"Nowadays, many people from the countrysides (rural areas) are tending to relocate to the downtown for study and work. While it is argued that the merits of this phenomenon outweigh the drawbacks, I believe that the social effects such as accommodation problem, traffic congestion, and urban quality of life are broad and far-reaching in long-term.
It should be noted that commuting behaviour is affected by the location of both workplace and residence. For example, the span between the buildings and the city centres can be considered as a proxy for accessibility, together with the density of population and jobs nearby. Whilst workplace locations are determined by the policies as urban development, the choice of residential location is affected by different political and economic factors. Then the urban population has been increasing as a consequence of accessing better income and higher education.
However, choosing the housing areas near the workplace and the college is not always possible. It results in the need for people to frequently travel across the city. When the public transportation is not always an ideal choice, mass private motorisation contributed to widespread traffic congestion and increased pollution in urban areas. Planners observed the bottleneck and began major road and highway expansions, thus increasing the urban footprint that leads to the transport problem be more aggravation. They changed the approach by introducing the employment decentralisation policies. Then traffic congestion and pollution have been reduced significantly thanks to the reduction in the commuting distance and the observed increases in walking, bicycling and public transport usage.
Overall, relocating to the downtown promises better job opportunities and educational conditions, but has a great impact to the society due to the imbalance in urban development. Hence, policy initiatives that seek to reduce commuting or private car usage needs to be focussed on multiple areas in terms of relocating workplaces and homes, together with a suite of policies affecting the costs or travel times of different transport modes. "
"
Nowadays,
many
people
from the countrysides (rural
areas)
are tending to relocate to the downtown for study and work. While it
is argued
that the merits of this phenomenon outweigh the drawbacks, I believe that the social effects such as accommodation problem, traffic congestion, and
urban
quality of life are broad and far-reaching in long-term.
It should
be noted
that commuting
behaviour
is
affected
by the location of both
workplace
and residence.
For example
, the span between the buildings and the city
centres
can
be considered
as a proxy for accessibility, together with the density of population and jobs nearby. Whilst
workplace
locations
are determined
by the
policies
as
urban
development, the choice of residential location is
affected
by
different
political and economic factors. Then the
urban
population has been increasing as a consequence of accessing better income and higher education.
However
, choosing the housing
areas
near the
workplace
and the college is not always possible. It results in the need for
people
to
frequently
travel across the city. When the public transportation is not always an ideal choice, mass private
motorisation
contributed to widespread traffic congestion and increased pollution in
urban
areas
. Planners observed the bottleneck and began major road and highway expansions,
thus
increasing the
urban
footprint that leads to the transport problem be more aggravation. They
changed
the approach by introducing the employment
decentralisation
policies
. Then traffic congestion and pollution have been
reduced
significantly
thanks to the reduction in the commuting distance and the observed increases in walking, bicycling and public transport usage.
Overall
, relocating to the downtown promises better job opportunities and educational conditions,
but
has a great impact to the society due to the imbalance in
urban
development.
Hence
,
policy
initiatives that seek to
reduce
commuting or private car usage needs to
be focussed
on multiple
areas
in terms of relocating
workplaces
and homes, together with a suite of
policies
affecting the costs or travel times of
different
transport modes.
"