Database of Urban Issues (120 Entries)

Urban issues are problems, challenges and risks that face the people living in a highly populated area. Cities are remarkable environments that can support a high quality of life for large populations. However, they are also prone to a large number of issues.

All (125)

Social (28)

Economic (18)

Community (26)

Culture (10)

Quality of Life (32)

Environment (19)

Abandoned Buildings	Affordable Housing
Aging Population	Air Pollution
Airborne Particulate Matter	Airborne Toxins
Changing Family Structures	Climate Resilience
Construction Site Noise	Cost of Living
Crime Rates	Cultural Displacement
Cultural Fragmentation	Declines In Local Businesses
Declines In Local Industries	Deforestation
Digital Isolation	Discrimination and Social Exclusion
Ecosystem Fragmentation	Education Costs
Education Quality	Financial Instability
Financial Services Access	Flooding
Food Deserts	Gentrification
Healthcare Access	Heat Stress
High Competition For Housing	High Property Taxes
High Rates of Traffic Accidents	High Street Traffic
Homelessness	Homelessness In Public Spaces
Housing Displacement	Housing Insecurity
Immigration Integration	Inadequate Disaster Preparedness
Industrial Pollution	Infrastructure Decay
Insufficient Shops & Services	Isolation Among Seniors
Lack of Affordable Childcare	Lack of Bike Lanes
Lack of Community Engagement	Lack of Community Life
Lack of Cultural Opportunities	Lack of Economic Opportunity
Lack of Green Space	Lack of Libraries & Study Spaces
Lack of Local Services	Lack of Public Restrooms
Lack of Recreational Opportunities	Lack of Social Support
Land Degradation	Language Barriers
Legal Services Access	Light Pollution
Limited Accessibility For Disabled People	Limited Public Amenities
Limited Public Space	Limited Social Interaction Between Neighbors
Long Commutes	Low Pay Relative to Cost of Living
Mental Health Services	Neighborhood Safety
Noise From Nightlife	Noise Pollution
Over-policing	Over-reliance on Tourism
Overconsumption of Resources	Overcrowded Housing
Overcrowded Schools	Overcrowded Transportation
Overpriced Cultural Experiences Such as Museums	Overpriced Goods and Services
Overtourism	Pedestrian Safety
Police Accountability	Police Militarization
Poor Walkability	Poorly Maintained Parks
Proliferation of Fast Food Chains	Property Speculation
Public Housing Conditions	Public Safety
Public Smoking	Public Space Privatization
Racial Segregation	Rapidly Increasing Cost of Living
Safety Concerns	School Safety
Slow Emergency Response Times	Small Living Spaces
Social Fragmentation	Social Isolation
Social Segregation	Stormwater Management
Street Art and Graffiti	Street Littering
Substance Abuse	Terrorism and Urban Security Threats
Traffic Congestion	Transience of Urban Population
Unclean Greenspace	Under-policing
Underemployment	Unemployment
Unkempt Sidewalks	Unreliable Transportation
Unsafe Pedestrian Crossings	Unsafe Public Spaces
Unwanted Solicitors	Urban Decay
Urban Deforestation	Urban Heat Islands
Urban Identity	Urban Inflation
Urban Poverty	Urban Sprawl
Vacant Lots	Vandalized Property
Waste Management Issues	Water Quality Issues
Youth Unemployment

What are Urban Issues?

Urban issues are problems and challenges that are specific to cities or that are more common and intensive in cities. For example, cost of living problems can also impact rural residents but these problems can be intensified in a city due to factors such as high rent.

Definition of Urban Issues

Problems, challenges and risks that are specific to an urban area such as a city or neighborhood.

Most, if not all, nations are experiencing a long-term trend known as urbanization whereby people have increasingly migrated to cities over the past several hundred years.

At first glace, this may indicate that cities have high quality of life that attracts new residents. However, there are also economic factors at play here whereby there are more jobs and other opportunities such as education in cities that drive populations to urbanize.

In many professions, most jobs are located in cities such that urban living is essentially required to pursue a particular line of work. Cities also generally have far more opportunities on the economic side such that people may sacrifice elements of quality of life such as access to green spaces and air quality to live in a city.

Cities & Wealth

In many cases, cities are wonderful places to live if you are wealthy but can be quite exclusionary, difficult and harsh for the middle class and people experiencing poverty. For example, the prices of housing can be very high and can suddenly rise at a rapid pace causing community displacement.

Even where pay is much higher in a large city than in other regions of the same country, the cost of living in such cities may still cause large portions of the population to struggle.

Quality of Life

Urbanization isn't inherently bad or good for quality of life as there are cities that support very high quality of life and there are a cities that are terrible places to live.

Cities can allow for vibrant and stimulating environments that are convenient, safe, secure, clean, green and highly social and engaging. In many cases, people in cities can walk to everything they need and get much exercise due to increased access to pedestrian, cycling and recreational infrastructure.

On the flip side, cities can become dirty and oppressive environments that are fully inconsistent with human thriving and happiness. They can be polluted, socially isolated, unattractive, expensive, unsafe, insecure, unfriendly and harsh.

So here then, it is worth working on urban issues. They can be solved. Cities can revive and become safe, clean and vibrant places filled with opportunity.