Overpopulation
Overpopulation
There was an article in the local newspaper titled "Is Singapore getting too crowded?"
In today's context, I feel it is indeed apt to say that Singapore IS 'over-crowded'.
To quote a statement from the writer - "The only measure of density is the quality of life. If you find yourself unable to be polite and civil, then it's dense".
There is absolutely no way to be 'tolerant' when you are very sick, with little money, yet have to wait for 4 hours to see a doctor in a government hospital or polyclinic. Neither can one be tolerant when one’s wife is giving birth in a hospital and yet the husband is stuck in a road full of vehicles and traffic lights.
The list ran on...it is getting twice or thrice more difficult to travel across the island, or to see a medical practitioner etcetera...
There are now 5.8 billion human beings on the planet, and according to the United Nations, the population of earth is expected to grow to around 7.9 billion by 2050. In the list of countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants/km², which includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations, Singapore ranked top five in the world with 6369 people per square kilometer. By contrast, China with the world largest population ranks 57th in the list. It has a population density of 137 people per square kilometer.
Of course, the figures listed are based on areas including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers) in which Singapore has very little. Yet the disparities between overpopulation and overcrowding are not that great.
Overcrowding does not necessarily mean that people live shoulder-to-shoulder. Rather, it occurs when there are too many people crowded into one space--crowded to the point that a high percentage of the population must live in sub-standard conditions because of the lack of living space and lack of opportunity to make a living.
This increase in population density has put pressure on the existing water supply, electricity and other public utilities. One immediate strain can be seen in the healthcare sectors. Hospitals and government clinics are flooded with patients each working day.
Another example of population density pressures is our heavily burden transportation system. MRT trains are jammed packed every morning and evening to cater to working crowds. Even on weekends the situation has not improved. One can see bottlenecks in our expressways during rainy days as well. Accordingly to statistical figures, the numbers of car per 100 persons is higher than that of Hong Kong. In addition, the road density (km/square km) is double that of Hong Kong's whilst it still pales in comparison to that of Tokyo's.
Other strains on the system that is yet to be felt will be on the public utilities. Once there are shortages of water due to great drought, or even embargo of oil, which will put a crisis in the world’s supply, a country with high population density that does not have vast natural resources to supplement its immediate population, will feel its' devastating effects on young and old alike.
Last but not least, one of the primary factors that cause overpopulation and its related problems are immigration. The vast movement of people into an area which offers a greater economic and/or political climate can overload the resources necessary to sustain the growth. In many cases, the effects of local overpopulation can "spill" over and create local and global problems as discussed earlier.
There was an article in the local newspaper titled "Is Singapore getting too crowded?"
In today's context, I feel it is indeed apt to say that Singapore IS 'over-crowded'.
To quote a statement from the writer - "The only measure of density is the quality of life. If you find yourself unable to be polite and civil, then it's dense".
There is absolutely no way to be 'tolerant' when you are very sick, with little money, yet have to wait for 4 hours to see a doctor in a government hospital or polyclinic. Neither can one be tolerant when one’s wife is giving birth in a hospital and yet the husband is stuck in a road full of vehicles and traffic lights.
The list ran on...it is getting twice or thrice more difficult to travel across the island, or to see a medical practitioner etcetera...
There are now 5.8 billion human beings on the planet, and according to the United Nations, the population of earth is expected to grow to around 7.9 billion by 2050. In the list of countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants/km², which includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations, Singapore ranked top five in the world with 6369 people per square kilometer. By contrast, China with the world largest population ranks 57th in the list. It has a population density of 137 people per square kilometer.
Of course, the figures listed are based on areas including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers) in which Singapore has very little. Yet the disparities between overpopulation and overcrowding are not that great.
Overcrowding does not necessarily mean that people live shoulder-to-shoulder. Rather, it occurs when there are too many people crowded into one space--crowded to the point that a high percentage of the population must live in sub-standard conditions because of the lack of living space and lack of opportunity to make a living.
This increase in population density has put pressure on the existing water supply, electricity and other public utilities. One immediate strain can be seen in the healthcare sectors. Hospitals and government clinics are flooded with patients each working day.
Another example of population density pressures is our heavily burden transportation system. MRT trains are jammed packed every morning and evening to cater to working crowds. Even on weekends the situation has not improved. One can see bottlenecks in our expressways during rainy days as well. Accordingly to statistical figures, the numbers of car per 100 persons is higher than that of Hong Kong. In addition, the road density (km/square km) is double that of Hong Kong's whilst it still pales in comparison to that of Tokyo's.
Other strains on the system that is yet to be felt will be on the public utilities. Once there are shortages of water due to great drought, or even embargo of oil, which will put a crisis in the world’s supply, a country with high population density that does not have vast natural resources to supplement its immediate population, will feel its' devastating effects on young and old alike.
Last but not least, one of the primary factors that cause overpopulation and its related problems are immigration. The vast movement of people into an area which offers a greater economic and/or political climate can overload the resources necessary to sustain the growth. In many cases, the effects of local overpopulation can "spill" over and create local and global problems as discussed earlier.
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