Top Down & Bottom up Approaches (Edexcel IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

High Speed 2 (HS2)

• Aims to reduce regional inequality increasing growth, productivity and incomes in the Midlands and the North of England

• The first stage will be completed in 2026

  • It will link Birmingham and London

  • Stage 2 included a link to Leeds - this part of the project has now been abandoned

Arguments for HS2

• Increase employment and productivity in the Midlands and North

• Over 22,000 construction jobs are to be created

• The government estimates an increase in the UK GDP of £15bn a year

• Increasing numbers of people will use trains instead of cars or planes reducing emissions

• Better transport connections reduce production costs

• The government estimates that 70% of jobs will be created outside of London

Arguments against HS2

• The cost has increased from £32.7bn to an estimated £72bn-£98bn

• Over 250 acres of green belt land will be built on

• It will cross Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

• HS2 trains will use 50% more energy than Eurostar trains

• The money could be spent on many other projects to improve the quality of people's lives

• The consultation did not take into account the views of people along the proposed route

Micro-hydro schemes in Peru

• Aims to provide electricity to remote rural areas where 50% of people were living on just US$2 a day

• Practical Action has installed 47 micro-hydro schemes across Peru which provide:

  • Metered electricity to 5,000 families

  • Good quality lighting

  • Refrigeration

  • Access to televisions/computers

• Over 25% of households have started or expanded businesses as a result of having electricity

• Approximately, 60% of household incomes have increased

Chambamontera, Peru

• The cost of the scheme was US$51,000 partly paid for by the community, Japan and Practical Action

• Over 60 families directly benefit and an additional 100 families in neighbouring villages benefit 

  • Streetlights mean that people can go outside after dark

  • Improved school facilities

  • Completing homework in an evening is now possible

  • Business development is possible

  • Coffee processing has become mechanised

Explain the disadvantages of using top-down approaches to development

(4 Marks)

• The best way to approach this question is to make two points and then explain each one, stating why it is a disadvantage

• Answer

  • The projects are usually expensive and involve borrowing money which leads to increased debt (1); this means that there is less money available for investment in other areas of development (1); 

  • The projects often involve little consultation with the local population (1); people may be significantly impacted and be forced to leave their homes (1)

  • TNCs and governments make take advantage of the local workforce (1); people may be given low pay and poor working conditions which stop them from breaking out of poverty (1)