Environmental impacts and disparities associated with rural urban migration

Abstract

Population change in a given area is an aspect of demographic study, which relates to biophysical and human phenomena Conceptually, it embraces the three components of population dynamics -fertility, mortality and migration- which influence both population structure and change. However, this paper places emphasis on migration, whichredistributes the population in both time and space, resulting inpopulation changes discernible through their impactson the environment. Migration is the movement of people across a specified boundary. It falls into two categoriesnamely international and internal. It is international when it occurs between countries and internal when withinthe same country such as the case of rural-urban migration. These broad forms of migration have far reachingconsequences on the environment both at the origin and destination. This paper addresses itself to ruralurbanmigration, its impact on the environment and resultant rural-urban disparities