Negative Effects of Overpopulation in Dhaka and Tokyo

Tokyo is the world’s most popular metropolitan area and the heart of the Japanese culture. Tokyo is the capital and financial city of Japan. Tokyo is a major transportation hub and world economic and industrial center. The population of Tokyo is a massive 14 million and a population density of 6,158 people per square kilometer. It located in Japan on the island of Honshu. Japan is on the east of the world surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan. Some of the neighboring countries are South Korea and North Korea.

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. It is the largest city and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It has a massive population of 20 million people and is said to be the largest growing megacity in the world in terms of population. The population density is 23,234 people per square kilometer. Bangladesh is located near India and Myanmar. It is also located near the Bay of Bengal.

As Tokyo is a city known world-wide with plenty of pull factors such as: better job opportunities and freedom there are some problems that come along with these situations. As more people from the world migrate to Tokyo there are plenty of environmental, economic and social issues that are being brought upon. According to a case study by Panmore Institute, overcrowding is a really big issues in Tokyo. Pedestrian lanes, roadways and many other public places are filled with an excess number of people. During rush hours times, the average number of people who hour travelling by train is around 80,000 people. The congestion factor is 191%, meaning that nearly twice as many people are carried on the train. The highest reported value was once 250% which means that every time the train shakes, people can’t hold onto a strap or a post and are sandwiched between each other. The average number of people in a square meter is 6 and the average distance between the people is 40cm. However, when the congestion factor is 250% then the average personal distance decreases to 35cm which is extremely close to the maximum practical density. Another major problem in Tokyo is the pollution and climate change in the city. Due to rapid population growth and industrialization, the city has become one of the most polluted cities. In the rush hours there are around 6000 trains each day using 1MW (megawatt) of power. Each MW of electricity burning natural gas is equal to 520kg of carbon dioxide. Therefore, assuming a train runs for 2 hours a day then it will be equivalent of emitting 6000 tons of carbon dioxide per day. The main cause for air pollution is Tokyo is all the industries and factories it has in the city. These factories emit many greenhouse gases which are harmful to the environment. Tokyo is a big producer for technology and automobiles so all the construction that is happening cause greenhouse gases which untimely impact the environment.

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Although Dhaka is not as economically stable as Tokyo, they still face very similar challenges. Due to Dhaka's staggering population of 20 million people, it faces overcrowding. Overpopulation is when a city’s population exceeds its capacity and can’t provide resources for all. Dhaka is a textbook example of overpopulation as the city can’t hold all the people. According to residents of Dhaka many of the times it is very hard to walk on the footpath of the street as there are many people living on the streets due to the high poverty rate and people also sell goods on the street. Another problem in Dhaka is that they're a bad living condition and poor quality of life. There are many push factors in Dhaka as opposed to it pull factors. There is poor sanitation and lack of clean and accessible water. Thousands of people are dying due to waterborne disease. According to WHO and UNICEF, access to clear water in the urban area has gone from 88% to 85% imposing that the clean water supply is decreasing and they need to do something about it. Two thirds of the city sewage system is not treated and left into waterways and the ground resulting in the death of thousands of people including the death of 50,000 children because of waterborne disease like cholera, diarrhea, typhoid etc.

Some solutions Tokyo has taken to overcome the problem of overcrowding is by encouraging resident of the urban area to shift to the countryside. They have created campaigns to promote the countryside and persuade people to live there. The Japanese government is also paying 3 million yen (20,000 euros) to people who will shift out of the urban area to the countryside. Jiza Biz is a campaign launched to ease the overcrowding on trains during the morning rush hour. This campaign gives extra train in the morning hours before rush hour and people who avoid the rush hour get gifts and rewards. Policies that Japan have taken to reduce the amount of pollution in the cities are the 2009 New Growth Strategy, which is Japan’s official strategy for a more sustainable society. It describes how Japan is looking for a low-carbon economy and smart material measure. An OECD report also shows that Japan has taken conscious efforts to try reduce air emissions and waste generation.

In Dhaka solutions to a solution to overpopulation could be to increase jobs for women and making birth control products. In 1960 the fetidly rate was 6.7 and now in 2016 it has decreased all the way to 2.4. So, with the increase in birth control products Dhaka could decrease their fertility rate which would mean that in the long run the population will stop increasing at the same rate as it is now which would ultimately mean that the population is decreasing. As overpopulation means that not everyone gets a proper house the Bangladeshi government should make new multi stored building at cheap cost so that people can live in them and it would save space. They should replace all the slums for new building for people to live. To overcome the problem of poor air quality and poor sanitation due to the sewage system the government should have regular checks of the sewage system and clean them all so that in time of heavy rain (which is often in Dhaka) they will not overflow and cause any floods. To reduce the pollution, they have advised many citizens to stop using their cars and use cycle or public transport through the uses of advertisement and campaign. They have also found more eco-friendly and sustainable uses against brick kiln which are major reason of pollution in Bangladesh. 60% of brick kiln have been switched to sustainable energy sources.

In conclusion, both cities have been deeply affected by the increase in the world population. There have been some positive points such as cities can earn more money and each city keeps on growing. However, alongside the positives there are many negatives. In Tokyo, there have been problems such as overcrowding especially in the rush hours and the pollution due the hundreds of factories. These are some of the many factors which has made it difficult to live in the world biggest city. In Dhaka, overpopulation is a problem leading to people to live without a house and poor water sanitation causing number of diseases. Overall, the growth of the world population has made a big impact in all cities all around the world and it is necessary and urgent for people to find solution to overcome the problems that come with it.