How does the existence of a large urban population affect each of the following? Illustrate with historical examples.
How does the existence of a large urban population affect each of the following? Illustrate with historical examples.
(a) A private landlord
(b) A Police Superintendent in charge of law and order
(c) A leader of a political party
Answer
(a) A private landlord benefits by increasing the rent and he has more control over the price. The rising population would lead to increasing demand for space, e.g. renting of buildings at high rates were common in London and Bombay.
(b) Anyone involved with law and order would find it difficult with increasing population in urban areas. He would have to work hard to maintain law and order as crime rates are usually high in cities. For example, London people employed policemen to curb the rising crimes during night.
(c) Political leaders would have more people voting and hence more responsibilities. In cities, masses of people could be drawn to the political causes as it happened in the Bloody Sunday of November, 1887 in London. The metropolitan character of cities would compel him/her to be more secular and liberal on the one hand. On the other hand, extremism or conservatism might also win them votes as a reactionary phenomenon, e.g. rise of Nazis in Germany or Liberal Democrats in France.
