1.7 Urbanisation Flashcards
identify and suggest reasons for rapid urban growth
Physical:
- Water and food always available
Social:
- More people
- More entertainment options
- More services, e.g. shops, schools, hospitals
- Electricity
Economic:
- More job opportunities
- Better paid salaries
- Industries, TNCs
describe impacts of urban growth on both rural and urban areas, along with possible solutions to reduce the negative impacts
Urban positive:
- More workers, usually cheap and young labour
- Develop economy (more people spending and earning money)
Urban negative:
- Sometimes unskilled workers come
- Overcrowding
- Pressure on resources, services, housing
- Social problems (crime, drugs, anti-social behaviour)
- Congestion, waste disposal, pollution
- Young people - even quicker population growth
Rural positive:
- More people producing food, helps country
- More workers
- Encourages rural-urban migration (good and bad)
Rural negative:
- Unskilled workers
- Young, skilled leave to city, ageing population (economic stagnation, services decline (no customers))
- Young boys may have to work on the farm instead of going to school as the men usually leave to the city
- Most food in LEDCs come from its rural areas so less people there means less food produced
Solutions:
- Improve economy in rural areas
- Increase (sustainable) food production in farm
- Improve rural standard of living (clean water, sanitation, waste disposal, electricity)
- Improve communication (allow rural people to keep in touch with developments and exchange of goods, info)
- Improve life in cities, jobs available
case study
a rapidly growing urban area in a developing country and migration to it
North East (Sertão) to the Gold Triangle (Rio, SP, BH)
Key facts:
- Rio 6.5 million people
- Greater Rio area 11 million people
Some people say Rio isn’t growing fast anymore but the poor part still is
- % of houses with electricity: SE 99% NE 86%
Place names:
- Sertão
- Rocinha
- Barra da Tijuca
- Copacabana, Guanabara, Recife
Causes of migration:
- Mainly related to jobs: loss of farming jobs in NE, new industrial jobs in factories such as Volvo)
Problems in a rapidly growing city:
- Shortage of housing, overcrowding, growth of favelas on edge of city
- City expanding (urban sprawl) as new favelas grow
- Very long journeys to work
- Housing built in margins areas (dangerous/unsuitable areas) e.g. hillsides, swamps
- Social problems: crime, drugs
- Health issues: poor sanitation, spread of diseases, polluted rivers and bays (Guanabara Bay)
- Inequality, rich liver near CBD and nice beaches (Copacabana), and poor live in favelas
- Rich live in secure gated communities so alienated from city
- Transport system can’t cope with no. of people
- Congestion stress, air/noise/water/visual pollution
Housing solutions:
- Slum clearance: remove by force, drop somewhere else
- Self-help: provide building materials
- Government schemes: government does it instead of people
- Create new towns outside of main city
- Re-build whole area
- Improve life in countryside
