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Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow .

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow .

Cities and towns are experiencing massive population growth the world over receiving huge numbers of migrants ever year.
In 1950, urban population accounted for only 29 percent of the world population, according to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). At the turn of the century, the figure had risen to 45 percent. This was enough to declare the Twentieth Century the century of urbanization and city life. Now the figure is projected to hit 70 percent by 2025.
In Africa, urbanization is most intense in Algeria, Tunisia and South Africa, which have more than 50 percent of their population living in urban areas. Generally, cities in the developing world are growing at a rate of 3.5 per cent per annum.
These figures indicate that there is a continuous massive movement of people from rural to urban areas worldwide. Driven by the desire for better living conditions, they flock to cities in droves in search of greener pastures. But, slowly the illusion disappears, and is replaced by harsh realities of urbanism: unemployment or underemployment, crime, poverty, hunger and life in the slums.
To cope with this fast – moving wave of rural flight requires new strategies for urban planning and the use of urban spaces. Thus urban planners, policymakers and governments seek pragmatic and timely ways of addressing this challenge. The process of urbanization transforms land use and farming systems, patterns of labour force participation, infrastructural requirements, and natural resource systems. When cities grow, their population expands, putting a strain on food production.
As a way of easing the food shortage, many urban households, particularly the poor, have taken to growing food on small plots. Today, if you take a walk through some of the residential estates in Nairobi such as Ngara, Eastleigh and Buru Buru, you might be forgiven for thinking that a green revolution is under way. And on the outskirts of the city, green – houses and ponds compete for space with small gardens planted with flowers, vegetables and fruits. Banana plants and palm trees dwarf wrought – iron gates, their green dotting the skyline, Kale, cabbage and maize gardens sprout in the middle of urban squalor. In this unusual rare blend, urban features and rural agrarian patterns are combined in a new form of settlement and one might call ‘garden cities.’
Although it is often not given much attention, urban agriculture is steadily increasing. The practice involves cultivating, processing and distributing food in and around a town or city. It also encompasses an array of activities including horticulture, aquaculture, animal husbandry and bee keeping

a) What are the challenges facing major cities and towns

b) What does the mention of 70% by 2025 reveal?

c) What do we learn about urbanization in Africa from the passage

d) Mention the reason for rural to urban migration

e) How are urban households easing the problems of food shortage?

f) What is meant by the term ‘garden city?’

g) In note form, list the influences of urbanization

h) Urban populations accounted for only 29% of the world population
(Rewrite the statement adding a question tag)

i) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage

i) Illusion

ii) Pragmatic

iii) Squalor

Answers

(a) They are experiencing massive population growth/ 1 and receiving huge number of migrants every year

(b) It reveals that there will be a massive increase in urban population by the year 2025

(c) Urbanization in Africa is mostly intense in Algeria, Tunisia and South Africa which have 50 percent of their population living in urban areas.

(d) The desire to better living conditions in search of greener pastures

(e) Growing food in small plots, green house /½ and small gardens

(f) It refers to many small gardens in urban areas/ cities

(g)

(i) unemployment or underemployment

(ii) Crime

(iii) Poverty and life in slums

(iv) Hunger and strain on food production

(h) didn’t they?

(i) Illusion – belief that is not true

Pragmatic – realistic/ practical/ factional/down to earth

Squalor – filthy environment/ dirty environment.

marto answered the question on September 12, 2019 at 06:00

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