Urban Environments Rio

Question 1

Water pollution problems in Rio

Answer 1

Guanabara Bay highly polluted
* major threat to wildlife
Commercial fishing has decreased by 90% in last 20 years
Could damage tourism by affecting beaches
Many of 55 Rivers flowing into the bay a heavily polluted
Run offs from open sewers in favelas
Over 200 tonnes of raw sewage and 50 tonnes of industrial waste pours into the bay everyday

Question 2

Solutions for water pollution in Rio

Answer 2

Overseas aid been used to reduce sewage in the bay
12 new storage systems have been built since 2004
* US $68 million
Ships are fined for discharging fuel into the bay illegally

Question 3

Waste pollution problems in Rio

Answer 3

Worst waste problems are in favelas
Built on steep slopes with few roads
* difficult access for waste collection lorries
Most waste dumped
Causes diseases like cholera and encourages rats

Question 4

Water waste solutions in Rio

Answer 4

Power plant setup using methane gas from rotting rubbish
Consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish a day
Produces enough electricity for 1000 homes

Question 5

Two economic challenges in Rio

Answer 5

High levels of unemployment
High levels of crime

Question 6

Why is high levels of unemployment a problem?

Answer 6

cannot pay insurance cover and unemployment benefit.
cant cover health insurance
cannot pay taxes and the government receives no income from them.
over 20% of people in favelas are unemployed.

Question 7

What are the solutions to high levels of unemployment?

Answer 7

The Rio government can tackle unemployment by investing in education , supporting small businesses, initiating infrastructure projects, and promoting entrepreneurship.

Local residents can combat unemployment by supporting local businesses, developing skills, joining community projects, and networking within the community.

Question 8

What is the Favela Bairro Project?

Answer 8

Site and service scheme here local authority provides land and services for residents to build homes - Complexo de Alemao (60,000 people)

Question 9

How did urban planning help the favella and give an example of a scheme.

Answer 9

Favela Bairro Project - improving life in the favelas.
Improved the quality of life , mobility and employment prospects of the inhabitants of the favelas - developments made possible by the project
It is recognised as a model by the UN and has been used in other Brazilian cities.

Question 10

Health Problems in Rio

Answer 10

Rio De Janeiro has a very high crime rate of 27.4 homicides per 1000 people. Compare this to London’s rate of 1.6 and we can see that Rio’s is very high compared to other major cities

Question 11

Ways the people of Rio can improve health

Answer 11

Politicians can fund doctors’ places, education universities, doctors programs and medicines. Urban planners can plan out where infrastructure is built in order for there to be more space for research and helping research

Question 12

Transport problems

Answer 12

8th most congested city in the world with rides taking 50% longer at peak times.
-Caused by poor roads which need regular improvement which leads to road works. Additionally, a high increase in population has seen a significant rise in car numbers.

Question 13

Transport solutions

Answer 13

BRT corridors to encourage people to use public transport over private cars. Buses are more efficient in terms of space per person and the new bus lanes should mean public transport is faster. Overall reducing congestion. BRT = Bus rapid transit

Question 14

How can people help transport problems

Answer 14

Government = They are the group who decide where taxpayers money will be invested. They will have provided the funding for the buses and infrastructure project.

Granting planning permission for the bus corridors. - They are the ones that sign off on the project.

Urban planners = They will be planning where the BRT corridors should actually go to be the most effective and also fit in with other aspects of the city, such as residential building, major infrastructure lines e.g. train routes/sewage pipes etc. that need to be taken into consideration.

Question 15

Social crime problems

Answer 15

In Rio the homicide rate is 27 per 1000 which is very high, particularly in favelas such as Alemao.

High populations in Rio and a lack of job opportunities to support the whole population, especially those with lower skills, means that many are left in significant poverty.

Question 16

How people can help stop social crime

Answer 16

Government = The government is run by the right-wing mayor whose policy is to be strict on crime. He instructs the police to go in and ‘pacify’ the favelas to tackle gang crime.

Politicians are also the ones who make the laws surrounding issues of crime and justice and therefore are important in how we tackle crime.

Local residents = Local residents are supporting the police in tackling crime by reporting it.

One way that local residents can try and tackle crime is to protest against the gangs or the lack of action by police and government to try to get change such as more funding for policing.

Question 17

Water pollution who helped and how

Answer 17

Government = Politicians have the authority to enforce regulations crucial for managing water pollution in urban areas. They draft policies to set standards for water quality and allocate resources for infrastructure improvements.

Local residents = Local residents play a role in managing water pollution through everyday actions and community engagement.