Solutions to Impacts of Urban Growth (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography)

Solutions to Impacts of Urban Growth

Pollution

• When compared to rural areas, towns and cities have less clean air.

• Over the last 60 years, rules have limited emissions from vehicles and factories in MECs

• NICs and LEDCs have the most pollution.

Types of pollution, impacts and solutions

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

• Source

  • Power stations

  • Industrial processes

  • Domestic heating

  • Vehicle emissions

• Problem

  • Major greenhouse gas

• Solution

  • Introduce laws to regulate emissions

  • Pedestrianise urban centres to prevent vehicle emissions

  • Vehicle emission charges

Particulate matter

• Source

  • Diesel vehicles

  • Soot from open fires

  • Construction dust

• Problem

  • Smog (smoke and fog)

  • Respiratory diseases

• Solution

  • Clean air act

  • Smoke-free zones

  • Exhaust checks on vehicles

Carbon monoxide (CO)

• Source

  • Vehicle emissions

• Problem

  • Reduces supply of oxygen to the heart

• Solution

  • Laws to regulate emissions

Sulphur dioxide (SO₂)

• Source

  • Coal power stations

  • Open coal fires

  • Vehicle exhausts

  • Industrial processes

• Problem

  • Lung irritation 

  • Acid Rain

• Solution

  • Laws to control emissions from industry

  • Smoke-free zone

  • Close coal-fired power stations

  • Introduce new more efficient power stations 

Hydrocarbons (inc. benzene)

• Source

  • Vehicle exhaust

• Problem

  • Contributes to ground-level ozone

• Solution

  • Regular checks on vehicle emissions

  • Laws to regulate emissions

  • Remove most polluting vehicles

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), which is part of the nitrogen oxide group (NOX)

• Source

  • Power stations

  • Vehicle emissions

• Problem

  • Irritates the lungs

  • Strong greenhouse gas

• Solution

  • Reduce the amount of electricity that thermal power plants produce

  • Higher taxes on most polluting vehicles

Ground-level ozone (O₃)

• Source

  • Reaction through vehicle exhausts and sunlight

• Problem

  • Photochemical smog leading to eye and chest irritation 

• Solution

  • Catalytic converters fitted to car exhausts

  • Laws to reduce emissions

Lead (Pb)

• Source

  • Exhaust gases from leaded petrol

• Problem

  • Lead harms the liver, kidneys, nervous system, etc. 

• Solution

  • Unleaded fuel 

Water, visual and noise pollution

Water

• Source

  • Raw sewage in groundwater and rivers

• Problem

  • Drinking water is contaminated

  • Environmental health issues such as dysentery and diarrhoea

• Solution

  • Improve sanitation through sewage works

  • Education

  • Water treatment plants

Visual

• Source

  • Ugly buildings

  • Graffiti

  • Derelict land

  • Litter

• Problem

  • Source of stress

  • Impact on the social structure of cities

  • Overflowing bins can lead to rats, mice and foxes

• Solution

  • Laws to regulate graffiti

  • Stricter planning

  • Improve refuse collection

Noise

• Source

  • Vehicles

  • Industrial processes

  • Large crowds

  • Social events

  • Nightlife

• Problem

  • Stress

  • Lack of sleep

  • Reduced concentration and work performance

• Solution

  • Laws to limit noise levels

  • Planning to separate noisy activities from homes

  • Building noise-reducing structures such as fences, trees and screens around motorways, factories, etc.

Managing informal settlements

• One challenge common to many urban areas are informal settlements 

• There are five management options:

  1. Bulldoze and clear away the buildings

  2. Clear away but relocate people elsewhere

  3. Redevelop the area

  4. Improve the area using self-help or site-and-service schemes

  5. Ignore them altogether

1. Bulldoze and clear away

• Operation Murambatsvina (Move the Rubbish), also known as Operation Restore Order, was a massive government campaign in Zimbabwe to forcibly clear slum areas throughout the country

• It directly affected at least 700,000 people by causing them to lose their homes and livelihoods and indirectly affected about 2.4 million people

• Robert Mugabe and his government claimed it was a crackdown on illegal housing and commercial activities and to lower the risk of spreading disease

• Critics saw it as a means of getting rid of anyone who disagreed with Mugabe's administration

2. Clear away but relocate people

• In 2003, the Kenyan government and UN Habitat established the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) with the intention of improving the housing and infrastructure of the 5.3 million people living in squatter settlements in Kenya.

• The first step was to construct contemporary high-rise apartments and give the residents the opportunity to own an apartment in the new development

• The KENSUP flagship in Kibera consists of a number of concrete buildings that the locals refer to as 'The Promised Land'

• The apartments are heavily subsidised and provide basic services that slums lack, like water, sanitation and electricity

3. Redevelop

• A more extreme strategy is to completely remove squatter areas and rebuild them

• This means removing the squatters and rebuilding the area in a structured and formal manner

• This is the strategy used in the UK for numerous historic inner-city slum dwelling sites and is also a suggestion for Dharavi, Mumbai, India

• The goal of Mumbai's city administration is to raise the standard of living for its residents

• This includes the informal or squatter settlements

• The current strategy in Mumbai is to completely demolish the informal settlements and replace them with high-rise tower blocks for people to live in

4. Self-help or site-and-service schemes

• Self-help provides tools, training and low-cost loans to help people help themselves

• Site-and-service schemes provide new or cleared sites with basic services for people to buy at low cost, with low-cost loans to buy materials to make their homes

• Self-help initiatives in Rocinha have transformed the neighbourhood from squatter settlements to low-quality housing, where most homes have basic utilities like electricity

• Rocinha now offers services including cafes and shops

• Some people have been granted legal ownership of the land on which their homes are built

• The 'Slum to Neighbourhood' or 'The Favela Bairro Project' is a site-and-service scheme

• Residents of the favelas can rent brick homes from the local government that are equipped with running water, electricity, and sanitation

• These homes are available for purchase by certain individuals

• Rubbish  collection, schools, and health centres are provided in these areas

5. Ignore

• Some local governments either ignore the informal settlement and hope it disappears or they lack the funds necessary to redevelop

• However, many residents have gradually improved the stability, durability, and quality of their homes by buying better-quality materials and doing the work themselves, such as parts of Rocinha in Rio

• In some areas, people have done this so well and built such a stable community that authorities are no longer needed to provide help

Case Study: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Background

• With its capital city of Brasilia, Brazil is a major agricultural and industrial power with the strongest economy in Latin America

• With a population of three million, Rio de Janeiro (Rio) served as Brazil's capital in 1950. Today it is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo) with a population of over 12.5 million

• Rio is a major trading port, with oil refining and shipbuilding industries

• The main exports are iron, steel and crude petroleum

• Rio is also a major tourist destination and hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics

Migration

• There is rapid growth of rural to urban migration in search of jobs

• Despite a large agricultural base, there is no land ownership and few opportunities for progress

• Farming is challenging and unprofitable, with poor pay and significant wealth gaps

• The area is vulnerable to natural disasters and lacks social facilities

• For many internal migrants, the city offers better job opportunities with higher wages, better schooling and healthcare and the potential for a greater quality of life

Housing

• Inward migration has put pressure on services and amenities, which has led to a housing shortage

• The favelas, of which Rocinha is the biggest and most developed  informal settlement, are where the majority of rural migrants start their lives

• Around 1000 favelas in and around the city are home to more than 20% of the population, which are mostly located on unsuitable land on the edge of the city

• Many of Rio's favelas are well-established despite people having no rights to the land they live on

• 75% of favela homes have tiled floors, while 95% are constructed of solid materials like masonry

• Some have access to computers, televisions, running water, electricity, and the Internet

• The younger, less established settlements which cling to the mountainside are overcrowded and are built of corrugated iron and timber shelters

Transport

• The planning of the necessary urban infrastructure has not supported Rio's rapid expansion

• Rio's roads are seriously congested and rail service is limited

• Private bus services provide public transport

• As the population and wealth grow, there are more cars in the city

• Although underground train services are effective, there are limited stops on the network

Education

• Children start school at 4 years old

• Because of the limited space in the classrooms, school days usually last three to four hours

• Although Brazil does not have a rigid national curriculum, educators do stick to the national standards of the state (county) in which they teach

• Because Brazil invested late in its educational system, education is frequently poor quality

• Many of Rio's public schools are in desperate need of repair, adding to poor educational attainment

• Rio has the highest rates of teenage pregnancies, school absences, and limited educational possibilities

• Since it's not always safe for kids to go to school in certain neighbourhoods, violence is a barrier to education

Crime Rates

• These have increased as the city has grown

• This is partly because of high unemployment and small crimes like pickpocketing

• Rio has a problem with youth crime and gang violence within the favelas

• Many residents feel unsafe in their homes as the gangs control the streets with guns and trade in drugs

Environmental challenges

• Many Rio households lack access to safe, running water because many of the main water pipes are broken and leaking

• Very few homes in the favelas have directly piped water to their homes

• Most residents of the favela illegally tap into the main electrical grid, making street poles unsafe with multiple households connecting to a single pole

• People in the favelas have less access to doctors and healthcare than others in the city, which increases the danger of diseases like cholera and typhoid spreading

• Given the city's continued rapid growth into nearby rural (countryside) areas, urban sprawl is a problem

• Air pollution is a serious issue, especially from industrial areas and traffic jams in the city centre

• In the favelas, where access is limited and there are no organised sewage or waste recovery systems

  • Untreated sewage ends up in nearby rivers and Guanabara Bay, where it pollutes the water and harms marine life

Approaches to improvement

• The government views its favelas as eyesores that give the city a poor image

• Local communities, charities and government departments are working in collaboration to improve conditions in favelas

• The government has to balance improvements without attracting further inward migration leading to more favela developments elsewhere

Site and service schemes in Rio

• The 60000 homes in the Complexo de Alemao (German complex) were constructed with better and regulated materials, such as power, drainage systems, and clean water supplies

• Wider, paved roads were constructed to improve accessibility within the favela, allowing for emergency services and garbage removal

• Roads were given official names and added to maps, bringing the neighbourhood into the larger city

• Street lighting improved safety, especially at night 

• Underground cables were installed, giving residents permanent power supplies and effectively preventing illegal tapping into electrical supplies

• From 1994 until 2008, the Favela Bairro Project (also known as the Favela Neighbourhood Project) aimed to give residents access to basic services and to formally recognise them as city neighbourhoods

• Families were taught to build stable foundations using strong materials and the local government moved residents living in homes deemed unsafe on the steep hillside

• Solid brick homes were constructed with power, running clean water, and sanitation pipes, reducing the impact of water-borne diseases like cholera

• Some residents were able to purchase the homes and were granted legal rights to the land

• Funding is limited, making improvement for all residents impossible

• Cultural activities such as samba, capoeira and reggae are held to stop young people from joining gangs and organised crime

Self-help schemes

• Sustainable Favela Network is a charity that helps build resilience and environmental sustainability in favelas

• A small favela in Rio's Tijuca Forest established its own bio-systems project to treat waste and sewerage in an effort to make it more sustainable

• In addition to a piping system, they also installed a biodigester to generate gas for cooking instead of throwing waste and sewerage into open pits and streams

• Many of the initiatives address environmental issues like waste management, community gardens, and the preservation of natural surroundings; these improve the health and well-being of the residents

• In some favelas, authorities and non profit organisations have given residents equipment, supplies, and training to help them upgrade their own homes.

  • The majority of homes in Rocinha are now concrete and brick, with basic plumbing, electricity, and sanitation

  • This has allowed Rocinha to expand its infrastructure to include bus links and hand businesses like pharmacies, shops, and banks

  • It even has its own cable television channel called TV ROC

• Low-interest loans help to fund these changes, which helps to reduce unemployment, improve skills and employability, and foster a sense of community; and power, water, health centres, schools, etc.

Government investment

• The Brazilian Federal Savings Bank helped locals by offering them 100% mortgages to purchase homes

• This shifts the upkeep and improvement from the government to the homeowner, freeing up money for additional features like paved roads, sewers, and street lights

• However, many favelas are situated in places with limited or no access to public transport, making it difficult for residents to find or get to work. As a result, they frequently fall behind on their mortgage payments