Urban (rio and Glasgow)

• Traffic: pollution causes roughly 5000 deaths per year in Rio
• G: narrow roads aren’t designed for volume of cars since they’re the oldest part of the city.
• G: due to the grid iron street pattern, many road intersections and traffic lights stop traffic.
• G: vast amount of vehicles and pedestrians in the CBD causes congestion.
• G: lots of parking on narrow streets causes congestion.
• G: the number of 2 car homes in Scotland has increased due to convenience and more wealth.
• G: the M8 motorway is the only motorway in the UK that goes straight through a CBD, which causes congestion.
• GS: one way streets (eg. Queen Street) increase the flow of traffic travelling in one direction.
• GS: pedestrianised streets (eg. Buchanan Street) makes the shopping areas safer for pedestrians.
• GS: park and rides schemes (eg. Lennie to Glasgow Queen Street) encourage less use of cars in the city centre.
• GS: improved public transport makes journeys quicker for commuters and promotes public transport.
• GS: promoting car sharing reduces cars in the city at peak times.
• GS: the M74 motorway has been extended to reduce cars travelling on the M8 through the CBD.
• Most journeys in Rio are made by cars and buses, with a small percentage made via the metro system and rail network.
• R: the number of cars in Rio has increased by 40% in the last decade due to rapid population increase and cars becoming more affordable.
• R: an average drive through Rio takes 50% longer at peak times compared to off peak times.
• Rio Niteroi Bridge is 14km long and has congestion problems due to bottlenecks at either end. frequent breakdowns due to overheating cars cause delays for commuters.
• R: streets are poorly maintained with a lack of traffic lights, making cycling and walking dangerous and results in roughly 700 traffic related deaths a year.
• Poor housing and services - houses in favelas in Rio are illegally built with basic materials like broken bricks, scrap wood and corrugated iron. 12 % of houses in Rio do not have access to clean running water and 30 % have no sewer connections or electricity.
• Overcrowding and poor health - favelas are overcrowded with an average of 37,000 people in each square kilometre. Diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are common due to poor sanitation, which limits the life expectancy to 56 and causes high infant mortality rates.
• Lack of jobs - unemployment rates are high (around 20%) and most people are employed in the informal sector as drivers, labourers or cleaners. These jobs are poorly paid and the work is irregular.
• Crime - Rio’s favelas are controlled by gangs involved in drugs, knife crime and murder, which leads to 80 people killed per day in Rio. Favela Rochina is most feared and dangerous, with police hardly ever patrolling it and only shooting into the favela from a helicopter when conflicts arise.
• Landslides - heavy rainfall from tropical storms can cause mudslides on Rio’s steep hills. In 1988, landslides killed 277 people and left 13,000 homeless as houses were swept away.
• S Self help schemes - the government provides favela residents with materials like cement, tiles, and brick to improve their homes. Therefore, housing conditions have improved with now 75% of homes having access to electricity.
• S Site and service schemes - the Rio government also built aqueducts to channel water away from favelas to reduce the possibility of landslides.
• S Construction of superblocks - the government cleared areas of favelas and built tower blocks in their place to rehome residents. the new superblocks cost almost 15 times more than site and service schemes.
• S Non Government Organisations (NGO) - “project favela” relies on international volunteers to educate and mentor favela residents to give them opportunities which will improve their living conditions. NGOs also help people find jobs, provide medical care and build schools for children.
• S Pacification Campaign - this was established in 2008 to deal with crime in favelas. The police and military reclaimed the favelas by forcing gangs out and improved services like schools.