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Chapter 7 - The Impacts of Urbanising the World’s Population on Emergencies, Incidents, Disasters, and Disease Outbreaks

from Section 1 - The Nature and Impacts of Twenty-First-Century Healthcare Emergencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Tim Healing
Edited by
Richard Williams ,
Verity Kemp ,
Keith Porter ,
Tim Healing  and
John Drury
Richard Williams
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Verity Kemp
Affiliation:
Independent Health Emergency Planning Consultant
Keith Porter
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Tim Healing
Affiliation:
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
John Drury
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
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Summary

More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas, many of them in low- and low-middle-income countries with limited ability to support urban growth. Urban areas are inherently fragile. Many cities are desperately overcrowded, with poor building construction, limited access, poor or absent waste disposal, limited or no access to clean water, irregular supplies of food, unreliable power supplies, inadequate emergency services, and problems with crime and violence. Healthcare is often poor or absent, with an increased risk of communicable disease outbreaks. Supply chains can easily be interrupted. Urban poverty and slums are proliferating with informal dwellings in areas vulnerable to natural disasters. The nature of urban areas can increase the impact of disasters, as was shown by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

informal settlementsinfrastructuremegacityslumsurbanurbanisation
Type
Chapter
Information
Major Incidents, Pandemics and Mental Health
The Psychosocial Aspects of Health Emergencies, Incidents, Disasters and Disease Outbreaks
 , pp. 30 - 35
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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