GEOGRAPHY PAPER 2: CHALLENGES IN THE HUMAN Factors affecting the rate of urbanisation – migration (push–
ENVIRONMENT pull theory), natural increase.
SECTION A: URBAN ISSUES & CHALLENGES Urbanisation is increasing due to 2 main factors:
The global pattern of urban change. 1) RURAL TO URBAN MIGRATION: The movement of people from
Urban trends in different parts of the world including HICs and the countryside to cities. The reason this happens is due to ‘PUSH’
LICs. (things encouraging to LEAVE an area) & ‘PULL’ factors (things
URBANISATION: The growth in the proportion of a country’s encouraging to MOVE TO an area):
population that are living in urban areas. PUSH PULL
- The world population is rapidly increasing. In 1804 doubled to 1 - Lack of jobs/low income - Job opportunities with higher
billion in 300 years. By 1999 it had doubled from 3 billion to 6 - Farming is hard & poorly wages
billion in just 39 years. paid - Better infrastructure (access to
- Poor healthcare electricity, water, transport,
- Generally, the world is getting more urbanised as more than 50%
- War/natural disasters housing)
of the population (4.4 billion) are living in urban areas and this is - Access to education
expected to grow further. 2) NATURAL INCREASE: When the birth rate is higher than the
- HIC’s are economically developed so urbanisation happened death rate, causing the population in an urban area to grow
earlier than in LIC’s & NEE’s eg in industrial revolution. Thus many further.
people in HIC’s already migrated and are living in urban areas for - When young people move to cities for work, they have children
better quality of life. there, so a higher proportion of the population is in cities.
- Eventually HIC’S move away from industry and move into tertiary - Better healthcare in cities mean people live for longer, increasing
sector slowing down urbanisation rates and even declining them the proportion of people in urban areas (urbanisation).
as people migrate away from overcrowded cities to rural areas. The emergence of megacities.
This is also possible good transport & communication networks - High rates of urban growth causes increase in migration &
mean they can commute to work. natural increase leading to the emergence of MEGACITIES. This is
- Secondary industry is moved to NEE’s & LIC’s to take advantage a city with over 10 million people (eg Mumbai, London, Tokyo,
of cheap workforce, tax breaks & government incentives leading to Shanghai).
the increase in industrial growth in these areas pulling people to - There are around 34 megacities in the world, 2/3 of which in
move in cities in hope of better life and employment. This LIC’S & NEE’S. By 2030, many more megacities are expected to
increases urbanisation in LIC’s & NEE’s. emerge from Asia/Africa.
- Rate of urbanisation is fastest in LIC’S due to the high birth rate
and people move to urban areas. This can create slums.
, CASE STUDY – RIO DE JANEIRO how urban growth has created opportunities: SOCIAL: access
A case study of a major city in an LIC/NEE to illustrate: the to services – health & education; access to resources – water
location & importance of the city, regionally, nationally & supply, energy + ECONOMIC: how urban industrial areas can
internationally be a stimulus for economic development
Rio is located on the east of Brazil’s Atlantic Coast OPPORTUNITES OF URBAN GROWTH IN RIO
It is important on 3 scales: SOCIAL: 1) EDUCATION: More schools, colleges & uni’s compared
1) REGIONALLY: Rios importance with nearby cities/towns: to other areas in Brazil. Free & mandatory education for children
- Provides access to jobs, healthcare & education causing ages 7-14. This creates a more skilled workforce for industries like
migration from nearby rural areas finance/tourism
- Supports agriculture & trade of regional industries by it’s port & - ‘schools of tomorrow’ programme aims to improve quality of
highways education in favelas
2) NATIONALLY: Rio’s importance in Brazil: - Free childcare for parents/teens so they can return to education
- Contributes to Brazil’s economy through industries like oil- 2) HEALTH: Urban growth has led to an increase in hospitals &
refineries, manufacturing & tourism clinics, increasing life expectancy. Projects to bring healthcare
- Rio is Brazil’s cultural centre hosting carnivals & has iconic facilities to favelas.
landmarks like the ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue. 3) WATER SUPPLY: 95% of population has access to clean water
-Ports & airports facilitating travel & trade due to improved 300km of pipelines and 7 water treatment plants.
3) INTERNATIONALLY: Rio’s importance in the world (global): Projects have even extended it to favelas. This decreases water-
- Attracts 5 million tourists a year borne diseases.
- Hosted 2014 FIFA World Cup & 2016 Olympics 4) ENERGY: 99% of Rio’s population have access to electricity,
- Main exports of oil, coffee & iron ore even connecting areas of informal settlements. This improves
causes of growth: natural increase and migration living standards, is used by schools & healthcare and enables
Rio is the 2nd most populated city in Brazil with a population of 6 industrial growth making more job opportunities.
million. Rio has been rapidly growing over the last 50 years. This ECONOMIC: 1) Increased tourism & industry creating jobs which
urban growth is caused by: leads to the multiplier effect
1) MIGRATION: The advancement of infrastructure in Rio has led 2) More industries mean more tax. This can be used to improve Rio
to many people migrating to it in search of job opportunities. They & its services more. This pulls more people so more workforce.
mainly come from other areas of Brazil & South America. 3) The main industries in Rio are port exports, oil refineries,
2) NATURAL INCREASE: Rio has a mainly young population so construction & steel.
when they have children, the population naturally grows. Also, 4) Rio has become richer due to its large population, being the 2 nd
better healthcare increases life expectancy, increasing pop. major financial centre in Brazil and due to its port
,how urban growth has created challenges: SANITATION: Wastewater & sewage is usually dumped in open
1) managing urban growth – slums, squatter settlements rivers such as in Guanabara Bay which is often heavily polluted
- Rio generally has very good service. However, the rapid urban with sewage and waste.
growth has caused many challenges to arise to increase services - Dirty communal toilets spread disease.
to increased population. This has led to squatter settlements. - Lack of proper waste collection system – waste is usually
- A SQUATTER SETTLEMENT is an area of low-quality housing built dumped on streets – disease can spread
illegally in or around a city. These are known as FAVELAS in Rio 3) providing access to services – health and education
and happen due to: 1) A lack of proper housing, so people HEALTH: The unclean conditions & lack of access to medical
migrating in have to live in slums health mean people have poor health and low life expectancy.
2) People migrating in usually can’t afford housing Infant mortality also increases.
- Around 24% of Rio’s population live in favelas. - Favelas lack healthcare facilities
- 95% of homes in favelas are poorly constructed, on steep lands EDUCATION: Many children in favelas earn for their household
on risk of landslides. instead of going to school. This creates low literacy rates of
- Homes are usually made of wood, meaning fires can easily around 50%. Thus, many children end up in gangs and drugs.
spread causing many deaths every year - Schools are usually overcrowded with limited facilities
2) providing clean water, sanitation systems and energy - There is a shortage of qualified teachers.
- Conditions in non-improved favelas are very poor with: 12% 4) reducing unemployment and crime
houses without clean water, 30% without electricity & 50% UNEMPLOYMENT: In favelas unemployment rate is exceeding
without sewage connections. The problem escalates as more 20%. Most jobs are informal street vendors and poorly paid
people migrate in. around £75 a month.
- Many people have to get ELECTRICITY & WATER by illegally - High unemployment rate and informal sector means government
taping into main network which is unsafe (fires) & unreliable don’t get taxes from them.
(blackouts). They are also much more expensive. - Limited access to education in favelas means people can’t get
WATER: There is a lack of access to clean water in many favelas. high paying skilled jobs. This creates a ‘cycle of poverty’
Thus, many people resort to using contaminated water from rivers CRIME: High crime rates in favelas. Gangs and drug-dealers make
which causes waterborne diseases. it unsafe with lack of effective policing.
ENERGY: It is difficult to supply the favelas with electricity as most - In 2016 the ‘Pacifying Police Units’ were set up to deal with areas
are located in hilly terrains. Also, the lack of proper housing and controlled by drug dealers in favelas
the fact that people in favelas usually can’t afford electricity mean 5) managing environmental issues – waste disposal, air and
they are not connected to the main grid. water pollution, traffic congestion.
, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: 1) WASTE DISPOSAL: Lack of proper IMPROVEMENTS:
waste collection causing waste to build up. This can pollute water SOCIAL: 1) Low-cost child day care centres & adult education
and spread disease. It is also harmful to wildlife classes to help them get a job
- Favelas are usually built on hills – hard to set up waste collection 2) Supporting people with drug/alcohol addiction
system. 3) Pacifying Police Unit to reduce crimes
- A power plant set up to use methane gas produced by rubbish to 4) Installation of cable car & free return ticket for residents every
generate electricity. It consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish a day and day
generates electricity for 1000 homes ECONOMIC: 1) 100% mortgage to families to help them buy a
2) AIR POLLUTION: Heavy traffic / inefficient / factories / burning house.
waste & wood lots of harmful fumes & greenhouse gases 2) Increasing tax on rich people to fund favelas
- Air pollution causes 5,000 deaths a year in Rio 3) Training schemes to help people learn new skills to find a job
- ‘Breathe Rio de Janeiro’ project to get cleaner air ENIRONMENTAL: 1) Roads have been improved
3) WATER POLLUTION: Oil spills from refineries & sewage/waste 2) Improvement to sanitation system
dumped into oceans. Guanabara bay is badly polluted due to 3) Weekly rubbish collection in some areas, clean water &
ships emptying fuel tanks in bay & 200 tonnes of sewage pumped electricity
in every day. NEGATIVE: 1) Not every favela was covered- some still in very bad
- To tackle this, fines are put in place for ships illegally dumping conditions
fuel and sewage pipelines laid out using overseas aid. 2) Property values/rents in improved places have increased.
4) TRAFFIC CONGESTION: The hilly geography means most roads 3) Lack of maintenance.
have to be built on coastal lowland, increasing the traffic there. Overview of the distribution of population and the major cities
- Due to overcrowded and unsafe public transport, people prefer in the UK.
to drive by car. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION: Population density is highest in
- Traffic delays business causing economic loss. urban areas such as London (a megacity), Birmingham & around
- To tackle this, the metro has been expanded and toll roads made Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. Belfast & Glasgow also have
to city centre. high population density.
An example of how urban planning is improving the quality of - This is due to their flatter and lower relief making them easy to
life for the urban poor. build on. Also they have a milder climate
FAVELA-BAIRRO PROJECT - Many cities are also built on major coalfields.
- Urban planning schemes help improve quality of life for the - Rural and areas of high relief have a LOWER population density
urban poor. The favela-bairro project is an example of an urban such as in Scotland highlands, due to it’s colder climate & fewer
planning scheme in Rio for people living in the favelas natural resources.
