Most people know that cities keeps growing outward, but they don’t think about what that growth does to the land and animals it is affecting. When developers build new neighborhoods and roads , they break apart the forest and fields that various species depend on for food and survival. According to a recent report from Nature World News, the World Wildlife Fund found that there had been a 68% decline in global vertebrate populations since 1970, linking most of that loss to habitat destruction. When construction workers cut up a forest into small areas, the animal stuck in these areas are not able to survive in the long term and many are not able to do anything about it.

The damage does not stop with the surrounding wildlife. Urban sprawl also destroys the soil underneath all that new concrete. Fertile land is on a rapid decline due to deforestations and not managing the surrounding land properly. This all lead to negative effects such as a reduction in food production and farmers needing to rely on chemical fertilizer which can cause a lot of damage over time. Once soil get paved over with concrete, it can’t be used again and that loss sticks around for generations according to Science Times.

The good news is that cities do not have to keep building this way. Some cities are already proving that urban growth and nature can exist together by building wildlife corridors and protecting green space before it disappears. The difficult part is not figuring out what to do; it is getting decision makers to act before there is nothing left to protect.

Sources:
https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/72839/20260403/stopping-wildlife-habitat-loss-beat-deforestation-effects-urban-sprawl-threats.htm
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/61604/20260406/top-10-environmental-problems-facing-world-2026-climate-change-pollution-global-impact.htm