It’s predicted that 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050. While cities offer jobs and prosperity, among other alluring things, their growth doesn’t come without a cost. One of the most pressing issues that urban populations face is environmental degradation.

When people move to urban areas in large numbers, which is known as urbanization, it results in urban sprawl. This means that the population of cities becomes dispersed in a large geographical area, which takes up the land formerly occupied by forests, wetlands, or agriculture. Urban sprawl leads to less biodiversity as species are losing their habitats, with some going extinct.

The loss of nature and green spaces creates the “heat island effect,” where urban areas get significantly hotter than the countryside. As a result, disasters like heatwaves, droughts, and fires are becoming more common, causing health and water supply problems. Higher temperatures can increase the risk of sunstroke, heatstroke, and respiratory problems in inhabitants. Lack of parks, plant life, and water features can also negatively affect city dweller’s mental health.

Additionally, dense populations produce infinite amounts of pollution, contaminating air, water, and soil. This can have dire consequences for people’s health, as harmful particles in the atmosphere can cause respiratory infections, heart disease, and even cancer. In overpopulated cities like Tokyo, Beijing, and Mexico City, inhabitants have to wear masks to protect themselves from the polluted air.

All of this sounds like a script from a dystopian movie but sadly, this is our very real reality. However, the good news is that urban populations can improve, says urban planner Andy Boenau to Bored Panda.

“Two key things should give any person hope for the future: (1) a basic understanding of how local land use and transportation decisions are made, which will give (2) a blueprint for changing the built environment to fit who we are as humans,” he explained.

“It's true that state departments of transportation have a funding formula that favors junk infrastructure, but everything starts with local land use restrictions. The path to healthy infrastructure begins by persuading local leaders to reform the major obstacles of zoning and parking mandates,” he further explains.

“The vast majority of local governments in the US outlaw things like having a single-family home, a duplex, a dentist office, and a market on the same street. Legalize a built environment that fits who we are as people,” Boenau urged.