Environmental Impact of Urbanization in Nigeria

This review revealed that there are several evidences of environmental impact of urbanization in Nigeria. The linkages between urbanization process and the environment are profound that the major components of the environment-air, water and land are adversely affected by the daily anthropogenic activities of urban residence and in the process of exploiting the natural resource base. The goal of ensuring environmental sustainability is greatly threatened by urbanization, which has created several serious environmental problems, such as pollution, deforestation and wetland destruction, erosion and flooding, urban sprawl, slum and squatter settlements, heat island and aesthetic degradation that have had negative impacts on man and other living organisms in the environment. If the threats posed by urbanization in Nigeria are not adequately managed, the capacity of the environment to continuously support life may be jeopardized with dire consequences on human life.