For example, plastic bags are distributed in in slums and poor areas across the country. The plastic bags result in higher levels of environmental pollution in such areas, and this affects the sustainability of the environment. The plastic bags are not environmental friendly because they do not compose and they end up blocking the drainages. This results in a reduction in environmental friendliness. The bags are breeding sites for mosquitoes which may lead to the rise of disease endangering the lives of the people. The bags also result in blocked gutters which result in flooding in the areas which may result in loss of lives and increase in disease incidences. Poor families living in the slums do not have money to purchase improved health services even after. Distribution of the bags is affected by political and economic factors resulting to an inequitable delivery of the plastic bags. A collection of waste materials is privatized, and this is an economic factor which affects environmental sustainability and results in food shortage in majority of the countries across the globe Mok (43). Poor families live in dirty environments, and this threatens their lives because they become susceptible to disease incidences such as cholera and typhoid. Political reasons result in deregulated private segment resulting in charges for collection of garbage and other services. Neoliberal involves Privatization of natural resources such as land. The privatization strategy reduces the productive land for crop production and other activities. As a result, it results in a reduction in food production and food shortage affects such countries to a greater level. Privatization cause environmental injustices arising from Colding (166). There is reduced distribution of resources in the low-income regions as compared to higher income regions. This results to the oppression of the people in such regions leading to the suffering. Ownership of natural resources such as land and natural oils have been made private, and this hinders the capability of poor people acquiring them, and they end up suffering. Privatization limits distribution of services such as food and education to the poor families living in the slums and this result in higher levels of suffering due to food shortage. Renewable energy and green jobs Recycling plays a critical role in enhancing environmental sustainability while at the same time generating employment to some people. The recycling strategies are comprehensive and lower the rate of a landfill and open employment opportunities. Besides, recycling encourages social equity in the country by allowing people to get passes by exchanging for waste materials Besthorn (203). It allows some people and families to commit themselves to accumulating and exchanging waste products as their source of income. The country acquires income by selling the recyclables for reprocessing to some factories, and the money is used in social developments. Schools and communities can set up gardens to produce crops while conserving the environment. Besides, sale of extra crops can be useful in generating funds for different projects reducing the level of poverty. Countries should adopt the strategy of producing food in their own country, and this reduces global warming resulting from carbon emitted during the transportation of food products. Internal growing of crops will create employment for people working in the farms, and this will improve the economy of the country. Besides, it ensures access to nutritious, fresh and affordable food. However, it is challenging to ensure availability of food and employment while protecting the environment at the same time. Failure of government support in crop production activities results in poor strategies which pollute the environment. Lack of labor hinders comprehensive production activities in different sectors such as industries resulting in environmental pollution Marsden (226). Privatization of business activities lowers corporation amongst people and this results in environmental pollution. Commercialization of some services such as garbage collection results environmental degradation. Poor families do not have money to purchase the services and as a result, they end up disposing the waste temporarily on the environment resulting in pollution. In some instances, environmentalists fail to educate the public on environment conservation and some of them do not have knowledge regarding the environment.

Cite this page