Is There a Moral Aspect to Urban Growth?

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Many of us have this preconceived ideas ofand we look at these or even er slums, and we look at cities. We look at these bucolic scenes in the countryside and look how lovely. But stats on everything from child mortality to m abuse, m to wmen's rights, they're much worsein these areas than cities. There is a romantic aspect of living in the countryside, living off the land and so forth. And people who are not professional demographers might that there is just something better about having fewer people living in agrarian like this.

There's no question that human activity is causing enormous changes on our planet's environment, from deforestation to mass extinction to climate change. But perhaps there is a tiny cause for optimism -- or at least, the prospect of a new equilibrium, if we can manage to ameliorate our most destructive impulses. Wildlife conservationist Joe Walston argues that -- seemingly paradoxically, but not really -- increasing urbanization provides hope for biodiversity preservation and poverty alleviation moving forward. As one piece of evidence, while our population is still growing, the rate of growth has slowed substantially as people move into cities and new opportunities become available. We discuss these trends, the causes underlying them, and what strategies suggest themselves to bring humans into balance with the environment before it's too late. Joe Walston is Senior Vice President for Field Conservation the Wildlife Conservation Society. He received his Masters degree in Zoology and Animal Biology from Aberdeen University. Before moving to New York, he spent fifteen years working in on conservation programs in Africa and SouthEast Asia. His work in Cambodia was awarded with that country's highest civilian honor. A species of tube-nosed bat has been named Murina Walston in recognition of his work on protecting bat habitats. Wildlife Conservation Society ResearchGate Page Twitter Paper on urbanization and biodiversity (and press release) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.