Author: Admin

Track2Training for students. Learn more on https://track2training.com

Racism (नस्लवाद)

 नस्लवाद को इस विश्वास के रूप में परिभाषित किया जा सकता है कि लोगों की अलग-अलग जातियों में विशिष्ट सांस्कृतिक विशेषताएं होती हैं जो वंशानुगत कारकों द्वारा निर्धारित होती हैं और इसलिए कुछ जातियों को स्वाभाविक रूप से दूसरों से श्रेष्ठ बनाती हैं।  यह विचार कि एक जाति में दूसरों की तुलना में स्वाभाविक श्रेष्ठता है, अन्य जातियों और सांस्कृति के सदस्यों के प्रति अपमानजनक व्यवहार पैदा करता है।  नस्लवाद, जातिवाद महिलाओं के प्रति भेदभाव की तरह, भेदभाव और पूर्वाग्रह का एक रूप है।

जातिवाद और नस्लवाद एक अतार्किक मान्यता है कि एक विशेष जाति में विशिष्ट सांस्कृतिक लक्षण होते हैं जो आनुवंशिक कारकों के कारण संपन्न होते हैं जो व्यक्तिगत नस्लों को दूसरों से स्वाभाविक रूप से श्रेष्ठ बनाते हैं और उन्हें निम्न जातियों, समुदायों का शोषण करने का अधिकार देते हैं।  जब हम खुले तौर पर नस्लवाद का अर्थ बताते हैं, तो हम देख सकते हैं कि ऐसा विचार कितना अकथनीय और अकल्पनीय है।  लेकिन, नस्लवाद हमारी चेतना और अवचेतन में इतना गहरा बैठा है कि हम लंबे समय से ऐसे क्रूर आदर्शों के आगे झुक गए हैं।
एक समाज के भीतर सूक्ष्म नस्लवाद के ऐसे उदाहरण बड़े पैमाने पर होते हैं और दूसरों के प्रति लोगों के अक्षम्य व्यवहार को जन्म देते हैं।  इस तरह का अनुचित व्यवहार और कार्य मानसिक तनाव, सामाजिक उत्पीड़न और यहां तक ​​कि शारीरिक हमले जैसी चीजें हैं।  चूंकि हमने जातिवादी और नस्लवादी टिप्पणियों और गतिविधियों पर ध्यान नहीं दिया है, इसलिए इसे अनुपचारित छोड़ दिया जाता है और विभिन्न पृष्ठभूमि के दो अलग-अलग लोगों के बीच और अधिक विभाजन और क्रोध की ओर जाता है।  यह एक कभी न खत्म होने वाला दुष्चक्र है और आज की दुनिया में एक बड़ा संकट है। नस्लवाद लोगों को एक खास तरह से पैदा होने के लिए, एक विशेष त्वचा के रंग के लिए खेद महसूस कराता है।  नस्लवाद की कोई वैज्ञानिक व्याख्या नहीं है, और नस्लवादी लोग अन्य मनुष्यों की भावनाओं से पूरी तरह अनभिज्ञ हैं।
 कोई भी व्यक्ति काला, सफेद, काला, गोरा या विशेष रूप से कुछ भी नहीं चुन सकता है।  भगवान ने हमें बनाया है, और ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं है जो हमें इसके लिए दोषी महसूस कराए।  लोगों की सांस्कृतिक पृष्ठभूमि या त्वचा के रंग के कारण उनका मज़ाक उड़ाना हास्यास्पद और अमानवीय है।हम इस बारे में बात करते रहते हैं कि कैसे आधुनिक समाज विविध संस्कृतियों और विविध लोगों को गले लगाता है।  हम विश्व शांति जैसी विशाल चीजों को हासिल करने की कोशिश करते हैं, भूख और गरीबी को मिटाते हैं, लेकिन हम ऐसे बदलाव करने के लिए एकजुट होने के लिए तैयार नहीं हैं।
 नस्लवाद हमारे समाज की सामाजिक उन्नति के बीच एक बाधा है।  ऐसे संकीर्ण विचारों वाले और अनन्य आदर्शों से कुछ महान प्राप्त करना असंभव है।  यह एक नाजुक विषय है और लोगों को खुले दिमाग रखने और परिवर्तनों को अपनाने की आवश्यकता है।हमारे समाज में नस्लवाद का उन्मूलन संभव है यदि हम इस तरह के संवेदनशील विषयों के बारे में अधिक खुले हैं और इस तरह के सरल मामलों पर विचार करते हैं।  हममें से अधिकांश लोग इस तरह की बाधाओं के बारे में सोचने के लिए बहुत अधिक आत्मकेंद्रित होते हैं।  यह इतना सामान्य व्यवहार है कि हम इसके दुष्परिणामों को भूल जाते हैं।  यह सही समय है जब हमने बदलाव किया है।
 चूंकि नस्लवाद इतना गहरा विश्वास है, इसलिए हमें बदलने के लिए कुछ समय की आवश्यकता होगी।  लेकिन अगर हम ठान लें तो कुछ भी हासिल किया जा सकता है।  हमें बांटने के लिए नस्लवाद की जरूरत नहीं है।  लोगों को इस तथ्य को स्वीकार करना चाहिए कि कुछ भी महत्वपूर्ण हासिल करने के लिए।  हमें संकीर्ण सोच को त्यागना होगा।  तभी हम विश्व के एक समाज के रूप में आगे बढ़ सकते हैं।
नस्लवाद हमारे समाज के आधुनिकीकरण के बीच एक बाधा है।  हमारे समाज में इस तरह के अनुचित व्यवहार के लिए कोई जगह नहीं होने चाहिए।

जलवायु परिवर्तन

 जलवायु परिवर्तन क्या है और यह आपको कैसे प्रभावित करता है?

जलवायु परिवर्तन से तात्पर्य पृथ्वी की पर्यावरणीय परिस्थितियों में परिवर्तन से है।  यह कई आंतरिक और बाहरी कारकों के कारण होता है।  पिछले कुछ दशकों में जलवायु परिवर्तन एक वैश्विक चिंता का विषय बन गया है।  इसके अलावा, ये जलवायु परिवर्तन पृथ्वी पर जीवन को विभिन्न तरीकों से प्रभावित करते हैं।  ये जलवायु परिवर्तन पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र और पारिस्थितिकी पर विभिन्न प्रभाव डाल रहे हैं।  इन परिवर्तनों के कारण, पौधों और जानवरों की कई प्रजातियां विलुप्त हो गई हैं।
अविश्वसनीय स्रोतों या जानबूझकर गलत सूचना के कारण बहुत से लोग नहीं जानते कि यह वास्तव में क्या है, जिसके कारण जलवायु परिवर्तन के बारे में कई मिथक हैं।  इन पृष्ठों में, हम विषय को एक उद्देश्य, वैज्ञानिक दृष्टिकोण से देखते हैं, जलवायु परिवर्तन के कारणों और परिणामों पर चर्चा करते हैं और इससे कैसे निपटा जाना चाहिए।
 सबसे पहले, हमें दो अवधारणाओं को स्पष्ट करना होगा जिन्हें अक्सर समानार्थक शब्द समझ लिया जाता है: जलवायु परिवर्तन और ग्लोबल वार्मिंग।  हालाँकि, उनके बीच एक महत्वपूर्ण अंतर है, यह देखते हुए कि यह ग्लोबल वार्मिंग है जो जलवायु परिवर्तन का कारण बनती है।  जैसे-जैसे ग्रह का तापमान स्वाभाविक रूप से अधिक बढ़ता है, जलवायु बदलती रहती है।
हालांकि यह निश्चित है कि पृथ्वी स्वाभाविक रूप से गर्म हो गई है और अन्य युगों के दौरान ठंडी हो गई है, ऐसे चक्र हमेशा बहुत धीमे रहे हैं, लाखों साल लगते हैं, जबकि अब, केवल 200 वर्षों की अवधि के भीतर, हम उस स्तर तक पहुंच रहे हैं जो अतीत में लाया था  विलुप्त होने के बारे में।
जलवायु परिवर्तन के कारण और परिणाम

जलवायु परिवर्तन का मुख्य कारण ग्लोबल वार्मिंग है, जिसके भौतिक, जैविक और मानव प्रणालियों के साथ-साथ अन्य प्रभावों पर कई नकारात्मक परिणाम होते हैं।
ग्लोबल वार्मिंग ग्रीनहाउस प्रभाव के कारण होता है, एक प्राकृतिक प्रक्रिया जिसके द्वारा वातावरण सूर्य की कुछ गर्मी को बरकरार रखता है, जिससे पृथ्वी को जीवन की मेजबानी के लिए आवश्यक परिस्थितियों को बनाए रखने की अनुमति मिलती है।  ग्रीनहाउस प्रभाव के बिना, ग्रह का औसत तापमान -18ºC होगा।
समस्या यह है कि दैनिक मानवीय गतिविधियाँ ग्रीनहाउस प्रभाव को अधिकतम करती हैं, जिससे ग्रह का तापमान और भी अधिक बढ़ जाता है।
इन जलवायु परिवर्तनों का पर्यावरण पर नकारात्मक प्रभाव पड़ता है।  समुद्र का स्तर बढ़ रहा है, ग्लेशियर पिघल रहे हैं, हवा में CO2 बढ़ रही है, जंगल और वन्यजीव घट रहे हैं, और जल जीवन भी जलवायु परिवर्तन के कारण परेशान हो रहा है।  इसके अलावा, यह गणना की जाती है कि यदि यह परिवर्तन जारी रहा तो पौधों और जानवरों की कई प्रजातियां विलुप्त हो जाएंगी।  और पर्यावरण को भारी नुकसान होगा।
ग्रीन हाउस गैसें

कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड, मीथेन, नाइट्रोजन ऑक्साइड, एचसीएफसी: मुख्य रूप से बिजली उत्पादन, परिवहन, हीटिंग, उद्योग और निर्माण में जीवाश्म ईंधन के जलने के कारण होता है।  इसके अलावा पशुधन, कृषि (मुख्य रूप से चावल की खेती), अपशिष्ट जल उपचार और दूसरों के बीच लैंडफिल के कारण होता है।
भूमि पारिस्थितिकी प्रणालियों और वनों की कटाई का विनाश
वनों की कटाई जलवायु परिवर्तन के सबसे महत्वपूर्ण कारणों में से एक है।  जंगल और वर्षावन ख़तरनाक गति से गायब हो रहे हैं।  पिछले 10 वर्षों में, उन्होंने कम से कम 13 मिलियन हेक्टेयर को नष्ट कर दिया है।
जनसंख्या वृद्धि

मानव जनसंख्या बेतहाशा बढ़ रही है।  आज, बमुश्किल २५० साल बाद, हम ७.७ अरब से अधिक हैं और २०५० तक कम से कम २ अरब तक बढ़ते रहेंगे।  बढ़ती हुई जनसंख्या को अधिक से अधिक संसाधनों की आवश्यकता है, जो सभी उत्पादन प्रक्रियाओं से ग्रीनहाउस गैस उत्सर्जन में वृद्धि को गति देता है।
जलवायु परिवर्तन के परिणाम

 वैश्विक तापमान में वृद्धि विनाशकारी परिणाम लाती है, जिससे मानव सहित पृथ्वी के वनस्पतियों और जीवों का अस्तित्व खतरे में पड़ जाता है।  सबसे खराब जलवायु परिवर्तन प्रभावों में ध्रुवों पर बर्फ के द्रव्यमान का पिघलना शामिल है, जो बदले में समुद्र के स्तर को बढ़ाता है, बाढ़ पैदा करता है और तटीय वातावरण को खतरे में डालता है जिसके माध्यम से छोटे द्वीप राज्यों के पूरी तरह से गायब होने का जोखिम होता है।
 जलवायु परिवर्तन अधिक हिंसक मौसम की घटनाओं, सूखे, आग, जानवरों और पौधों की प्रजातियों की मृत्यु, नदियों और झीलों से बाढ़, जलवायु शरणार्थियों के निर्माण और खाद्य श्रृंखला और आर्थिक संसाधनों के विनाश की उपस्थिति को भी बढ़ाता है, खासकर विकासशील देशों में।
अगर हम कुछ नहीं करते हैं और चीजें अभी की तरह चलती रहती हैं तो भविष्य में एक दिन आएगा जब इंसान पृथ्वी की सतह से विलुप्त हो जाएगा।  लेकिन इन समस्याओं को नज़रअंदाज करने के बजाय हम इस पर काम करना शुरू कर देते हैं तभी हम पृथ्वी और अपना भविष्य बचा सकते हैं।हालांकि इंसान की गलती ने जलवायु और पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र को काफी नुकसान पहुंचाया है।  लेकिन, फिर से शुरू करने और पर्यावरण को नुकसान पहुंचाने के लिए हमने अब तक जो किया है उसे पूर्ववत करने का प्रयास करने में देर नहीं हुई है।  और अगर हर इंसान पर्यावरण में योगदान देना शुरू कर दे तो हम भविष्य में अपने अस्तित्व के बारे में सुनिश्चित हो सकते हैं।

Garden City

 The garden city movement is a method of urban planning in which self-contained communities are surrounded by “greenbelts”, containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and agriculture. The idea was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom and aims to capture the primary benefits of a countryside environment and a city environment while avoiding the disadvantages presented by both. 

Inspired by the utopian novel “Looking Backward” and Henry George’s work “Progress and Poverty”, Howard published the book “To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform” in 1898 (which was reissued in 1902 as “Garden Cities of To-morrow”). His idealized garden city would house 32,000 people on a site of 6,000 acres, planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six radial boulevards, 120 ft (37 m) wide, extending from the centre. The garden city would be self-sufficient and when it reached full population, another garden city would be developed nearby. Howard envisaged a cluster of several garden cities as satellites of a central city of 58,000 people, linked by road and rail. 

Howard believed that all people agreed the overcrowding and deterioration of cities was one of the troubling issues of their time. It is important to understand the context to which Howard’s work was a reaction. London (and other cities) in the 19th century were in the throws of industrialization, and the cities were exerting massive forces on the labour markets of the time. 

Massive immigration from the countryside to the cities was taking place with London. This situation was unsustainable and political commentators of all parties sought “how best to provide the proper antidote against the greatest danger of modern existence”. To Howard the cure was simple – to reintegrate people with the countryside. 

Concept of Three magnets 

He had no training in urban planning or design but excelled in creating places which he called “magnets” where people would want to come to reside and work. His garden cities were planned, contained communities surrounded by a green belt (parks), containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and agriculture. Garden city movement aimed at addressing the urban problems plaguing the industrial city of that time. Garden city concept was an effective response for a better quality of life in overcrowded and dirty industrial towns which had deteriorated the environment and posed serious threat to health. 

Garden city movement had the “Three Magnets” to addresses the question ‘Where will the people go?’ the choices being ‘Town’, ‘Country’ or ‘Town Country’.

Concept of three magnets

Town 

The pull of ‘Town Magnet’ are the opportunities for work and high wages, social opportunities, amusements and well – lit streets. It was closing out of nature, offered isolation of crowds and distance from work. But it came at a cost of foul air, costly drainage, murky sky and slums. Town life has good and bad characteristics. Positive and negative aspects of town include; 
  •  Social opportunity 
  •  Closing out of nature 
  •  Isolation of crowds 
  •  High rents and prices 
  •  Places of amusement 
  •  Foul air and murky sky 
  •  Chances of employment 
  •  Slums and gin palaces 
  •  High money wages 
  •  Costly drainage 
  •  Well-lit streets 
  •  Palatial edifices 

Country 

The pull of ‘Country Magnet’ is in natural beauty, fresh air, healthfulness. It offered natural beauty, low rents, fresh air, meadow but had low wages and lack of drainage. Country has dullness, lack of society, low wages, lack of amusements and general decay. Positive and negative aspects of town include; 
  •  Beauty of nature 
  •  Lack of society 
  •  Land lying idle 
  •  Hands out of work 
  •  Wood, meadow, forest 
  •  Trespassers beware 
  •  Fresh air 
  •  Low wages 
  •  Low rents 
  •  Lack of drainage 
  •  Abundance of water 
  •  Lack of amusement 
  •  Bright sunshine 
  •  No public spirit 
  •  Need for reform 
  •  Crowded dwellings 
  •  Deserted villages

Town- Country 

It was a combination of both town and countryside with aim of providing benefits of both and offered beauty of nature, social opportunity, fields if easy access, low rent, high wages and field of enterprise. Thus the solution was found in a combination of the advantages of Town and Country – the ‘Town Country Magnet’ – it was proposed a town in the country, and having within it the amenities of natural beauty, fresh air and healthfulness. Thus advantages of the Town – Country are seed to be free from the disadvantages of either. Town-country combination has the advantages of both aspects. 

  •  Beauty of nature 
  •  Peace all-over the places 
  •  Social opportunity 
  •  Cumulative growth 
  •  Fields and parks of easy access 
  •  Equal chances 
  •  Low rents- high wages 
  •  Low rates- plenty to do 
  •  Low prices- no sweating 
  •  Field for enterprise- flow of capital 
  •  Pure air and water- good drainage 
  •  Bright homes & gardens- no smoke, no slums 
  •  Freedom- co-operation

Principles of Garden City 

  • Co-operative holding of land to insure that the advantage of appreciation of land values goes to the community, not the private individuals 
  • Economic and social advantages of large scale planning 
  • Establishment of cities of limited size, but at the same time possessing a balanced agricultural industrial economy 
  • Urban decentralization 
  • Use of a surrounding green belt to serve as an agricultural recreational area

Features of Garden City 

An ideal garden city is a compact town of 6000 acres, 5000 of which is permanently reserved for agriculture. It accommodates a maximum population of 32,000. There are parks and private lawn everywhere. Also the roads are wide, ranging from 120 to 420 feet for the Grand Avenue, and are radial rather than linear. 
Commercial, industrial, residential, and public uses are clearly differentiated from each other spatially. Additional elements include unified land ownership –co-operatives, there was no individual ownership of land. Local community also participated in the decision making regarding development. As we can see in the diagram, there is a central park containing public buildings. It is surrounded by shopping streets which are further surrounded by dwelling units in all directions. The outer circle contains factories and industries. Rail road’s bypasses the town, meeting the town at tangent.
After a city reaches its target population, new interconnected nodes can be developed. A Garden city is built up and its population has reached 32,000. It will grow by establishing another city some little distance beyond its own zone of ‘country’, so that the new town may have a zone of country of its own.
Sir Ebenezer Howard’s Garden city

Circular city growing in a radial manner or pattern

  • Divided into six equal wards, by six main Boulevards that radiated from the central park/garden 
  • Civic institutions (Town Hall, Library, Hospital, Theatre, Museum etc. ) are placed around the central garden
  • The central park enclosed by a crystal palace acts as an arcade for indoor shops and winter gardens 
  • The streets for houses are formed by a series of concentric ringed tree lined avenues 
  • Distance between each ring vary between 3-5km 
  • A 420 feet wide, 3 mile long, Grand avenue which run in the center of concentric rings , houses the schools and churches and acts as a continuous public park 
  • The municipal railway was placed in another ring closer to the industrial ring, so that the pressure of excess transport on the city streets is reduced and the city is connected to the rest of the nation.

Main components of Howard’s Garden city movement 

1) Planned Dispersal 

The organized outward migration of industries and people to towns of sufficient size to provide the services, variety of occupations and level of culture needed by a balanced cross – section of modern society. 

2) Limit of Town Size 

The growth of towns to be limited, in order that their inhabitants may live near work, shops, social centers and each other and also near open country. 

3) Amenities 

The internal texture of towns to be open enough to permit of houses with private gardens, adequate space for schools and other functional purposes, and pleasant parks and parkways. 

4) Town and Country Relationship 

The town area to be defined and a large area around it reserved permanently for agriculture; thus enabling the farm people to be assured of a nearby market and cultural center, and the town people to have the benefit of a country situation. 

5) Planning Control 

Pre – planning of the whole town framework, including the road – scheme and functional zoning; the fixing of maximum densities; the control of building as to quality and design, but allowing for individual variety; skillful planting and landscape garden design. 

6) Neighborhoods 

The town to be divided into wards, each to some extent a developmental and social entity. Two garden cities were built using Howard’s garden city movement concept are Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City, both in Hertfordshire, England. 

Letchworth Garden City 

The first garden city developed in 1903 by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin was Letchworth garden city. It is 34 miles away from London. It has an area of 5000 acres with 3000 acres of green belt. It had an agricultural strip at periphery to check the invasion of urban area i.e. the sprawling. It showed Howard’s general principles, including the communal ownership of the land and the permanent green belt has been carried through. It was a town of homes and gardens with ample open spaces and a spirited community life. A great attention was paid to landscaping and planting.
  • Its plan was based on population of 30000 with living area of 1250 acres and 2500 acres of rural green belt. 
  • Communities ranged from 12000 – 18000 people, small enough which required no vehicular transportation. 
  • Industries were connected to central city by rapid transportation. 
  • In 30 years, the city developed with 15000 population and 150 shops, industries. 

Welwyn Garden City

It was the second garden city founded by Sir Ebenzer Howard and designed by Louis De Soissions in 1920 and was located 20 miles from London. It was a town visually pleasing and was efficient technically and was human in scale. 
  • It started with area of 2400 acres and 40000 populations. 
  • Had a parkway, almost a mile long central mall. 
  • Town laid out along tree-lined boulevards with Neo Georgian town center. 
  • Every road had a wide grass verge. 
  • In 15 years – developed with 10000 population and 50 shops, industries. 

Failure of Garden Cities

Letchworth slowly attracted more residents because it was able to attract manufacturers through low taxes, low rents and more space. Despite Howard’s best efforts, the home prices in this garden city could not remain affordable for workers to live in. Although many viewed Letchworth as a success, it did not immediately inspire government investment into the next line of garden cities. In frustration, Howard bought land at Welwyn to house the second garden city in 1919. The Welwyn Garden City Corporation was formed to oversee the construction. But Welwyn did not become self-sustaining because it was only 20 miles from London. Even until the end of the 1930s, Letchworth and Welwyn remained as the only existing garden cities.

Land Use and Land Value Theory of William Alonso

 William Alonso (Location and Land Use: Toward a General Theory of Land Rent, 1964) attempted to apply accessibility requirements to the city centre for various types of land use (housing, commercial, and industry). According to his theory, each land use type has its own rent gradient or bid rent curve. The curve sets the maximum amount of rent any land use type will yield for a specific location. Households, commercial establishments, and industries compete for locations according to each individual bid rent curve and their requirements for access to the city centre. 

All households will attempt to occupy as much land as possible while staying within their accessibility requirements. Since land is cheaper at the fringe of the city, households with less need for city centre accessibility will locate near the fringe; these will usually be wealthy households. Poor households require greater accessibility to the city centre and therefore will locate near the centre, competing with commercial and industrial establishments. This will tend to create a segregated land use system, because households will not pay commercial and industrial land prices for central locations In 1960 William Alonso completed his dissertation which extended the von Thünen model to urban land uses. His model gives land use, rent, intensity of land use, population and employment as a function of distance to the CBD of the city as a solution of an economic equilibrium for the market for space.

                                                                                  Bid rent curve

Land Value 

Land value can be defined as the monetary cost of the land. It can be the cost of undeveloped land or a built property, but land value is primarily associated with a vacant plot. When discussing the importance of a built structure the term “property value” is more appropriate. 

Factors Affecting Land Value 

The land value is determined by the economic principle of highest and best use of land which produces the highest net return in any term, over a period. The property value is dependent on the structural attributes, land rates, land use and the location of the land. It is determined by the specific character of the land such as land use, location, accessibility, aesthetics, etc 

1) Physical Attributes 

These include quality of location, topography, climate, availability of water, sewer lines, etc. More and better facilities are attributed to a higher price of land. Topography further has a direct effect on the construction cost and thus the overall development cost. The facilities thus developed on an uneven land will have a much higher cost as compared to the flat plain. 

2) Accessibility to Economic Activities 

The more easily economic activity is accessible, the more is the value of the land. For example, most of the metropolitan cities have the maximum land values at the center, or at the central business district of the city. This is because of the nearness to the economic activities and workplace. This factor affecting land value is the sole most important factor which led to the development of various land price models in urban economics. 

3) Neighborhood Amenities 

The cost of land is also affected by the availability of the facilities such as shopping areas, medical facilities, school, parks& playgrounds, and other basic need of the humans. This helps in saving the time of people every day, the time saved adds up the cost of land. Also, the reduced travel and reduced trip distance will directly have the monetary benefits of the person residing in an area with many such facilities in proximity. 

4) Present and Future Land Use 

The value of the land is also determined by the land use permitted in the land premises. For example, if we compare the values of two lands of same prices and same location but the land use permitted in the lands are different, one is commercial and one is residential. In such case the value of the land with the land use which has more rate of return over a period of time will be valued more. People are willing to pay a higher amount for commercial land, in some cases industrial or institutional land use might attract even. 

5) Demand and Supply Function 

With the significant demographic changes in the cities with time, the need for land also increases with the same factor, with the increase in population there is an increase in economic and other activities. This directly increases the demand in the of the land components. The anticipation of high yields may also induce false scarcity of land; hence the location advantages of the properties at any time within the urban boundaries and hence causes economic values of land to be increased. For any site, there are specific points of transition in use, closely related to the infrastructure and services, where a jump in property value is likely to happen.

6) Location and Transport Linkages 

The property located in the area of high level of infrastructure facilities or the one located in or adjacent to the area of intensive economic activities such as markets or industries have higher values. Transport linkages are also crucial since they govern the mobility and ease of movement to and from the area. Clearly defined hierarchy of roads, efficient public transportation and lack of congestion are some of the desired transportation attributes of any area. 

Residential land values are also observed to be in direct proportion to the hierarchical order of the adjacent road. The valuation of land is done keeping in mind the factor mentioned above; however, the actual selling price of an area is ultimately determined by the paying capacity of the buyer. All the factors mentioned above-affecting land value might give a price which no one is willing to pay, and thus the actual amount paid becomes the price instead of the evaluated price. 

Land Use 

Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. 

  • Residential land use 
  • Commercial land use 
  • Industrial land use 
  • Agricultural land use 
  • Recreational land use 
  • Transport space 
  • Public land use or Open space


The cause of Overpopulation

 Popular knowledge directs the ire of a growingly unsustainable population at those in developing countries that form a part of the global poor and are unable to understand the immediate need to adopt family planning, and rightly so. However, this is not an inherent trait of certain sections of people and sociological reasons behind large families and overpopulation must be examined. These are:

1. High infant and childhood mortality: according to UNICEF one child dies every three seconds (6,500 per day) due to malnutrition and disease. It is an insurance to have more than you may need so that some of them reach adulthood. 

2. Security in old age: the tradition in the family is that children will take care of their parents. The more children the more secure the parents, and the less the burden for each child. If there is no social welfare network, children look after their parents. 

3. Children are an economic asset in agricultural societies: They work on the land as soon as they are able. More children mean more help but more children need feeding. In MEDCs, children are dependent on their parents during their education and take longer to contribute to society. 

4. Status of women: the traditional position of women is that they are subordinate to men. In many countries, they are deprived of  any rights, like owning property, having their own career, getting an education. Instead they do most of the agricultural work and are considered worthy only for making children, and their social status depends on the number of children they produce, particularly boys. Breaking down such barriers of discrimination (social or religious), allowing girls to get an education and be capable of gaining status outside the context of bearing children has probably contributed more than anything toward the very low fertility rate in MEDCs.

5. Unavailability of contraceptives: in MEDCs this is the prime way of reducing fertility. In LEDCs, many women would like to have them but they are too poor to pay for them or they cannot get them.

Now that these issues have been addressed, methods to strike them at their roots must be designed so that society is benefitted as a whole, and the earth can free itself of the burgeoning burden of increasing population. These are:

1. Provide education in the form of basic literacy to children and adults, especially about family planning, financial safety and the population crisis.

2. Improve health by preventing the spread of diseases through simple measures of hygiene (boiling water), by improving nutrition, and by providing some simple medication and vaccines. 

3. Make contraceptives and family counselling available, especially to illiterate and underprivileged women.

4. Enhance income by small-scale projects focusing on the family level. Microlending, as in the Gramin Bank, is a practice that has had high success. Small loans are given for a peasant to buy some seed and fertilizer to grow tomatoes, for a woman to buy pans to bake bread, for a weaver to buy yarn, for an auto mechanic to get some tools. Thus, small enterprises may start that will feed the whole family (at least). Return of the loan is guaranteed through credit associations formed by the members of the community. 

5. Improve resource management. Local people may grow tree seedlings for transplanting in reforestation projects, prevent erosion through soil conservation measures. We have realized that large projects in LEDCs often do not work. Major projects like building dams for HEP or roads cost an LEDC which is then in debt (third world debt) and force the population into cash cropping (eg tobacco, oil palm). 

Thus, through a combination of welfare, education, humanity and initiative, we as a community can help earth overcome one of the biggest environmental and social crises it has ever faced.

Wastewater Pollutants and Treatment

Wastewater is used water. It includes substances such as human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps and chemicals. In homes, this includes water from sinks, showers, bathtubs, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. Businesses and industries also contribute their share of used water that must be cleaned. We consider wastewater treatment as a water use because it is so interconnected with the other uses of water. Much of the water used by homes, industries, and businesses must be treated before it is released back to the environment.

The term “wastewater treatment” is also known as “sewage treatment.” Nature has an amazing ability to cope with small amounts of water wastes and pollution, but it would be overwhelmed if we didn’t treat the billions of gallons of wastewater and sewage produced every day before releasing it back to the environment. Treatment plants reduce pollutants in wastewater to a level nature can handle.

Wastewater also includes storm runoff. Although some people assume that the rain that runs down the street during a storm is fairly clean, it isn’t. Harmful substances that wash off roads, parking lots, and rooftops can harm our rivers and lakes. Hence, treating wastewater is a matter of caring for our environment and for our own health. There are a lot of good reasons why keeping our water clean is an important priority.

Clean water is critical to plants and animals that live in water. This is important to the fishing industry, sport fishing enthusiasts, and future generations. Our rivers and ocean waters teem with life that depends on shoreline, beaches and marshes. They are critical habitats for hundreds of species of fish and other aquatic life. Migratory water birds use the areas for resting and feeding. Water is a great playground  for us all. The scenic and recreational values of our waters are reasons many people choose to live where they do. Visitors are drawn to water activities such as swimming, fishing, boating and picnicking. If it is not properly cleaned, water can carry disease. Since we live, work and play so close to water, harmful bacteria have to be removed to make water safe.

If wastewater is not properly treated, then the environment and human health can be negatively impacted. These impacts can include harm to fish and wildlife populations, oxygen depletion, beach closures and other restrictions on recreational water use, restrictions on fish and shellfish harvesting and contamination of drinking water. Here are some examples of pollutants that can be found in wastewater and the potentially harmful effects these substances can have on ecosystems and human health:

  • Decaying organic matter and debris can use up the dissolved oxygen in a lake so fish and other aquatic biota cannot survive;
  • Excessive nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, can cause eutrophication, or over-fertilization of receiving waters, which can be toxic to aquatic organisms, promote excessive plant growth, reduce available oxygen, harm spawning grounds, alter habitat and lead to a decline in certain species;
  • Chlorine compounds and inorganic chloramines can be toxic to aquatic invertebrates, algae and fish;
  • Bacteria, viruses and disease-causing pathogens can pollute beaches and contaminate shellfish populations, leading to restrictions on human recreation, drinking water consumption and shellfish consumption;
  • Metals, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and arsenic can have acute and chronic toxic effects on species.
  • Other substances such as some pharmaceutical and personal care products, primarily entering the environment in wastewater effluents, may also pose threats to human health, aquatic life and wildlife.

The major aim of wastewater treatment is to remove as much of the suspended solids as possible before the remaining water, called effluent, is discharged back to the environment. As solid material decays, it uses up oxygen, which is needed by the plants and animals living in the water.

“Primary treatment” removes about 60 percent of suspended solids from wastewater. This treatment also involves aerating (stirring up) the wastewater, to put oxygen back in. Secondary treatment removes more than 90 percent of suspended solids.

National Vaccination Day

 The National Vaccination Day, also called the National Immunization Day, is celebrated every year on March 16 to convey the importance of vaccination to the entire nation. The day was first observed in the year 1995, the year on which India started Pulse Polio Programme. This year, the National Vaccination Day is important as the country has started its biggest Covid-19 immunization programme early this year and has already crossed the 30 million mark.

According to the World Health Organization, immunization is a ‘health and development success story. It is the process through which an individual’s immune system becomes fortified against foreign harm causing agent.


The vaccines train a person’s immune system to create antibodies. The vaccines are killed or weakened form of germs like viruses or bacteria that cannot cause disease but make antibodies that will safeguard the body when an active and strong form of the disease attacks the body.


The National Vaccination day started with the aim of curbing Polio plaguing the world. The day was observed to better awareness about the disease and how it can be eradicated from the planet. About 172 million children are immunized during each National Immunization Day, said the website of the National Health Programme.


Under the Pulse Polio Programme, two drops of the oral vaccine were given to all children younger than five years of age. The programme worked effectively as on 27 March 2014, India was certified as a polio-free country along with 11 other countries of the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organisation (WHO). These countries were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Thailand. In India, the last case of polio patients was reported on 13 January 2011. Since then, vaccine has become an important preventive mechanism for difficult diseases like Tetanus, TB, DPT, Measles, Rotavirus, Mumps, etc. and even the coronavirus.

Rights of Married Women in India

 Today, in a world that is increasingly becoming more well-connected and informed, women seem to be left behind as they are often denied the same access and privilege of information that men have. As a consequence, many women are trapped in situations wherein knowing their legal rights would aid them to overcome their difficulties. Hence, all women, especially married women, must know the rights that they have to prevent their own exploitation.

First and foremost, a wife has the legal right to live in the matrimonial house, even after the husband dies. Even if the house is not owned by the husband, belongs to his parents, or is a rented apartment. In case of separation, she can stay at the marital house until an alternative is arranged for her or she goes to her parental house. There isn’t any directive in the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955 that a married woman cannot stay at her parental house. She can lawfully stay, if and when she wants to.

Secondly, according to the 2005 amendment of the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) 1956: a daughter, whether married or not, has equal rights to inherit her father’s property as her brother. A woman has equal legal rights to inherit her husband’s property as other heirs. She can inherit it only if the husband hasn’t prepared a will or hasn’t excluded her from the will. If a husband remarries without dissolving the first marriage, the rights to the property belong to the first wife.

Thirdly, a woman can report domestic violence under the Protection of Women Under Domestic Violence Act (D.V. Act), 2005. This act criminalises physical, emotional, sexual, economical and other forms of ill-treatment. She can claim protection, maintenance, custody, compensation and continue to live in the same house.

Fourth, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 gives a woman full autonomy to abort a child without the permission of the husband. The upper limit of getting a child aborted has been raised to 24 weeks.

Fifth, Section 13 of HMA 1955 gives women the legal rights to file for a divorce without the consent of the husband. The divorce can be filed on the grounds of adultery, cruelty, desertion, thrown out of marital home, mental disorder etc. Section 13B of the Act allows divorce by mutual consent.

Sixth, Section 125 of IPC gives a married woman the legal right to seek maintenance from her husband for a lifetime. If the marriage fails, the HMA of 1955 provides women with the legal rights to claim maintenance of herself and her children from the husband during (interim maintenance) and after divorce (permanent maintenance). The amount of maintenance doesn’t include Stree Dhan and is set up by the court on the basis of the husband’s financial and living status (includes up to 25 percent of it).

Seventh, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 prohibits the dowry system. A woman can report against her parental family or the in-laws for exchanging dowry. Any case of cruelty she faces from her in-laws on account of dowry can be reported under Section 304B and 498A of IPC that criminalises dowry harassment. The Section criminalises the dowry harassment of the bride in the form of cruelty, domestic violence (physical, emotional or sexual harassment), abetment to suicide and dowry death. Marital rape hasn’t been criminalised in India yet, but forced sex can be reported under the Domestic Violence Act and Dowry Harassment.

Lastly, The Guardian and Wards Act of 1890 gives equal custodial rights and duties to both the parents. However, if the child is below five years of age, the mother has superior rights. A woman has the right to take the child along with her while leaving the marital house without any court order. A woman can claim the custody of her children after divorce or separation, regardless of whether she is employed or unemployed. She can always claim maintenance from her husband.

Hence, the law provides more than adequate grounds for women to claim their dignity and be independent in the true sense. It is now society’s job to help them be aware and cognizant of these rights so they can be exercised.

Poverty in the pandemic

Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19, exacerbating the impact of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down poverty reduction, according to the World Bank. The pandemic may push another 88 million to 115 million into extreme poverty or having to live on less than $1.50 per day, resulting in a total of 150 million such individuals, the Bank said in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report.

Some 9.1% to 9.4% of the world will be affected by extreme poverty in 2020, the Bank said, compared to 7.9% in the counterfactual scenario where the pandemic had not raged across the world. Many of the newly poor individuals will be from countries that already have high poverty rates while many in middle income countries (MICs) will slip below the poverty line, as per the report. Some 82% of the total will be in MICs.

Sub-Saharan Africa, with 27-40 million new poor, and South Asia, with 49-57 million new poor, will be badly hit as per the Bank’s projections. According to it, in order to reverse this serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labour, skills, and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors. 

As the Indian government decided not to release the 2017-18 All India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the 75th Round, there is an “important gap in understanding poverty in South Asia”, the report said. Consequently, the Bank has estimated India’s poverty numbers for 2017 based on “strong assumptions”, resulting in “considerable uncertainties”. In fact, a number of results in the report are incomplete, or uncertain because of the lack of data from India which, as per the report, accounted for 139 million of the 689 million people living in poverty in 2017.

Consequently, there’s also a clear need for a range of social safety-net policies. These already exist in many developing countries, but their coverage and funding needs to be expanded substantially. Such policies include cash transfer programmes, universal one-off cash payments, in-kind food/vouchers, school feeding schemes and public works programmes.

In middle-income developing countries, these are funded by the national government, whereas in low-income countries, these are often co-funded by donors. Any set of policies should also incorporate “pay to stay home” or “pay to get tested” schemes.

Looking further ahead, the poverty impacts beyond 2020 are closely related to if or when an effective vaccine is developed. Even if we take the best-case scenario and a vaccine is discovered later this year, it’s uncertain how long it would take to reach the entire global population. It could take years.

There is no guarantee developing countries would get access to the vaccine at a reasonable cost, or if everyone in developing countries would get the vaccine for free. We could end up living in a new COVID-19 apartheid, with the vaccinated and non-vaccinated residing in separate areas and working in different labour markets. This is a startling but very real possibility that no one is talking about much yet.

While this might sound far off, there are already some countries — such as Chile — issuing “immunity passports”. Such passports might determine what work people can do by determining where they can go. This could leave the poorest without access to earning opportunities or only with lower-income opportunities if their movement is restricted. The crisis is increasingly looking like a long crisis. If so, it will have repercussions on global poverty for years to come.The Conversation

Right to Life

Article 21, or the Right to Life, says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This article protects the right of life and personal liberty not only from executive action but also from the legislative action. This right extends to citizens as well as non-citizens.

The Supreme Court has held that Part III of the constitution should be given widest possible interpretation and a fundamental right is not necessarily that one, which is specified in an article. Even if it is not specified in an article, but if it is integral part of a named fundamental right or partakes the same basic nature and character as that of a fundamental right.


The interpretation of the Article 21 by the Supreme Court has opened a new chapter of human rights jurisprudence. In several cases, the court has held the following as implied fundamental rights, though not all of them have been specifically mentioned. These all are called Implied Fundamental Rights.


  1. Right to Speedy Trial
  2. Right to Travel Abroad
  3. Right to Dignity
  4. Right to Privacy
  5. Right to Clean Environment
  6. Right to Livelihood
  7. Right to marriage
  8. Right against torture
  9. Right against Bondage
  10. Right to legal aid
  11. Right to Food

In the same way, Supreme Court has also held that Freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1) includes the right to know, right to information and right to reply. It must be noted here that


  • Right to life does not include Right to Die or Right to get killed i.e. mercy killing.
  • Capital Punishment has not been held violative of Article 14, 19 and 21
  • Hanging as a mode of execution is also fair and just as per supreme court.
  • The Supreme Court has held that right to live also include Right to live with dignity.
Procedure established by law versus due process of law

This article in the original drafted constitution used the words “no person is to be deprived of his life or liberty without due process of law”. The drafting committee changed it to “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law” giving the reason that liberty should be qualified by the word personal, so that unnecessary interpretation may be avoided. The expression “Procedure established by law” is more definite phrase and this phrase finds the place in the Japanese Constitution of 1946. It implies that life and personal liberty of a person cannot be encroached upon arbitrarily without the proper sanction and provision of law.

Rape as violation of right to life

Right to life includes the right to live with human dignity. Women also have the right to life and liberty. Their honour and dignity cannot be outraged or violated. They also have the right to lead an honourable and peaceful life. In Bodhisattawa Gautham v. Subhira Chakroborthy, it was held that rape is a crime not only against the person, but also against the entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of a woman and pushes her into deep emotional crisis. It is crime again basic human rights and it violates right to life.

Ecological Footprint

 EF Two researchers in Canada, Rees and Wackernagel, first published a book on ecological footprints and their calculation in 1996. Since then, the concept has become widely accepted with many web site calculators designed to help you measure your footprint. EF is a model used to estimate the demands that human populations place on the environment. The measure takes into account the area of land and water required to provide all the resources needed by the population, and the assimilation of all wastes. 

Where the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an indication of unsustainability as the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the population. EFs may vary significantly from country to country and person to person and include aspects such as lifestyle choices (EVS), productivity of food production systems, land use and industry. In 2012 it was calculated that the EF of all people on Earth was equivalent to 1.5 Earths or 2.7 global hectares (gha) per person. So humanity would take 18 months to regenerate one year’s worth of resources that we use. 

We are in ecological overshoot and have been since the 1970s in that our annual demand on the natural world exceeds what it can supply. Some countries with the biggest ecological footprints are Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Denmark and the USA; and some countries with the smallest ecological footprints are Timor Leste, Afghanistan, Haiti, Eritrea and Bangladesh. 

A person’s personal ecological footprint is known as earthshare. A fair earthshare is the amount of land each person would get if all the ecologically productive land on the earth was divided amongst its population. On average, a Canadian’s ecological footprint is 7.8 hectares or approximately the size of 15 football fields. Only the United States and Australia have larger footprints at 10.3 and 9.0 hectares respectively. To compare, the average person in India has a footprint 010,8 hectares, China 1.6. In the United Kingdom it is 5.2, in Germany 5.3 and in Switzerland 5.1 hectares. 

In 2008, if we all shared equally, there would have been 1.8 hectares available per person or 1.3 if you do not include productive marine areas. Clearly, we are living beyond the Earth’s ability to provide for our consumption. The ecological footprint of a country depends on several factors: its population size and consumption per capita — how many people and how much land each one uses. It includes the cropland and other land that is needed to grow food, grow bionics, graze animals for meat, produce wood, dig up minerals and the area of land needed to absorb wastes, not just solid waste but waste water, sewage and carbon dioxide. 

The WWF Living Planet Report 2006 attempts to show countries as either ecological debtors or creditors. The creditors have smaller footprints than their biocapacity (living capacity or natural resources) and the debtors have larger footprints. Debtors could be harvesting resources unsustainably in their countries, importing goods or exporting wastes. There is no such thing as ‘throwing away’ on the earth. There is no ‘away’ in a closed system. This is why fair resource distribution across countries and the people within countries is so important – we need to ensure that no resources are wasted in the developed countries that can be sustainably used in other parts of the world, so as to make the world more equal and also not increase the global ecological footprint.

Vaccine Passports

Vaccine passports are digital documents that are supposed to function as proof that the holder has been vaccinated against Covid-19 and is, therefore, ‘safe.’ The idea is modelled on the proof of vaccination that several countries required even before the pandemic – travelers from many African countries to the US or India are required to submit proof that they have been vaccinated against diseases such as yellow fever. Another key function that vaccine passports will perform is that of digitizing vaccination records across countries. 

Last month, Israel became the first country to introduce a certification system that allows those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 to access certain facilities and events. Vaccination against the novel coronavirus has been considered to be the inflection point at which life would start to get back to normal. Israel’s “vaccine passport” is meant for public facilities such as restaurants, gyms, and hotels in the country — but certification of this kind has a bearing on the full resumption of international air travel as well. 

In addition to those like the ones issued by the Israeli government, several associations and non-profits have been issuing their own versions for international travel. The International Air Transport Association — the global trade body representing airlines — is developing an app called IATA Travel Pass that will provide airlines and other aviation industry stakeholders with a common platform to check for the proof of vaccination and its validity. Non-profit Commons Project has been trying out an app called CommonPass, which contains a passenger’s vaccination record. 

The primary benefit will be to the tourism and the hospitality industries, which are both seen as being at the heart of Covid-19 spread and are the worst hit by the pandemic. This includes international air travel, which suffered massively because of the outbreak. However, a major difficulty in implementation will be the lack of uniformity across jurisdictions in requirement and issuance of proofs of vaccination, and the fact that no common vaccine passport has been designed yet.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) opposed the introduction of Covid-19 vaccination proofs as a requirement for international travel, ‘given that there are still critical unknowns regarding the efficacy of vaccination in reducing transmission.’ It also said that preferential vaccination of travelers could result in inadequate supplies of vaccines for priority populations considered at high risk of severe Covid-19 disease, and that the introduction of a requirement of vaccination as a condition for travel has the potential to hinder equitable global access to a limited vaccine supply and would be unlikely to maximize the benefits of vaccination for individual societies and overall global health. In addition, several experts have raised privacy concerns as there is a possibility that the passports would be used by authorities to track the movement of their holders.

Legal Status of same-sex marriage in India

All same-sex relationships were criminalized until the Supreme Court verdict of 2018 that decriminalized them. This was recognized as an important step towards social equality and to help the LGBTQ community achieve justice. However, it was only the beginning, and there are still areas wherein same-sex couples struggle to find legal recognition where heterosexual couples easily do.

The most important one of these areas is marriage and all the privileges that come with it. Despite that landmark judgment, same sex couples’ relationships have no legal status—making it difficult to transfer property rights, make medical decisions for each other in case one is incapacitated or, in short, enjoy rights heterosexual married couples in India take for granted.

 Lack of legal recognition made many of the aspects of normalizing same-sex relationships increasingly difficult in bureaucracy-laden India. From refusals by banks to let them open a joint account to having a hard time establishing permanent addresses together. 

There have been petitions in the Supreme Court to legally recognize same-sex marriage so gay and lesbian couples can get what is due to them. However, the current central NDA government has opposed them in court stating that the Indian ‘family unit’ involves a man and a woman, a traditional order that cannot be violated. 

Many activists, and rightly so, have called the central government out for their homophobia, because archaic notions of what a traditional family is cannot be used to justify any social inequality, let alone homophobia. Today, we should stand in solidarity with LGBTQ activists and spread awareness about their community’s issues to contribute to achieving to social equality.

Multiple Nuclei Theory

 Multiple nuclei model of 1945 by C.D. Harris and Edward L. Ullman is based on the argument that the cities have multiple growth points or “nuclei” around which growth take place. This model was given in an article by them “The Nature of Cities”. This model is based on the structure of Chicago just like the Burgess model or Concentric zone model of 1925. It can be considered as an attempt to explain the structure of the city taking into account the complexity and growth over time. Harris and Ullman argued that a city might start with a single central business district (CBD), but over the time the activities scatter and gets modified. The scattered activities attract people from surrounding areas and act as smaller nuclei in itself. These small nuclei gain importance and grow in size and start influencing the growth of activities around them. The basic assumption of this theory is that “cities are not homocentric” but they rather have many mini centres which play a significant role in the development of a city. These mini centres originally developed independently with the specialized advantages that they offered or similar activities clustering in these areas. 

The need for this model was to provide a more realistic explanation of the cities. The influence of cars on personal travel and greater movement of goods offered opportunity in different places instead of concentrating all economic activities in one place. People started optimizing their business for maximum profit by locating at a different place and bringing down their rent with a slight increase in transportation cost. Whereas some activities like industrial areas create pollution and are thus preferred to be located away from residential areas. This model is considered to be more suitable for cities which are large and expanding.

Assumptions for Multiple Nuclei Model 

  • The land is not flat – This provides a more practical application of the multiple nuclei model and is an improvement over the Burgess model. It is difficult to find flat land for big cities, and the terrain features affects the activities, development and direction of growth of an urban area. 
  • Even distribution of resources – Resources are evenly distributed within the city, no one enjoys privileges or have exclusive access to resources. 
  • Even distribution of people in residential areas – People are distributed homogeneously and not concentrated in a particular area or pocket. This is essential as an unevenly distributed population has a direct impact on markets. 
  • Even transportation cost – Transportation cost is even in the city and not influenced by location. 
  • Profit maximization – A particular activity will locate itself where maximum profit can be earned. For this, a different combination of rent, transportation costs, labor cost, proximity to market may be tried, and the combination which yields the best result gives the final location for the activity. This location also takes into account the restrictions over the activity and the need to be separated from other non compatible activities such as locating residential areas away from industrial, locating large industries with more accessibility to reduce transportation cost and to ease the movement of goods.

                                                                 Multiple nuclei model 

Multiple nuclei theory is further divided into nine major areas. 

1) Central Business District 

2) Wholesale or light manufacturing 

3) Low income residential 

4) Medium income residential 

5) High income residential 

6) Heavy industry 

7) Outlying business district 

8) Residential suburb (Suburb – an outlying part of a city or town) 

9) Industrial suburb 

Limitations and criticism of the Multiple Nuclei Model

Multiple nuclei model was considered much better than the previous simple models which attempted to explain the structure of urban areas. However, this model also had its limitations and could not be applied to many cities and did not entirely explain the structure of urban areas. Formation of well-defined zones or “nuclei” required the considerable size of the city as the small or new towns do not have a very well defined location because of which they are usually scattered. Another drawback is the limited activities which are considered in the model along with the very rigid and specific boundaries of the activities. Some other disadvantages include: 

  • Negligence of the height of buildings. 
  • Non-existence of abrupt divisions between zones. 
  • Each zone displays a significant degree of internal heterogeneity and not homogeneity. 
  • Unawareness of inertia forces. 
  • No consideration of the influence of physical relief and government policy. 
  • The concepts may not apply to Asian cities with different cultural, economic and political backgrounds.


The Ozone Hole

Ozone is a reactive gas mostly found in the so-called ozone layer in the lower stratosphere. The highest ozone concentrations are usually seen at altitudes between 20 and 40 km (at the poles between 15 and 20 km). But it is a very thin layer of about 1-10 ppm (parts per million) ozone. In both the formation and the destruction of ozone, UV radiation is absorbed. Under the influence of UV radiation, oxygen molecules are split into oxygen atoms. The adsorption of UV radiation by the ozone layer is crucial, for without it, life on land would be impossible. 

However, over-exposure to UV radiation will have a variety of damaging effects: Genetic mutation and subsequent effects on health, damage to living tissues, Cataract formation in eyes, skin cancers, suppression of the immune system, Damage to photosynthetic organisms, especially phytoplankton, damage to consumers of photosynthetic organisms, especially zooplankton. 

UV radiation can cause mutations — changes in a species’ DNA. This risk is especially high in Australia and New Zealand where the number of cases of skin cancer in humans has increased dramatically. People arc advised to wear clothes on the beach and to use sun blocks to protect their skin. In New Zealand the daily weather report in summer includes isolines to show burn times. 
It also causes cataracts in the lenses of eyes when the protein of the lens denatures and turns cloudy instead of dear, causing blindness if untreated. 

Since the 1950s, scientists have been measuring the amount of ozone in the stratosphere above Antarctica. They discovered what later would be called the ozone hole: the amount of ozone decreased significantly during the spring (September and October) and increased again in November. Apart from this annual ozone cycle, the scientists discovered that the ozone hole was growing. During the last 30 years, the minimum thickness of the ozone layer has reduced drastically and recovery has been taking longer. These results were later confirmed by NASA satellite data. Reductions in the amount of stratospheric ozone have been observed in other areas including the arctic region.
Ozone is depleted because of human-made substances called Ozone-depleting substances (ODS), like chlorofluorocarbons and methyl bromide in pesticides. While replacing CFCs in spray cans and as blowing agents for plastic foam is relatively easy, it is much more difficult to find a suitable refrigerant. The refrigerants used before the introduction of CFCs are not an option because of their dangerous properties. The most suitable CPC replacements are the so-called hydrochlorofluorocarbons (IICFCs). These substances are nearly as good as refrigerants as CFCs and are also non-toxic and inflammable. However, HCFCs also destroy ozone and they contribute to the greenhouse effect. Only their shorter lifetime in the atmosphere makes them less harmful to the ozone layer than CFCs. 

The Montreal Protocol was an international agreement at the UNEP deciding to regulate the use of CFCs, and it succeeded to a great degree as their usage has decreased since the late 80s, partly because it was the first universally ratified international agreement. More international cooperation to battle threats like the thinning of the ozone layer is the need of the hour.