This blog post examines the impact of rapid urbanization on the environment and explores sustainable development solutions to address it. We consider the balance between environmental protection and urban development.
Thanks to the advancement of highly developed science and technology, humanity now lives with unprecedented comfort and convenience. The days of the so-called “fear of wild beasts” are long gone. At least in our surroundings, no one lives in constant fear of attacks by wild beasts or lives in constant vigilance against them. Smallpox was declared a disease eradicated worldwide as early as 1979. Thanks to weapons developed alongside technology, humans now live at the top of the ecological pyramid without natural predators. Driven by medical advances, we are moving toward an era where the average lifespan reaches 100 years.
Building upon advanced technology, humans created the system of cities for comfortable living. In cities, humans pave land to build roads and cut down mountains to construct buildings. They drive cars and produce necessary goods in factories. Cities, built by humans gathering together, have become a global trend due to their comfort and appeal, which in turn draws more people. With the rapid pace of urbanization, the UN predicts that by 2025, over two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. As cities become overcrowded, they can no longer be self-sufficient in resources and energy, relying instead on supplies from non-urban areas to sustain themselves.
From the Earth’s perspective, the urban space is highly abnormal. Soil lies buried beneath asphalt and concrete, and water is confined. Only individuals of the human species inhabit it in overwhelming numbers. Unable to obtain sufficient food, goods, and energy from their own land, they bring these resources from non-urban areas to consume. Yet humans perceive cities as the embodiment of humanity’s scientific civilization. Skyscrapers, as the culmination of advanced construction technology, have become objects symbolizing high growth. Every major global city now boasts at least one famous skyscraper. Cities densely packed with high-rises consume enormous amounts of energy every moment to sustain their vitality. Despite this, humans continue to steadily expand the city’s boundaries.
Compared to societies before scientific and technological advancement, humans undoubtedly live more affluent lives. In countless fields—transportation, communications, construction, medicine, too numerous to list individually—modern people enjoy things even royalty 500 years ago could not have experienced. However, what is crucial is realizing that continuously expanding human territory into nature is not growth. In ‘Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature’, the author uses the modern history of the small South Pacific island of Nauru to illustrate that reckless growth is not progress at all. Instead, its harm will return to humanity like a boomerang. Only when we recognize the folly of ecological destruction and unrestrained resource consumption will our actions change and the environment become sustainable.
Nauru maintained a population of around a thousand people for two thousand years, developing its own unique sustainable culture. They subsisted on easily accessible fish and tropical fruits like native coconuts and pandanus. Unless facing severe drought, there were no difficulties sustaining their livelihood, so festivals, songs, dances, sports, games, conversations, and simple social activities flourished. Of course, the Nauruans weren’t without their everyday disputes, but living on a small island, they didn’t attempt to resolve conflicts through destructive acts like war. The reason people lived on small islands in the South Pacific before Western influence reached them wasn’t because they were tropical paradises, but because they were places where sustainable habitation was possible.
However, in 1899, the discovery of millions of tons of high-quality phosphate rock essential for agriculture on Nauru Island prompted Western powers to covet the island’s vast mineral resources. Subsequently, through European imperialism and the two world wars, Nauru became a German colony, its indigenous people were forcibly displaced by Japan, and it was placed under United Nations trusteeship. Over sixty years of mining under foreign occupation and subsequent trusteeship devastated more than a third of the island. The destruction extended beyond the land itself; Nauru’s culture was also eroded. During these sixty years of foreign influence, Western culture naturally took root, and the island embraced capitalism, becoming dependent on its mineral resources. After gaining independence in 1968, Nauru accumulated wealth by mining its mineral resources in the same way that had become ingrained. In return, it gained a devastated island and diseases like obesity and diabetes. The old Nauruan proverb, “Tomorrow will take care of itself,” no longer holds true when considering the mineral resources, now nearly depleted after over a century of mining.
Living within nature’s limits—hunting and gathering wild fruits only what could be consumed without greed, within a short timeframe—enabled a sustainable life where tomorrow truly took care of itself. In this environment, the Nauruans developed their unique culture and thrived for two thousand years. However, as they pursued greater wealth by mining mineral resources, the natural environment was damaged, and biodiversity declined due to habitat destruction. Most of the native plants that sustained the Nauruans’ sustainable way of life have become extinct on Nauru. Nine of the 17 species of pandanus are now extinct, and as the remaining areas are mined, other varieties face extinction. A sustainable life is no longer possible.
Observing the plight of the Nauruans, one might conclude that they sold their mineral resources for wealth, yet failed to secure their future with that wealth, and that their peril stems from their own folly. Indeed, a fund was established, but its management failed during the mid-1990s Asian financial crisis. However, the Nauruans neither brought the Europeans to the island nor created the market economy system that drove its development. The tragedy of Nauru stemmed from Europeans simply disregarding the indigenous culture and destroying the natural environment for profit.
The method that caused the tragedy of Nauru is, unfortunately, a common practice we can easily observe in many parts of the world today. We excavate underground resources everywhere to obtain energy or materials for products, and to do so efficiently, we destroy the surrounding environment. The systems of the society we live in have become unsustainable without destroying the environment and ecosystems. To build new roads, houses, shopping malls, schools, factories, and more, we destroy the environment, disrupting ecosystems. Expanding cities symbolize the advancement of scientific and technological civilization, and we take pride in humanity’s growing footprint. We construct roads, build dams, and reclaim seas and tidal flats for convenience. Yet, we rarely give serious consideration to the environmental impact of these actions. We judge solely based on cost and benefit.
Humanity must clearly learn lessons from the history this small island endured. The people of Nauru can leave their ruined island. They are not cut off from the outside world as they were during the era of sustainable living. Moreover, they can survive without necessarily leaving the island. They can import necessary goods from the outside. However, if we replace Nauru with Earth, we cannot leave the planet, nor can we bring in necessities from beyond Earth. Ultimately, like the people of Nauru in the past, we must build a sustainable system to live without worrying about tomorrow.
This does not mean we should abandon the science and technology we have developed. Rather, the direction in which we use advanced science and technology must shift. It should no longer be about destroying the environment and expanding human territory, but about protecting the environment and maintaining ecosystems so that nature and humans can coexist. Of course, changing the current system overnight is impossible, so we will still extract resources and build cities and dams. However, if we recognize the problem and desire change, research into constructing energy-efficient buildings will be valued more than research into building skyscrapers. Research into renewable energy will be valued more than research into efficiently developing underground resources. And systems that are smaller and more decentralized will be built, rather than the current system of gigantism and high density.
Improvements toward sustainable development cannot be expected from the existing capitalist perspective focused on costs and benefits. Environmental problems approached through a capitalist lens can only predict outcomes like the tragedy of the commons. Environmental issues are not about efficiency but about necessity. To secure humanity’s future, we must spur research into renewable energy, minimize pollution of forests, rivers, and seas, and strive to preserve ecosystems. We must move away from inefficient systems that demand high energy through gigantism and centralization, instead aiming for miniaturization and decentralization. These efforts must be recognized as necessary and undertaken not only by individuals and small groups but through a global consensus; only when everyone joins forces can a more realistic approach be possible. Preserving the natural environment cannot be achieved merely by a few shouting slogans. On a large scale, national-level funds must be established, and regulations and conventions must be effectively implemented. On a smaller scale, each individual must recognize the severity of the problem, consider the environment, and conserve resources.
Development that builds skyscrapers and constructs cities as dense forests of buildings is far removed from sustainable living. Nature’s capacity to sustain is finite. Only when we move away from massive, centralized systems that exceed nature’s limits and instead build smaller, decentralized systems scaled to what nature can bear will we lessen our worries about tomorrow. Through the history of Nauru Island, we realize that wisdom is needed—wisdom that values leisure and the future over immediate convenience and material gain. We must move toward coexistence and sustainability, considering the environment and nature, rather than the direction of development and growth we currently pursue through advanced science and technology.
