Population density is a problem in every city where people migrate from different parts of the country or state. This paper presents the major problems related with population density and crowding. America also experiences the problem of population density and the writer tells his own experience when he had been in such a situation.
Cultural perception and attitude of the people are significant in population density. Culture influences each activity of the people and it becomes the attitude of the people. It is true in the case of population density also. “Human groups rarely exploit all the resources available to them. Actual consumption is determined by cultural choices, which in turn are based on a variety of factors: food preferences, nutritional needs, prestige, labor costs, and activity preferences. Thus population pressure need not take the form of exhausting resources or approaching ‘carrying capacity’.” (Moore, 1983, Does culture have no K, para.1).
There is a decrease in poverty where culturally homogeneous people live together. Culturally homogeneous people share values, beliefs, language and other ways of life.
At the same time poor people are more among culturally heterogeneous groups because they will not cooperate irrespective of beliefs, languages, values etc.
American cities are becoming more and more crowded. There is vast area in America, so space is not an issue, but more than half of its population live in cities.
US is going to face a new problem of ‘old age’ because one out of eight people are above sixty five in US. The elderly population will increase more and more in future. Whenever population increases, the risks of developing AIDS also increase. Another challenge along with population density is various pollutions like water pollution, air pollution, sound pollution etc. Diseases may spread very easily in an over populated society. “As a force in the demographic and health transition, urbanization is associated with falling birth and death rates and with the shift in burden of illness from acute childhood infections to chronic, noncommunicable diseases of adults.” (Dye, 2008, para.1).
While I was doing post graduation, I hired a house in a colony. There I experienced the difficulties of population density. I had to reach at college by 9 a.m. but I could not reach in time. I lost classes frequently because I was depending on public water where many people came to collect water in the very morning. Even though I waited for hours, I could not collect even a drop of water on many days. Then I started thinking why it was so. People told me that they were not facing such problem till last three years. There was an increase in population density because numerous people migrated from different parts. The government could not supply sufficient water and it resulted in water shortage. Another problem was traffic-jam because of the increase in the number of vehicles. I faced a lot of other problems along with it, like air pollution, water pollution, and sound pollution. This is what happens in all over-populated cities.
No one feels better in crowding irrespective of rich and poor. “Other population factors like urban crowding and our increasingly congested traffic on the roads influence Americans toward believing that they are not better off.” (Carey, 2006, para.7). But wealthy people can control and prevent the challenges of overcrowding. We live in a world where everything is commercialized. People can buy anything with money. Wealthy people can hire a large house; they can go anywhere driving the latest and sophisticated vehicle. So, their problems due to crowding and population density are less when compared with the poor people.
The people who live in crowd experience more problems in life. The writer shares his experiences when he lived in such an atmosphere. All people irrespective of rich or poor face the same situation, but the rich people can control the challenges posed by population density.
Reference
Carey, J E. (2006). American population passes 300 million; despite great wealth average American is unhappy. Peace and Freedom: Policy and World Ideas. Web.
Dye, C. (2008). Health and urban living. Science, 319(5864), 766-769. doi: 10.1126/science.1150198
Moore, J. (1983). Carrying capacity, cycles, and culture: Does culture have no K. J. Hum. Evol., 12, 505-514. Web.