Challenges of an Urban World

Question 1

What is Urbanisation?

Answer 1

Urbanisation is the rise in the percentage of people living in urban areas in comparison with rural areas.

Question 2

How has urbanisation changed, what has happened in recent years?

Answer 2

Every year hundreds of thousands of people leave the countryside and the increase in the world’s urban population has been going on for many years. In 2007 for the first time more of the world’s population live in urban areas than in rural areas.

Question 3

Which was the first country to reach an urban population, when did it do this and why?

Answer 3

In 1861, the UK was the first country in the world to reach an urban population of 50%, as a result of people moving to cities during the industrial revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Question 4

Which city was the world’s fastest growing city at the beginning of the century and by how many did its population grow per year between 2000 - 2010?

Which two continents have the fastest rates of urban growth in the world?

Answer 4

Guangzhou in China was the world’s fastest-growing city at the beginning of the century, it’s population grew by over 300,000 people per year between 2000-2010.

Africa and Asia have the fastest rates of urban population growth.

Question 5

How is Asia’s urban population expected to grow by the middle of the century?

What is the current urban population in Africa and what is it expected to increase to by 2050?
How will Africa’s urban population compare with the rest of the world?

Answer 5

Asia’s urban population is expected to be about 64% by the middle of the century.

The current urban population in Africa is 40% and this is expected to increase rapidly to 58% by 2050.
However Africa will still have the lowest urban population percentage compared with the rest of the world.

Question 6

Give two main reasons why cities grow?

Answer 6

1) Rural-urban migration

2) Natural increase

Question 7

Give the three main reasons for rural-urban migration.

Answer 7

1) Rural areas especially in developing countries have few job opportunities, apart from working on the land, and many people live in poverty.
2) In the cities there are more jobs and better educational and health facilities.
3) There are also more entertainment options and some people are better off in the cities.

Question 8

Explain why natural increase is occurring in cities?

Give one case study and explain why and how this cities birth rate has increased.

Answer 8

One reason why cities have grown is people migrating there, people migrating to the city tend to be in their 20’s and 30’s and so they often start families once they have settled.
London is growing due to natural increase, the birth rate is rising rapidly - the number of children under 5 increased by 24% from 2000-2011.

Question 9

What is a megacity?

Answer 9

A megacity is a city with a population over 10 million people.

Question 10

Case study, developing world city.
Describe:
Population (3)
Spacial growth (3)
Economic activities in the city (4)

Answer 10

Mumbai, India
Population:
1) There are 20 million people, and city is expected to be the world’s largest city by 2050.
2) Population growth is 2.9% per year - hyperurbanisation.
3) 60% of the population live in poverty, in slums.
Size and spatial growth:
1) 603km squared
2) 1000 people arrive in Mumbai every day
3) New Mumbai has been built on the mainland opposite Mumbai, over 1 million people live there, mostly middle-class people moving out of the city.
Economic activities
1) Services, e.g. banking, IT and call centres
2) Manufacturing, e.g. textiles and engineering
3) Construction
4) Entertainment and leisure, e.g. bollywood

Question 11

Case study, developed world city.
Describe:
Population (2)
Spacial growth (2)
Economic activities in the city (3)

Answer 11

Los Angeles, USA
Population:
1) 12.9 million
2) Population growth is 1.1% per year, faster than other developed world cities but not as fast as those in developing countries.
Spacial growth:
1) 12,520km squared, greater Los Angeles covers 87,945km squared.
2) Los Angeles grew rapidly in the 60’s and 70’s becasue people were attracted by the Californian lifestyle and climate.
Economic activities:
1) Trade, ports are the fifth busiest in the world
2) Entertainment, e.g. Hollywood, Tv and music.
3) Aerospace and technology, oil, fashion and clothing, tourism.

Question 12

What urban challenges are there in the developed world? (3)

Answer 12

1) People who live and work in the city consume vast amounts of food from all over the world and energy at home and work and in getting to work.
2) Waste costs a lot of money to collect, transport, treat and dispose of.
3) The eco-footprint of cities in the developed world is much higher than the global average.

Question 13

What is an eco-footprint?

Answer 13

An eco-footprint measures the area of land need to:

1) Provide all the resources and services consumed,
2) Absorb all the waste produced.

Question 14

Give two ways in which a developed city may be able to prevent its waste problem.

Answer 14

1) Prevention, waste increases as cities grow and become wealthier, the use of email and less packaging etc can reduce the amount of waste produced.
2) Recycling, this can reduce the eco-footprint of the city as not as much waste is dumped in landfill.

Question 15

For a named city in the developing world give three urban challenges.

Answer 15

Mumbai

1) Informal economy
2) Slum housing
3) Urban Pollution

Question 16

What is the informal economy?

What are the problems with the informal economy? (2)

Answer 16

The informal economy is where people in the city do not do jobs that earn a regular wage. They make and sell goods and services unofficially, often on a ‘cash in hand’ basis, and without a contract or or job security. They also don’t have health and safety protection, or pension scheme.
Problems:
1) If people are unable to work, they won’t earn anything.
2) People and TNC’s which have moved to tax free zones don’t pay taxes, without tax revenue city authorities are unable to provide services like clean water, sewage pipes, or electricity supplies

Question 17

Named case study slum community and population.

What is slum housing and what are the problems with it? (4)

Answer 17

Daravhi is a well-established slum that lies between two railway routes, it has a population of around million people.
Temporary slum housing is built from any material that is available.
1) Slums are usually overcrowded and lack proper sanitation or clean water.
2) People suffer from pollution and disease.
3) The slums are often built on marginal land.
4) The quality of life is very low.

Question 18

What is urban pollution and what are the problems with it?

Give examples of pollution

Answer 18

Urban pollution is serious environmental issue caused by the rapid urbanistion and industrialisation of cities. Environmental problems caused include water pollution such as in the Mithi river which flows through Mumbai.
Air Pollution can also be a major problem, in Mumbai their air is polluted by exhaust gases, burning rubbish and and factory chimneys.

Question 19

Winchester and Salisbury are only 35km apart and have similar populations, so why do their eco-footprints vary so much? (2)

Answer 19

1) Incomes in Winchester are higher than in Salisbury, so people in Winchester consume more goods and energy, all of which increase their eco-footprint.
2) Both cities have employment rates but people commute further from Winchester than from Salisbury. This increases Winchester’s carbon footprint. A higher percentage of Salisbury’s workers walk, cycle or use public transport to get to work - generating less CO2.

Question 20

London only came 44th out of sixty cities in terms of its eco-footprint, why isn’t it higher?

Answer 20

Although London’s eco-footprint is higher than the UK average in terms of housing, food and private services.
It’s lower than average for transport - many people use public transport rather than cars and the city has policies to discourage high polluting vehicles. This helps to greatly reduce the size of London’s overall eco-footprint.

Question 21

London is trying to reduce its eco-footprint by reducing it’s energy consumption and waste generation.
What is London’s energy strategy focused on?
How does the city plan to reduce its energy consumption?

Answer 21

Reducing energy consumption - London’s energy strategy is focused on lowering CO2 emissions and reducing energy use. In order to combat climate change and reduce energy consumption the city is planning:
Major retro-fitting programmes:
1) Ten low carbon zones to reduce energy emissions - including fitting solar panels and insulating buildings
2) A new low-carbon energy supply for London

Question 22

What is meant by the term retrofitting?

Answer 22

Retrofitting in this case means adding new energy-saving and energy-efficiency features to existing homes and public buildings.

Question 23

By how much does London want to reduce its waste generation?

How does the city plan on doing this? (4)

Answer 23

Reducing waste generation - By 2020 London plans to reduce the amount of household waste produced by 10%, as well as reducing municipal waste. It plans to achieve this
by:
1) re-using waste - 20,000 tonnes of municipal waste by 2020.
2) Providing cheap and accessible recycling and composting services.
3) Providing recycling bins all over the city.
4) Developing waste burning power stations to generate heat and power.

Question 24

London is trying to develop a sustainable transport system.

How is the city encouraging clean technology in order to reduce it’s eco-footprint? (2)

Answer 24

1) The London buses as of 2012 were made hybrid, combining a conventional engine and an electric motor, therefore the buses are quieter, cleaner and more fuel-efficient.
2) Electric vehicles - There are now 1300 charging points for electric cars around London, that is more than the number of petrol stations. The hope is to increase the number of hybrid and electric vehicles in the city to 100,000 within the next few years.

Question 25

How has London reduced congestion and pollution in order to reduce it’s eco-footprint?
What effect has this had? (2)

Answer 25

London introduced the congestion charge in 2003, the congestion charge operates in central London during daytime hours. It has resulted in:

1) A 6% increase in bus passengers during charging hours.
2) The money raised being invested in improving London’s transport.

Question 26

How has the city of London encouraged cycling in order to reduce its eco-footprint?

How have high-polluting vehicles been discouraged from travelling through central London?

Answer 26

The Barclay’s cycle hire scheme was introduced in 2010, with 6000 new bikes available for hire at 400 docking stations. Cycling is a green and healthy way to get around the city, and the hire scheme is part of a plan to increase cycling the city by 400% by 2026.

In 2008 in an attempt to improve air quality in the city, the Greater London Low Emission Zone was set up. This means that vehicles either have to meet minimum emissions standards, or pay a daily charge to drive in London.

Question 27

Assess the success of a self-help scheme in a named location.
What did the authorities do?
Give three positive impacts of the self-help scheme.
What problem could self-help not solve?

Answer 27

Self-help in Rochina in Rio
Authorities provided residents with building materials to construct permanent homes and the residents provided the labour. In return for the payment of bills the authority also supplied clean water and electricity supplies.
Positive impacts:
1) The people have better overall living conditions.
2) The people are healthier and suffer from less disease sue to improved sanitation and clean water.
3) People are better educated, schools have been set up so they can get better jobs.
However one of Rochina’s biggest problems controlling crime could not be solved by self-help, ad is being tackled by the government.

Question 28

How has urban planning in a named location helped to improve the quality of life of the people who live their?
Refer to: 
Transport (2)
Recycling
Green City

Answer 28

Curitiba, Brazil
Transport:
1) The start and finish times of businesses, services and schools were adjusted to spread the rush hour and avoid traffic jams.
2) Affordable bus fares were introduced, along with a fast and reliable service, over 80% of the city’s population use the buses so traffic congestion and pollution have been reduced.
Recycling: 70% of the city’s waste is recycled which creates jobs in the sorting process. Recovered materials are sold to local industries, and the money earned is used to fund social programmes.
Green City: Development of 30 parks and forested areas improves the quality of life, most of them are on river banks are at the base of valleys. This helps to prevent the development of favelas and the use of land for landfill sites.

Question 29

Consider the success of the Manoshi project.
What is the project and what impact has it had in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
What challenges does the community still face?

Answer 29

The Manoshi project is run by the Bangladeshi NGO Brac and was launched in 2007. Brac has 6000 volunteer healthcare workers who are helping 3 million women with family planning, ante-natal care and new-born care.
Impacts: The project has almost halved the number of maternal deaths among its patients to 135 per 100,00 live births.
Problems: Many undernourished mother and babies are becoming ill due to poor sanitation.

Question 30

What is Old Zimkhana and what were the problems faced here?
Which NGO helped the community and what have they done?
What is the result of all of this?

Answer 30

Old Zimkhana is a slum community built on the site of a disused railway, it had no safe water or toilets.
With the help of Prodiplan:
1) Water sanitation and hygiene education have improved life for their community.
2) Six tube wells have been constructed, saving people time and money in collecting water.
3) Two new sanitation blocks also provide toilets and water for washing.
The result is improved health which means people are able to work more, earn more and begin to move out of poverty.

Question 31

What title did Mexico City win in 1992?
How have authorities in Mexico City attempted to make the city less polluted?
Give five actions and their impacts.

Answer 31

In 1992, Mexico city won the title of the most polluted city on the planet.

1) A large proportion of the city’s heavy industry was moved out of the city, which has reduced pollution and encouraged the growth of cleaner, service industries.
2) A bus rapid transit system using cleaner fuel has been developed, bus passenger numbers have increased and emissions have been reduced. The subway is connected to the bus system and has also experienced higher passenger numbers.
3) It is compulsory for school children to get to school by public transport, the number of cars on the road has been reduced.
4) A bike rental scheme called Ecobici has been introduced with 4000 bikes available at 275 stations, they are expected to reduce emissions and congestion.
5) Fuel efficient vehicles have replaced 75,000 taxis, CO2 emissions have been reduced.

Question 32

Is Mexico City’s plan working?

Answer 32

Mexico city is no longer the world’s most polluted city, the transport changes have lead to a huge reduction in CO2 emissions. Compared with other cities in Latin America it still has below average air quality. Cars still remain a major form of transport. 8% of the city’s annual budget is spent on the green plan.