How does urbanization influence the environment and resource demand?

• A. Reduces energy demand and improves biodiversity.
• B. Has no effect on resource demand.
• C. Urbanization has no ecological impact.
• D. Increases demand for water, energy, and land; alters ecosystems; contributes to pollution and heat island effects.

Answer: (D)

Urbanization concentrates people and activities in cities, which drives up the demand for essential resources and reshapes the surrounding environment. As populations grow in urban areas, water demand increases for drinking, sanitation, and industry, while energy demand rises for electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation. Expanding city boundaries replace natural land with housing, roads, and infrastructure, reducing habitats and disrupting ecological processes like water infiltration and groundwater recharge. The rise in impervious surfaces leads to more surface runoff, higher pollution loads in waterways, and greater strain on stormwater systems. Dense urban areas also tend to emit more pollutants from vehicles and industry, contributing to air and noise pollution. The heat island effect, where city centers become warmer than nearby rural areas due to concrete and asphalt, further increases energy use for cooling and stresses urban ecosystems. All of these factors together explain why urbanization generally increases demand for water, energy, and land, alters ecosystems, and contributes to pollution and heat island effects.