Urban Issues

Urbanisation

The increase in proportion of people living in towns and cities
Result of birth rate being higher than death rate, which means the area has a positive natural increase. Cities also have many opportunities, so migration also increases the amount of people living in tows and cities

Variation of Urbanisation

High Income Countries
60% of population in richer countries already live in town and cities
Urbanisation slowing down
Cities show population decline- counter-urbanisation
UK = 82% live in urban areas


Newly Emerging Economies
50% of population live in towns and cities
Rapid rates of urbanisation -> Migration for employment
Largest rates of growth expected by 2030 in India, China and Nigeria


Low Income Countries
Low levels of urbanisation
40% of population in Africa live in towns and cities
Rapid growth as LICs follow pattern of growth in NEEs

Counter-Urbanisation

Employment:
Promotion/Jobs move location/Can still commute and travel to work


Housing:
Expensive mortgage/Bad condition/Growth in it (Mold etc)


Change in Lifestyle
Less polluted areas/Less busy areas


Social
Prejudice against neighbours/Vandalism/Hate crime


Environment
Crime rates/Unpleasant to live/Increase in pollution levels/Traffic congestion/Noise & Air pollution

Megacities

Cities with a population with over 10million people

Causes

•Rural-urban migration (people migrating for work, leisure and better opportunities)
•Natural increase (Many migrants are young and therefore are of child baring ages

Rural -> Urban


Push Factors:
•Desertification
•Schools don't offer many opportunities
•Poor harvest
•Farming is poorly paid
•Isolated


Pull Factors
•Well paid jobs
•Better hospitals
•More entertainment
•Friends/Family already live there
•Better chance at education
•Better public transport

Where are they located?


Developed Nations
Not many megacities in HICs (Europe, America, Australia)
Low overall population in HICs
Megacities located in HICs are slowly growing or shrinking populations
Two megacities in Europe: Istanbul and Paris


Developing Nations
More than 2/3 megacities located in LIC's and NEE's (South-America, South, South-East-Asia)
Highest concentration is in Asia - 17 Megacities
Number of megacities in Africa is predicted to grow rapidly

Rio De Janerio

IMPORTANCE

National:
•Second Largest city in Brazil
•Second most important industrial centre - produces 5% of the country's Gross Domestic Product
•Major port- exports coffee, sugar and iron ore
•Main services include baking and finance
•Main manufacturing in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and clothing
•50 Museums
•Culture Capital


International:
•'Global City' - industrial and financial centre in the global economy
•International hub - 5 ports and 3 airports
•Stunning natural surroundings = lots of tourism
•Christ The Redeemer - One of the 7 new wonders of the world
•2014 Olympics, 2016 World Cup - Increase in global importance

Opportunities And Challenges

Social Opportunities & Challenges

Education


Challenges:
•ONLY half of all children continue education past age 14
•Most drop out, some get involved in drug trafficking
•Level of school enrolment is low
•Shortage of schools
•Shortage of teachers
•Poor training for teachers
•Lack of money


Opportunities:
•Encouraging volunteers in local schools
•Giving school grants to poor families so their young can stay in school
•Giving money to run free lessons in volleyball, swimming and squash (Sport careers)
•Opening private University in Rocinha Favela

Healthcare


Challenges:
•Only 55% have access to health clinic
•West of Rio - Life expectancy as low as 45years
•Services for the elder and pregnant are really poor
•Difficlut for sick/injured to access hospitals due to little road access


Opportunities:
•Santa Marta is 13km to local Hospital
•Medical staff taken healthcare kits to peoples homes
•Doctors were able to find/treat 20 different diseases
•Life expectancy increased
•Infant mortality decreased

Water Supply


Challenges:
•12% of city has no running water
•Poor sewage system
•Lack of water supply
•Leaky pipes/Stolen water


Opportunities:
•New water treatment plants built
•New water pipes

Energy Supply


Challenges:
•Suffer frequent blackouts due to shortage of electricity
•Demand increase due to growing population
•Olympics made it worse
•Illegal tapping into main supply (Stealing & Unsafe)
•People not paying for it
•Electricity companies losing money- can't make more


Opportunities:
•New power lines installed
•Nuclear generator installed
•Hydro-electric complex which increased electricity supply by 30%

Multiplier Effects


Positive Multiplier Effect
Investment from Government
-> Growth of industry
-> Needs workforce
-> People migrate there
-> Need houses, water, services
->Workers needed to build/provide these
->Need food
->Shops open, more services needed
->Demand for more workers ect
->Growth continues and settlement and economy expand

Economic Opportunities & Challenges

Unemployment


Challenges:
•Growth of job opportunities, wide contrast with wealth in Rio
•Richest 1% earn 12% of total income in Rio
•Poorest 50% earns only 13% of total income
•Unemployment rate is over 20%
•Most work in the informal economy (illegal, no contract, no fixed pay)
•Make a living any way they can: vendors, drivers, labourers, maids, handicraft, ect
•Seasonal jobs (earn more money in summer due tourism)
•Working in informal sector is poorly paid (Less than £60 per month)
•1/3 of Rio's 3.5million workers don't have formal employment contract
•Many don't have any Insurance
•Do not pay taxes and government receives no income
•Covid offered unemployment, causing homelessness

Unemployed


Opportunities:
•'Schools of Tomorrow' aim to improve education for young, keep children in school past age 14, aim to reduce youth unemployment
•Courses for adults/teenage parents
•Send kids to school, give more skill based courses
•Teenage parents get given free child care

Crime


Challenges:
•Robbery and Violent crime present great challenges in Rio (Murder, Kidnapping, Armed assault, carjacking occur regularly)
•Street crime is a problem especially at night.
•Powerful gangs control drug trafficking in many of the favelas

Crime


Opportunities:
•Pacifying Police Unit established to reclaim favelas from drug dealers
•Police have taken control over 30 smaller favelas
•Police are very well trained
•People living in these areas think its attack on their freedom
•Lowered crime-rate
•Increasing property values and growing tourism are positive results against their fight against crime in favelas
•GPS telling you where shootings are or have been (safety)
Minor issues - Opportunities
•During Olympics school shootings went down due to more police units
•Due to not enough money, some police left after the Olympics
•Police only target favelas near Olympic sites
•Police are corrupt/can be paid off by gangs

Pacifying Police

•Encouraged to kill
•17% rise in police killing
•Police have snipers in helicopters
•Lots of Favela homes have bullet holes
•Police used to be more caring, not anymore
•Its like they are going to war
•"Main aim" is to preserve life (save life)
•If they kill anyone they don't go prison
•Wrong attitude towards the people
•People are too scared to talk to the police

Environmental Opportunities & Challenges

Air Pollution


Challenges:
•Causes 5000 deaths a year
•Causes asthma and heart issues
•Brown smog caused by heavy traffic/congestion
•Build up of exhaust fumes
•Rios car ownership increased to 44%
•Traffic congestion increases pollution
•Number of cars increased due to wealth•Rio is the most congested city in South America


•Their fuel is more sustainable + made of sugarcane


Opportunities:
•Toll Roads: More lanes/ Less congestion/ Have to pay/ Reduces traffic


•Metro System: Electric/ Holds more people/ Less air pollution/ Quicker & More direct/ Environmentally friendly


•One Way System: Moves the cars to one area (problem moved elsewhere/ Coastal roads/ Increase traffic flow

Waste Pollution


Challenges:
•Favelas are on steep hills so its difficult to pick up all the trash
•Low roads (rate trucks can't get everywhere)
•Social : Waste collectors aren't trusted
•Rat infestation -> causes diseases like cholera
•Flees on Rats can spread and make diseases -> Black Death
•Water contamination


Opportunities:
•Power plant which collects methane from rotting rubish
•The power plant consumes 30tonnes of rubbish a day and provides enough electricity for 1000 homes

Water Pollution


Challenges:
•Rivers flow through favelas
•Plastic/Chemicals/Furniture
•Destroys mangroves (trees which grown in water, providing ecosystems and coastal management)
•Government cancelled projects that help fix things and don't care (long term impact)
•All rubbish stretches kilometres along coastline


Opportunities:
•Volunteers come collecting trasg
•Plastic projects
•Small projects to start a change
•12 new sewage plants
•New sewage pipes constructed
•Ships fined for dumping fuel into bay

Solar Energy (Opportunity)
•Provides reliable, consistent and affordable energy

Environmental Solution
Biogas Power Station

  1. The rubbish is collected and left to somewhat rot - This is sustainable


  2. That then releases methane which is turned into a source of energy (Biogas)


  3. That then creates electricity


  4. As more rubbish gets dumped, the process gets repeated



The solution generates enough power for 1000 homes

Squatter Settlements

•Squatter Settlements = Favelas
•Land doesn't belong to them
•Illegal homes when people built homes on land they dont own
•Over 1000 favelas
•Very poor areas = Lack of services
•Social deprivation is high
•People still migrating to Favelas


Their Location
•60% located in suburbs
•Some are 40km away from the city centre
•Away from city, but build illegally on road sides
•Located in industrial areas where jobs are available

Improving the life in Favelas
•until 1980's Government didn't acknowledge the Favelas
•Town planners thought we need to help the poor
•Aims to upgrade Favelas
•Provide essential services
•Service schemes
•Self-Help schemes (cheaper & residents work together)
•Olympics used to upgrade houses
•Rochina built on steep hill -> look down at wealthy parts of Rio -> More work means more improvement can be done

Self-Help Scheme In Rochina


Econimic:
•Fridges
•Retail Facilities (Jobs)
•Private University (offers jobs)


Social:
•90% have electricity, running water and sewage systems
•TV and Fridges
•Newspaper & Radio
•Retail facilities
•Schools & Health facilities
•"Schools of Tomorrow"
•Private Universities