Paper 2 case studies

• Urban growth


  Can bring opportunities and challenges
• The Favela Bairro Project

  1. Ran between 1995-2008

  2. Helped 253,000 people in 73 favelas

  3. $1 billion project to improve infrastructure and public services like schools

  4. New clubs for children e.g. Samba to keep them out of gangs

  5. Police Pacifying Units (UPP) to reduce crime

  6. Site and service scheme where legal land has been given to the locals with basic facilities

  7. 90% of homes are now built out of brick rather than wood

  8. Improvements in sanitation and water facilities

  9. Cable car has been added to Ipanema

  10. 800 new homes have been built

  11. £10 million has been spent on a new sewer

  12. Day care centre for people with drug addictions
• Rural-urban migration


  A reason for Rio's urban growth
• Natural increase


  A reason for Rio's urban growth
• Rio is heavy in resources such as oil and gold which provides jobs for locals
• Rio has its own finance district for well paid jobs
• Rio exports the oil and gold globally to make lots of money
• 2 million tourists visit Rio each year
• Health


  • Only 55% of people had access to a health clinic
  • Growth of squatter settlements spread diseases e.g. cholera
  • Medical kits in Santa Marta which nurses can treat up to 20 diseases have been distributed
• Education


  • Only 50% of children past the age of 14 go to school
  • Most get taken into drug trafficking
  • Grants are given to schools and things like volleyball are included to encourage pupils into schools
  • Rochina has its own private university
• Water


  • 12% of people have no access to running water
  • 37% of water is lost through leaky pipes
  • By 2014, 95% now have access to running water
  • 7 new treatment plants with 300m of new pipes to help
• Energy


  • Frequent blackouts and illegal electricity supplies in Rochina in slums
  • 60km of new cables and Simplicio HEP Plant creates 30% more energy for the city
• 3.5 million people in Rio work in the informal economy where there is not regulation and people do not pay tax
• The government have funded the 'School's Today' programme to give people basic training so they do not have to work in the informal economy
• The murder rate in Rio in 1999 was 36/1000 people. Many were involved in gangs and drug trafficking, including children
• UPP started in 2013 to reduce crime in slums e.g Rochina
• Water pollution


  • Guanabara Bay is polluted with 200 million tonnes of raw sewage a day
  • 5km of new pipes have been installed and 12 new sewage works have been opened
• Waste


  • Waste in the river in slums spreads diseases like cholera
  • The steep slopes in the favelas mean it is hard for rubbish lorries to get in and collect rubbish
  • Power plant at the University of Rio turns 30 tonnes of rubbish a day into methane gas which powers 1000 homes
• Air pollution


  • 5000 deaths a year attributed to heavy traffic which creates smog
  • Reducing traffic across the city with metros and making regulations for factories
• Traffic


  • 40% increase in the use of cars as people do not feel safe in the city
  • One way roads during rush hour, toll roads introduced and the Metro has been expanded in the South Zone
• Why the 2012 Olympics was needed

  Stratford needed regeneration because there was lots of unused industrial land and facilities that had been contaminated, it was one of the most deprived areas in London, the River Lea and canals were already there for them to use, to leave a legacy of facilities for the people that live there
• Features of the 2012 Olympics project

  • West Ham now play football in the Olympic Park
  • Aquatics centre used for swimming lessons by local primary schools
  • 25,000 employed there in high rise offices
  • Green space in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for walking
  • Here East Media Centre – 5000 jobs
  • Westfield Shopping Centre – 1000 jobs
  • Stratford Train Station improved for people
  • East Village (where the athletes lived) now has affordable housing for a mix of 2800 homes
• Over 500 people were asked to leave their tower blocks at CLAYS LANE for them to be demolished to make way for the Olympic Stadium → led to lots of protests
• The cost of the 2012 Olympics was £9.3 billion
• The cost of living for poor people in Newham/Stratford has increased due to it being a popular area to live
• Better transport connections e.g. Stratford station
• Newham and Stratford have become very diverse
• The contaminated land has now been cleaned up
• Upland regions like Scotland have fewer natural resources so fewer people live there, while lowland areas like Nottingham are easier to build on so more people live there
• Importance of London as a city in the UK and wider world

  • It is the UK's main transport hub
  • It is home to the BBC
  • There are lots of jobs available here in government and finance
  • Great Ormond Street Hospital is located here
  • Lots of companies, both British and foreign, have their headquarters
  • Lots of legal work is done here e.g. at the Old Bailey
  • Lots of tourists visit the city
• Impacts of national and international migration on the growth and character of London


  • Today, London's population comes from every part of the world, with the largest numbers from countries like Nigeria and Jamaica
  • Since 2007, more migrants have come from Eastern Europe
  • Positives: To see attractions like St Paul's cathedral, lots of different foods, cultural diversity
  • Negatives: Racism, low paid jobs due to limited speaking of English, language barriers
• Opportunities created by urban change in London


  • Lots of festivals to celebrate cultural diversity and recreational entertainment e.g. Notting Hill
  • Shoreditch – high tech companies have located on Silicon Roundabout which are high paid jobs, the area has been regenerated and old factories turned into new pubs, there is street art and housing for £330/week
  • Cross Rail is being developed to bring an extra 200 million journeys, less Co2, 1.5 million within a 45min journey and properties along the network will rise by 25%
  • 47% of land in London is green space, there are 8.1 million trees, 13,000 species live here, 30,000 allotments and room to exercise in the parks
• Social deprivation


  The degree to which a person or a community lacks the things that are essential for a decent life, including work, money housing and services
• Poverty


  The state of being extremely poor
• Life expectancy


  The average age that a person is expected to live
• Inequalities


  The difference between poverty and wealth as well as peoples 'wellbeing and access to thing like jobs and education
• Social and economic challenges caused by urban growth in London


  • High urban deprivation e.g. Life expectancy in Chelsea is 90, whereas it is 78 in Newham
  • House prices have increased alongside with greater house shortages
  • 37% of residents are not of white British origin which can lead to tensions, racial issues, language barriers and often when migrants first come to the city, they live in poor quality housing and have low paid jobs
  • Large differences in wealth in the city; Newham (poor) vs Chelsea (wealthy)
  • Inequalities in education – in Chelsea 82% of children leave with 5 A*-C GCSE'S whereas in Newham only 60% do
  • 9,400 deaths a year due to air pollution, mainly nitrous oxide, and 30% increase in the amount of children diagnosed with asthma
• Environmental challenges caused by urban growth in London


  • Urban sprawl puts pressure on the rural-urban fringe and wildlife/ecosystems
  • However, people get better facilities e.g. new shopping centres on the rural-urban fringe
  • Houses are starting to spread outside of London into commuter villages
• Challenges in commuter villages

  • New houses change the old character of the towns
  • Demand for houses increases house prices for the locals
  • Businesses in commuter settlements may suffer as people go back to the city to work
  • Large numbers of commuters can increase pollution
• Waste management in London

  • 24% of London's waste goes into landfill sites
  • 61% of London's waste is recycled into glass, paper and food waste
  • London sometimes burns its waste in order to generate electricity