Case Studies Flashcards
High growth rate case study
Niger
Low growth rate case study
Russia
Issue in Niger
- If Niger continues to grow at the rate it is, the government will be unable to provide adequate health, education gobs and water
- Country is landlocked, has a bas climate and soil isn’t arable
Issue in Russia
- Population is severely declining
- Economic problems and high disease rates and overall problems with low population
- Uninhabitable climate, pretty much landlocked
Birth rate changes in Niger
- Population grown from 1.7m in 1960 to 13m in 2008
- Population growth rate is 2.9%
- Fertility rate is 7.1 births per woman
- Children are regarded as economic commodities in a developing country
Birth rate changes in Russia
- Birth rate is 1.1 per woman
- Low immigration, high emigration
- One pensioner for every worker in 20 year’s time
- Highly educated Russian women don’t want a high population
Death rate changes in Niger
- Babies are inoculated to diseases
- Better supply of clean water
- People eat a better diet
- More hospitals and clinics
- better health education
- People have better living conditions
- Women are becoming more educated
Death rate changes in Russia
- Male life expectancy is 59
- High death rate
- Alcohol related deaths are high
- Low life expectancy
- More than a million Russians have AIDS
- Highest death rates in peacetime (previously)
Solutions to Niger
- Government is trying to increase family planning 5-20%
- Plan to launch informative campaigns to educate people
- Raised marriage age from 15 to 18 to take 4 years of reproductive life from women
Solutions to Russia
- Putin is pending oil profits on population problem
- Government has more than doubled child support payments
- Gave benefits for women who want more children
Background of Iceland case study
- Iceland - volcanic island on Mid- Atlantic ridge
- Divergent plate boundary - North American and Eurasian plat move apart 1-5cm per year
- Very volcanic zone - over 100 volcanoes but not all active
- 2010 population - over 300,000 - over 1/3 in capital Reykjavik
Iceland Eruption
- Eyjafjallajökull - Ice-covered stratovolcano in south east - 120km from Reykjavik
- Erupted in March 2010
- Lava ejected several hundred meters into the air
- Lava melted the ice, water flowed into volcano, became steam and explosively increased
- Ash cloud ejected 10-11km into the atmosphere
- Air travel disruption - wind pushed cloud south-east to Europe
- Eruption lasted 6 months - ended October 20th
Primary effects of the Iceland eruption
- 700 evacuated
- Ash deposited on farmland
- Homes damaged
- Respiratory problems and skin irritations around Europe from fine particles
Secondary effects of Iceland eruption
- Flights cancelled - 1000 in one day
- Airlines lost £130m a day
- People stranded abroad
- Livestock taken inside to escape ash
- Flooding as glaciers melted - main road broken to allow flood water to go to sea
- Exporting of fish disrupted
- 2.8m tonnes less of CO2 emitted - reduced flights
- Kenya industry lost $3m a day because they couldn’t export fruit or flowers to Europe
- Train and ferry businesses profited
Short-term responses to Iceland eruption
- 700 evacuated
- Red Cross provided shelter and support
- Icelandic Civil Protection Department ensured safety
Long-term responses to Iceland eruption
- Sections of EU air space closed instead of all to reduce impact on travel and trade
- New systems implemented - infrared radar to detect if flying is safe
- increased monitoring of neighboring volcanoes
Under populated case study
Canada
Over populated case study
Tanzania
Canada underpopulation facts
- Second largest country in the world
- Population of 34.4 million
- GDP per capita of $39057
- Life expectancy 81.4 years
- Average population density of 3.4 people per km^2
Tanzania overpopulation facts
- Population of 48.3 million
- Average population density of 46.0 people per km^2
- Life expectancy of 60.8 years
- GDP per capita of $1600
- Area of 947300km^2
Resources in Canada
- Fish
- Timber
- Zinc
- Uranium
- Gold
- Nickel
- Lead
- Aluminum
- Wheat and other crops
- Fresh water
Resources in Tanzania
- Gold
- Iron ore
- Nickel
- Copper
- Cobalt
- Silver
- Coal
- Natural gas
- Uranium
- Diamonds
- Tanzanite
- Ruby
- Garnet
- Limestone
- Salt
Evidence of underpopulation in Canada
- 2nd larges nation - 9984670km^2
- 37th highest population - 34.4 million
- 229th in population density - 3.4 people per km^2
- 136th annual growth rate - 0.8%
Evidence of overpopulation in Tanzania
- 31st largest country - 947300km^2
- 10x smaller than Canada
- 28th highest population - 48.3 million
- 18th in population density - 46 people per km^2
- 18th annual growth rate - 2.8%
Urban sprawl case study
Atlanta
Atlanta Background
- Capital of the state Georgia
- Population are from 2m in 1970 - 6m in 2013
- Fastest growing metropolitan city in USA
- Recent population growth comes from Great Lakes & North-east where unemployment is high due to expensive cost of living
- Lots of businesses based there - Coca Cola, Mercedes, Delta
Problems in Atlanta
- Population growth - 2m in 1970 - 6m in 2013 - largest growing metropolitan area in USA, biggest in South-East USA
- Traffic congestion - Air and noise pollution is 4th worst in USA - 50000km of roads, 90% of residents drive to work - 68 hours of delays a year
- Air quality - traffic congestion increases respiratory illnesses - emphysema, bronchitis, asthma - air stagnates so fumes are rarely blown away
- Water quality and quantity - Suburbs on Chattahoochee river increase run-off, contaminate drinking water - 1m Atlantans use septic tanks that can leak
- Agricultural land - Expansion causes farmland to be bought and covered with developments
- Loss of green space/ecosystems - 1982-2002 38% of green space in Atlanta was built on - average loss of 135 hectares of trees a day
- Impermeable surfaces - water can’t drain due to concrete and asphalt - floods and contamination
- Cultural loss - Civil war battlefields e.g. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield are threatened by urban homes
- Socio-economic division - white middle class suburbs in north and poorer blacks in the inner city
- Hotlanta - trees replaced by concrete causes it to be 10˚C hotter than countryside
Atlanta’s solution
- The BeltLine
- Using old abandoned railway tracks built before Atlanta and using them to form a loop to make 22 miles of light rail transit, trails and green space
Atlanta BeltLine facts
- 527 hectares of new green space and parks
- 53km of shared-use paths
- 30,000 new permanent jobs from businesses
- 5600 new workforce housing units
- 50000 new housing units anticipated along the path
- 45 neighborhoods gain new & greater connectivity
- 8% of the city’s land mass covered in planning area and 25% of Atlanta’s residential population
Aging population case study
UK
Causes of aging population in UK
- Increased life expectancy
- Low fertility rate
- improved diets, healthcare, awareness
- More working women
- WW2 - baby boom
Impacts of aging population
- Increased tax burden on working age
- Pensioners unlikely to get better pensions due to increase amount of pensioners
- More housing needed due to more occupation from old age people
- Increased need for elderly services
- More family ties cut - More divorce
- More being sent on healthcare
- More dentistry demand
- More tourism and leisure
- More community service from elders
Policies to combat aging population
- Increases workforce participation in ages 50-70
- Raise age were pensions can be given - Pension Act increases age from 65 to 68 over 2024-2046
- Salary schemes reduced
- Scotland has free residential and personal care fro 65+
- Encouraging increased immigration for working age
Anti-natalist case study
China
Pro-natalist case study
France
China background
- Population of 1.3 billion in 2016
- Life expectancy of 76
- Fertility rate of 5.7 births per woman in 1970 - 1.57 births per woman in 2015
- 1970-2015 birth rates reduced by 400 million
- Post WW2 - growth of 55 million in 3 years
Other background/causes in China
- Early 1970 - government realized country was headed for famine
- Couples were encouraged to have large families to repopulate baby boom
- Population was growing unsustainably - limited resources and too many poor people who couldn’t pay taxes
Policies in China
- One child policy - 1979
- Restricted family size from 3 to 1 child
- Increased marriage age men - 22 women - 20
- Citizens has to apply to the government to marry
- If abiding - families got free education, healthcare, housing and hobs
- If not abiding - no benefits, fines and abortions
- Receive 5-10% salary rise for abiding to the policy
Impacts of policies in China
- Female infanticide - killing of females due to favoring of males
- Birth rate fell from 44-12
- Population growth rate decreased by 10%
- 400 million fewer were born
- New industries lifted millions out of poverty
- Dependency ratio decreased
- Working age decreased (long-term)
- Little emperor syndrome - spoiled children
- gender imbalance - more than 30 million young men than young women
Exceptions to China’s policy
- First child disabled - 2nd allowed
- Twins or triplets
- Families in rural areas allowed 2 children
- Ethnic groups exempt
- Couples who bribed
France background
- Population - 67 million 2015
- Fertility rate - 1.67 in 1992 to 2.0 in 2015
- Concerned about decrease in labor supply and population decline
- fertility levels reduced because of education, women in careers, later marriages, state benefits
France policy
- Code de la famille - 1939
- Offered financial incentives to mothers who stayed at home
- Banned contraceptions
- Subsidized holidays
- Longer maternity leave
- Higher child benefit
- Improved tax allowance on large families
- 30% reduction on public transport for 3 children families
- Child oriented policies
- Cash incentive of £675 monthly for mothers to stay off work for one year following the birth of a third child
Impacts of French policy
- 2nd highest fertility rate in Europe
- 2007 France had biggest baby boom since 1960s
- Workforce size increased
- More money spent on healthcare
- People had less disposable income
- 2007 - birth rate of 12.91, fertility rate of 1.98, migrant rate of 1.52, population growth rate of 0.588%
Sparsely populated case study
Namibia
Reasons for a sparse population in Namibia
- Climate - hot and arid - 81% is desert or semi-desert, high average temp 13˚C lowest in June and July and 24˚C highest in December and January - low precipitation 30-31mm a year - lowest 0mm in July
- Terrain - 1% of land is arable - over 50% of country is filled with mountains, valleys filled with sand, rocky outcrops and elevated plains
- Lack of resources - driest country in African south of Saharan Desert - rich in diamonds but only employs 3%
- Lack of economic activity and development - LEDC - GDP per capita $5100 in 2023 - GNI per capita $4880 in 2022 - 134th in world - unemployment 20.95% - employment 58% - export value $7.264m export $10.992m
Statistics of Namibian sparsity
- Population density 2.5 people per km^2 - 3rd sparsest in the world
- 6 of 13 regions are lower than 2.5 average e.g. Karas with 0.4 people per km^2
Urbanization case study
Favelas of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Favelas
Shanty towns/slums near a city composed of illegal settlements built by people that don’t own land I areas of great social deprivation
Background of favela case study
- People left Amazonia drought-hit areas in North East Brazil to find a better life in the city
- 2010 population of 75,000 - now expected to be 3x more
- Built on steep slope overlooking wealthy areas
- 60% are in the suburbs
Crime problems in Favelas
- Murder, kidnapping, carjacking and armed assault occurs regularly
- over 750 favelas - many controlled by drug gangs
Combatting crime problems in favelas
- 2008 - Pacifying police units established to reclaim favelas from drug dealers
- 37 pacifying police units installed throughout the city
Positives of police in favelas
- Drug gangs pushed out
- Aid programs introduced
- Lower crime rates
- Increased property values
- Growth of tourism
- More schools built
Negatives of police in favelas
- Police brutality - shoot on sight led to many innocent deaths
- Drugs are still a huge issue
- People have to pay taxes they can’t pay
- People have to pay for water and electricity - used to be free
- Government hasn’t done enough to solve unemployment
Challenges of favelas
- Houses are poorly constructed with basic materials
- Unemployment rate high as 20%
- 12% of homes have no running water over 30% with no electricity and 50% with no sewage connections
- High murder rate of 20 per 100 people
- Population density of 37,000 per km^2
- Drug gangs dominate area
- High infant mortality rate 50 per 100
- Employment is poorly paid
- Susceptible to natural disasters - 2010 landslide killed 224 and 13000 lost homes
- Trips have to be done for water
- Waste can’t be disposed - disease
- Homes have illegal connections to electricity
- Average income less than £75 a week
- Many inhabitants distrust police
- Limited road access
- Burning trash and setting fires to houses
- Sewers are often open drains
Favela-Bairro project
- Site and service scheme - local authority provides land and services for residents to build homes
Aspects of Favela-Bairro project
- Daycare and after school schemes to let parents work
- Pacifying police unit to reduce crime
- Installation of cable car to commercial centre - one free return ticket a day
- Access to credit to buy materials to improve homes
- Training to help people to get better jobs and earn more money
- Services for addicts and domestic violence
- Adult education improve literacy
- Provision of basic services
- Widening and paving of streets
- Residents can apply to legally own properties
- Replacement of wooden buildings with brick houses
- New services staffed by local residents provide income
Successes of Favela-Bairro project
- Number of local businesses set-up almost doubled
- Significant increase in schooling in ages 5-20 and daycare attendance
- Standard of living and health improved
- Property value in favelas increased by 80-120%
- Development in service employment led to income increase of 15%
Failures of Favela-Bairro project
- Teachers do not have skills to improve literacy skills and teach new skills
- Rent and house price rise caused poorer people to be priced out of their houses
- Residents lack the skills and resources to make repairs to damage
- Newly-built infrastructure is not being maintained by government
- Property value increased by 80-120%
- Budget of $1B will not cover every favela
Migration case study
Migration from Mexico-USA
Mexico-USA migration facts
- Mexicans make up 29.5% of foreigners in USA
- Mexican immigrants account for 20% of legal immigrants in USA
- 14000-19000 Mexicans with doctorates live in the USA
- More than 11.7m Mexican immigrants live in the US
- 6.2m/56% of all unauthorized migrants are from Mexico
3100km border between the US and Mexico
The tortilla curtain
Push factors in Mexico
- Poor medical facilities - 1800 per doctor
- Low paid jobs - GDP per capita of $14,406
- Poor education prospects - 72% secondary school enrollment
- Life expectancy 72 years
- 40% unemployed
- Unhappy life - poor standard of living
- Shortage of food
- Poor farming conditions
- National average poverty level of 37%
Pull factors in USA
- Excellent medical facilities - 400 per doctor
- Well paid jobs - GDP per capita of $46,680
- Adult literacy rate of 99% - good college education
- Life expectancy 76 years
- Many jobs available for low paid workers
- Better housing
- Family links
- Bright light syndrome
Positives of migration for USA
- Mexican migrants benefit economy by working for low wages
- Culture has enriched US border - food, language, music
- Educated and professional Mexicans bring skills and expertise
- Great for US housing industry - Americans get cheaper homes
Negatives of migration for USA
- Illegal migration costs US millions of dollars for border patrol and prison
- Mexicans seen as a drain on US economy
- Migrant workers keep low wages - affects Americans
- Cultural and racial issues
- 68% of 55,000 foreigners in US prisons are Mexicans
- Money sent back to Mexico by immigrants is lost from American economy - 2014 $25b+ sent back to Mexico
- Incidents of TB increased
Positives of migration in Mexico
- Legal and illegal immigrants send more than $6B a year back to Mexico
- Average weekly wage in parts of Mexico - 600 pesos/$60 - 1/6 of American wage that is sent back to Mexico
Negatives of migration in Mexico
- Countryside has shortage of economically active people - brain drain
- Majority of women due to men emigrating
- Women have trouble finding marriage partners
- Young tend to migrate - villages have lost up to 2/3 inhabitants
- Dependence of remittances can impair local initiative/no incentives
- Hundreds of illegal immigrants die of scorching heat in Arizona desert
- Dead to enter US has encouraged criminal organizations to profit
Earthquake case study
Nepal
Nepal earthquake facts
- April 25th 2015
- Magnitude of 7.8
- Lasted under 2 minutes
- Epicentre - Bapak - north west of Kathmandu
- Epicentre was 130 miles from Mount Everest
- Eurasian and Indo-Australian plate
- Earthquake released the energy of more than 20 nukes
- Earthquake made Everest shrink by an inch
Effects of the Nepal earthquake
- 8500+ dead
- Massive avalanche in Everest - killed 19 at base camp
- Religious temples fell apart
- Landslides in Langtang valley
- Aftershock on May 12th of magnitude 7.3
3 settlement case study
NYC, Brooklyn, Niagara County
Key features of NYC
- Split up in 5 boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island
- Statue of liberty
- Empire State Building
- World Trade Center
- Times Square
- JFK international airport
Data of NYC Population
- 2023 - 7.9M
- Annual growth rate - -3.48%
- 2020-2023 - population decrease 8.8M-7.9M
- Average household income $113,315
- Poverty rate - 16.96%
- Huge wealth disparity - wealthy household income of $188.697 and poorest household income of $9320
- Most millionaires and billionaires in a city
- 26,304 people per square mile
- Over 800 languages spoken
- Median age - 37;3
Function and land use
- Multifunctional
- Culture
- Health Care
- Scientific output and innovation
- Research and development
- Technology
- Education
- Sports
- More
Service Provision of NYC
- Very large sphere of influence - worldwide - tourism
- High threshold population
- Large range
Key features of Brooklyn
- Coney Island
- Brooklyn Museum
- Barclays Center
- Brooklyn Bridge
- The Green-Wood Cemetery
- Dumbo
Data of Brooklyn Population
- 2023 - 2.7M
- Population density 36,732 people per square mile
- Median age of 35.7
- Average household income of $101,187
- Poverty rate - 18.79%
- Marriage rate - 40.3%
- Labor force participation - 63.7%
- High female to male ratio - 88 males to 100 females
Function and land use of Brooklyn
- Tourism
- Entertainment
- Sports
- Education
- Healthcare
- Has 11 miles of coastline
- Land borders two bodies of water - New York Bay to West and Long Island Sound to the east
Service provision of Brooklyn
- Large sphere of influence
- Relatively high threshold population
- Long range
Key features of Niagara Country
- Niagara Falls State Park
- Niagara Falls observation tower
- Nikola Tesla Monument
- Niagara Wine Trail
Data of Niagara County Population
- Population of 211,526
- Annual Growth Rate - -0.18%
- 18th largest county in NY
- -2.28% growth rate since 2010
- Poverty rate - 12.44%
- Marriage rate - 47.6%
- Labor force participation - 61%
- Employment rate - 57.3%
- Unemployment rate - 5.8%
Function and land use of Niagara County
- Tourism
- Agriculture
- Wine
- Education
- Land borders three bodies of water - Lake Ontario in the North, Tonawanda Creek in the South and Niagara River in the wets
- Land is used for a variety of state parks
Service Provision of Niagara
- Large sphere of influence
- Smaller threshold population
- Shorter range
Water supply case study
California State Water Project
Background of California State Water Project
- HICs alike the USA have the money and resources to transfer water
- California - south west of USA - Southern California has developed enormously and needs water to be transferred from the North of the state by the Project
- Northern third of California has 70% of the state’s water but 80% of the demand comes from the southern 2/3rds of the state & demand is mainly from agriculture - uses 80% of the state’s available water but urban expansion in LA & San Diego has increased the demand
- California State Water Project provides 25 million people water and 303500 hectares of irrigates farmland
- Project is a water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, power stations and pumping plants - involved in making 21 dams & 1300km of canals, pipelines & tunnels
- State has looked further away for more water e.g. Colorado River
- Last time Project delivered 100% of water it to had to its customers was in 2006 due to pumping restrictions to protect endangered fish species
- Water is also being used more by the Central Arizona Project which brings in 1.85 trillion liters to farms, cities & Native American reserves in Arizona which was previously used by California and other states since Arizona didn’t claim it
Purpose of the California State Water Project
- Supplies the available water supply in California which wasn’t meeting the state’s needs
- Stores water and distributes it to 29 urban areas & farm land
- 70% of the water goes to urban areas and industries in Southern California & San Francisco Bay Area
- 30% used for irrigation in Central Valleys
- Takes water form the Colorado River that runs through 7 states and starts in the Rocky Mountains - 1922 - water in the river was divided between he states as part of the Colorado River Compact but demands have risen since then
Drawbacks of the Project
- Committed to deliver 20.35 million liters annually - but flow of the Colorado river has only averaged 17.25 trillion liters annually since 1930 - evaporation from the reservoirs by the dams made contributed to annual loss to 2.45 trillion liters & periodic droughts with dry years e.g. 2012 and record drought in 2013 mean that the river has fallen below average flow
- Environmental concerns - removal of water in dry season affects the Sacramento-san Joaquin River Delta & negatively affects fish migration due to low water flow
- Controversy over water price with average cost being $119 per 1000m^3 whereas agricultural users pay $36 per 1000m^3 for their water and some urban areas can pay up to $241 per 1000m^3
Possible future plans or strategies for the California State Water Project
- Reducing leakage of water from pipes & aqueducts would alongside evaporation from those would stop 25% of losses
- Recycling water - ca be used to irrigate gardens and golf courses & flush toilets
- Reducing water subsidies - Farmers in south west USA only pay 10% of actual cost of water used for irrigation - federal government subsidizes rest - is subsidies were reduced drip irrigation systems could be sued which would be 100x more efficient than flood irrigation
- Growing less water-dependent crops - e.g. alfalfa instead of rice
- Desalination plants to produce water
Energy case study
Iceland
Background of Iceland energy
- Iceland - Nordic island country in North Atlantic Ocean
- Sits on a hotspot on Mid-Atlantic Ridge with constructive boundary moving 2cm apart a year (N American & Eurasian plate
- Population of 356,991 & area of 103,000km - 3/4 live in capital in SW Reykjavik
- High precipitation of +800mm/year
- Defined by landscape w/volcanoes, geysers, hot springs & lava fields
- 87% of Icelandic homes & public buildings heated by geothermal energy & 26% of country’s electricity generated by geothermal
- 5 major geothermal plants produced 26.2% of nation’s energy in 2010 & only 0.1% of electricity came from fossil fuels
- Rest comes from Hydroelectric power
Hydroelectric power in Iceland
- Makes up 73% of Iceland’s energy
- Used for heating spaces & houses
Geothermal power in Iceland
- 85% of houses are heated by Geothermal
- 1990-2014 geothermal electricity production in Iceland grew by 1700% whilst population grew by 25% - this is because aluminum production increased which takes up 70% of the electricity
- 5 major geothermal plants in Iceland - make 26% of nation’s electricity
- Heats geothermal spas and pools
- One geothermal pool in each town/village and costs low due to low cost of geothermal heating
- Over 600 hot springs & 200 volcanoes
- Hot water cheap - Icelanders known for long showers
- Used for greenhouses to grow fruits & vegetables
- Warms up streets so they aren’t slippery in winter
Karahnjukar Project in Iceland
- Largest HEP station in NE Iceland completed in 2009
- Controversial - large wilderness area in Europe - 2000 reindeer + removed habitats for harbor seals due to flooding of land and diversion of water
- Built by American government due to pollution problems by its US plant & Iceland offering cheap electricity
- Provided 750 jobs for locals + foreign currency