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