Overpopulation of urban areas has led to numerous problems Identify one or two serious ones and suggest ways that governments and individuals can tackle these problems v.2

There is no doubt that the population has increased dramatically in most countries around the world, especially in urban areas. Beside fostering the economic development, the increase of the population makes societies to copy with a number of unanticipated new problems. This essay will address some of the serious issues and propose solutions. One of the biggest problems of overcrowding in urban areas is the low standards of living and the high cost of living. It is widely accepted that overpopulation exerts pressure on the vital resources for survival and aggravate the difficulty of accessing to consistent supply of shelter, security, fresh food and water, healthcare, … Because the difference between demand and supply continues to expand, the price of commodities is getting higher, which requires people to pay more to survive and feed their families. Another challenge is the degradation of environment. Overuse of coal, oil, gas, together with rise in the number of vehicles and industries have led to air and water pollution. Furthermore, environmental pollution combined with bad living conditions is the major cause of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. For example, rove beetles, which have seen in big cities of Vietnam, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, have caused a serious skin-disease, and in some cases, victims were killed; however, this kind of insect has hardly found in countryside. There are several solutions that governments should tackle to solve the problems described above. Firstly, governments should invest more money on social houses or infrastrutures to supply enough for demand of citizens and better the living conditions. Secondly, authorities can run clean-up campaigns to encourage everyone keeping their houses and stresses clean and tidy, which may help to decrease infectious diseases. Finally, authorities should propagate the family planning and birth control so as to combat the stress of high population density in big cities. On the other hand, individuals also have responsibilites for dealing with these problems. Everybody should follow governmental policies to against the overpopulation in cities. To sum up, enormous social problems such as: poor living standard, high pollution levels and the increase of human diseases, are triggered by overcrowded in urban areas. Failure to tackle this problem now will lead to its escalating out of control. I am of the view that the main responsibility for solving the problem lies with governments and individuals.