Increasing urbanization is a process long observed in all regions of the world. The urban population is growing much faster than the number of people in rural areas: since 2000, the urban population has expanded by 53%, whereas the rural population by 4%. At present, over half of all the people in the world live in urban areas, while in the 1950s it was one third of the global population. Northern America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, major parts of whose populations live in cities, are the most urbanized regions in the world. The least urbanized regions, on the other hand, are Africa (43% of whose population live in cities) and Asia (50%).

Living in a city does not always guarantee good living conditions. It is estimated that over a billion people (almost a quarter of the global urban population) live in slums or informal settlements, and their number has increased by almost 200 million since the beginning of the millennium. This is mainly the problem of developing countries in Africa (and especially its sub-Saharan part, where 56% of the urban population are slum dwellers), Asia (30%), Oceania (23%) and Latin America (20%). One of the largest slums in the world is a part of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It is estimated that the favelas (districts of poverty) in that city are inhabited by about 1.5 million people, which is almost a quarter of all inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro.

Percentage of city residents (%)

Air pollution is also one of the largest problems faced by Polish cities. According to the WHO, 36 of the 100 most polluted cities in the EU are in Poland. Poland is also among those EU countries where PM levels are the highest. Even though PM air pollution has decreased in that country since the beginning of the decade (PM2.5 to 24.30 µg/m³ and PM10 to 33.20 µg/m³), it remains considerably over the level recommended by the WHO, and also above the EU average (13.80 µg/m³ and 21.60 µg/m³). As regards the average mid-year level of benzopyrene in the Polish air, it has also been much higher than in the majority of EU countries. While most of them keep the level of this pollutant below the maximum recommended by the EU (1 µg/m³), in Poland for many years it has fluctuated around 5 times the EU-recommended level (4.80 µg/m³ at present, and 5.77 µg/m³ in 2010). High levels of benzopyrene in the Polish air result from the widespread use of coal stoves and boilers Polish households. The so called ‘low’ emission caused by households constitute 87% of the total benzopyrene emissions in Poland.

Exposure to air pollution by particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10 (μg/m³)

Annual limit value in the EU Air Quality Directive (PM2.5 - 25 μg/m³; PM10 – 40 μg/m³)

Another source of air pollution is transportation, and more specifically, road transport. Over 70% of all transport-induced emissions of greenhouse gases come from cars, delivery cars, lorries and buses. Sea and air transport are the main sources of the remaining 30% of all transport-induced air pollution. Both in Poland and other EU countries, cars are the most popular means of transport, chosen by 79% of passengers (Poland) and 83% (EU), which in both cases is slightly more than in 2010. Over 20% of Polish passengers use buses and trains (compared to less than 17% in the EU). Compared to 2010, buses have become a less popular means of transport in Poland than they were at the beginning of the decade. Now buses are chosen by 13% of Polish passengers, while in 2010 they were used by 17%. Almost 8% of Poles presently use trains as a main means of transport, which is slightly more than in 2010 (7%). Similar trends might be observed in the EU.

Modal split of passenger transport (%)

Excessive exposure to noise is a big problem in urban areas, and the WHO believes it to be nowadays one of the main environmental threats. Over 17% of inhabitants of Polish cities complain about the noise from neighbours or from the street, whereas in the case of towns and suburbs it is 14% (in both cases these figures are slightly lower than in 2010, when they stood at 21% and 16%, respectively). In rural areas, on the other hand, excessive noise is reported by 8% of dwellers. Exposure to noise in urban areas in Poland is lower than the EU average, where over 24% of the city population and 17% of people living in towns and suburbs complain about it.

Noise from neighbours or from the street by degree of urbanisation (%)

Urban areas are the source of most municipal waste (which constitute 10% of all the waste in Poland). For a few years now, the amount of municipal waste has been gradually growing in this country, presently exceeding the 2010 level by 4% (in EU the amount of municipal waste has fallen by 1% in the same period). The average inhabitant of Poland produces 329 kg of municipal waste a year (almost 1 kg a day), which is 13 kg more than in 2010. Still, Poles generate less municipal waste than the EU average (489 kg per inhabitant a year, or 1.34 kg a day). The main source of municipal waste are households, which account for 84% of its total amount (in 2010 it was less than 70%). The rest of municipal waste is generated by e.g. municipal services, trade, small business, offices and institutions.

Municipal waste generated per capita (kg)