Urban Issues and Challenges
Urbanisation
● Over 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. Urbanisation is much faster in LICs and NEEs
than in HICs, as most people already live in cities in HICs.
● This rapid growth is due to push factors, pull factors, and natural increase.
● Urbanisation in HICs largely happened during industrialisation, and so current growth is slower.
● Megacities are urban areas with more than 10 million inhabitants. Key causes for their emergence include
rural to urban migration, natural increase, and rapid industrialisation (especially in NEEs), which can lead to
the multiplier effect and urban sprawl.
Push Factors Pull Factors
➔ Natural disasters → crop loss → ➔ More opportunities for better
affects profit paid jobs → higher income →
➔ Farming is difficult → low income improved quality of life
➔ Few qualified doctors around → ➔ City has entertainment and
reduced quality of healthcare → leisure facilities
‘brain drain’ of skilled workers ➔ Family and friends live there
➔ No education → low-skilled jobs ➔ Electricity and running water →
or unemployment → poverty better living standards
➔ Desertification → loss of farmers’ ➔ Education and healthcare
livelihoods → food insecurity and
famine
Case Study of a city in a LIC or NEE: Rio de Janeiro
● Rio de Janeiro is a city on the south-east coast of Brazil. It is just above the Tropic of Capricorn and the
Brazilian Highlands are to the north and the Amazon Rainforest is to the north-west.
● Importance of the city regionally: mountainous terrain (Sugarloaf Mountain), squatter settlements (favelas).
● Importance of the city nationally: sport (hosted 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics), cultural capital of
Brazil, second largest city in Brazil, important industrial centre
● Importance of the city internationally: tourism hotspot, UNESCO World Heritage Site
● Causes of growth: rural to urban migration driven by push and pull factors, and natural increase
Challenge Details Possible Solution
Healthcare (social) - In 2013, only 55% of Rio had a - Medical staff take health kits into
local family health clinic people’s homes to identify
- Services for the pregnant and diseases and treat them → lower
elderly very poor infant mortality → higher life
- Life expectancy in the West expectancy
Zone is 45 years compared to - The Saúde Presente programme
80 years in the South Zone was launched in 2009 to expand
healthcare to previously neglected
areas of healthcare management
→ ensures all citizens have access
to healthcare professionals
Education (social) - In Rio, only 50% of all children - The Schools of Tomorrow
, continue their education programme enrolled 16,000
beyond 14 years of age students and teaches practical
- Low enrolment levels are down skills
to shortage of schools and - Volunteering is encouraged
teachers, lack of money, low - School grants to poorer families
salaries and poor teacher and free childcare
training
Water Supply (social) - Around 12% of Rio’s population - 7 new treatment plants were built
did not have access to running - 300km of pipes were laid
water - By 2014, 95% of the population
- 37% of water is lost through had a mains water supply
leaky pipes, fraud and illegal
access
Energy (social) - The whole city suffers from - 60km of new power lines installed
frequent blackouts due to - New nuclear power generator
shortage of electricity - The Simplicio hydroelectric
complex will increase the city’s
supply by 30%
Employment (economic) - Brazil’s economy was affected - Using the Schools of Tomorrow
by a recession in 2015 programme and offering free
- Unemployment rates in the childcare to reduce youth
favelas can be over 20% unemployment
Crime (socio-economic) - Robbery and violent crime are - Police (e.g. Pacifying Police Units)
big challenges → lower crime rate → increased
property values → growing
tourism
Air Pollution - It is one of the most congested - Expansion of the metro system to
(environmental) cities in South America and the South Zone
brown smog and air pollution - Toll roads → reduced congestion
causes 5000 deaths per year - Making coastal roads one-way
- The number of cars has grown during rush hour → improves
by 40% in the last decade traffic flow
Water Pollution - Guanabara Bay is high polluted - 12 new sewage works have been
(environmental) → threat to wildlife → affects built since 2004, costing $68
tourism and therefore economy million
- Commercial fishing has - Ships are fined for illegally
declined by 90% in the past 20 discharging fuel into the bay
years - 5km of new sewage pipes
Waste Pollution - This is worse in favelas due to - Power plan set up near the
(environmental) steep hills which makes it University of Rio using methane
difficult for waste collection gas
lorries - Consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish
- Most waste is dumped and per day → enough electricity for
pollutes the water system → 1000 homes
encourages rats and diseases
(e.g. cholera)
Urbanisation
● Over 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. Urbanisation is much faster in LICs and NEEs
than in HICs, as most people already live in cities in HICs.
● This rapid growth is due to push factors, pull factors, and natural increase.
● Urbanisation in HICs largely happened during industrialisation, and so current growth is slower.
● Megacities are urban areas with more than 10 million inhabitants. Key causes for their emergence include
rural to urban migration, natural increase, and rapid industrialisation (especially in NEEs), which can lead to
the multiplier effect and urban sprawl.
Push Factors Pull Factors
➔ Natural disasters → crop loss → ➔ More opportunities for better
affects profit paid jobs → higher income →
➔ Farming is difficult → low income improved quality of life
➔ Few qualified doctors around → ➔ City has entertainment and
reduced quality of healthcare → leisure facilities
‘brain drain’ of skilled workers ➔ Family and friends live there
➔ No education → low-skilled jobs ➔ Electricity and running water →
or unemployment → poverty better living standards
➔ Desertification → loss of farmers’ ➔ Education and healthcare
livelihoods → food insecurity and
famine
Case Study of a city in a LIC or NEE: Rio de Janeiro
● Rio de Janeiro is a city on the south-east coast of Brazil. It is just above the Tropic of Capricorn and the
Brazilian Highlands are to the north and the Amazon Rainforest is to the north-west.
● Importance of the city regionally: mountainous terrain (Sugarloaf Mountain), squatter settlements (favelas).
● Importance of the city nationally: sport (hosted 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics), cultural capital of
Brazil, second largest city in Brazil, important industrial centre
● Importance of the city internationally: tourism hotspot, UNESCO World Heritage Site
● Causes of growth: rural to urban migration driven by push and pull factors, and natural increase
Challenge Details Possible Solution
Healthcare (social) - In 2013, only 55% of Rio had a - Medical staff take health kits into
local family health clinic people’s homes to identify
- Services for the pregnant and diseases and treat them → lower
elderly very poor infant mortality → higher life
- Life expectancy in the West expectancy
Zone is 45 years compared to - The Saúde Presente programme
80 years in the South Zone was launched in 2009 to expand
healthcare to previously neglected
areas of healthcare management
→ ensures all citizens have access
to healthcare professionals
Education (social) - In Rio, only 50% of all children - The Schools of Tomorrow
, continue their education programme enrolled 16,000
beyond 14 years of age students and teaches practical
- Low enrolment levels are down skills
to shortage of schools and - Volunteering is encouraged
teachers, lack of money, low - School grants to poorer families
salaries and poor teacher and free childcare
training
Water Supply (social) - Around 12% of Rio’s population - 7 new treatment plants were built
did not have access to running - 300km of pipes were laid
water - By 2014, 95% of the population
- 37% of water is lost through had a mains water supply
leaky pipes, fraud and illegal
access
Energy (social) - The whole city suffers from - 60km of new power lines installed
frequent blackouts due to - New nuclear power generator
shortage of electricity - The Simplicio hydroelectric
complex will increase the city’s
supply by 30%
Employment (economic) - Brazil’s economy was affected - Using the Schools of Tomorrow
by a recession in 2015 programme and offering free
- Unemployment rates in the childcare to reduce youth
favelas can be over 20% unemployment
Crime (socio-economic) - Robbery and violent crime are - Police (e.g. Pacifying Police Units)
big challenges → lower crime rate → increased
property values → growing
tourism
Air Pollution - It is one of the most congested - Expansion of the metro system to
(environmental) cities in South America and the South Zone
brown smog and air pollution - Toll roads → reduced congestion
causes 5000 deaths per year - Making coastal roads one-way
- The number of cars has grown during rush hour → improves
by 40% in the last decade traffic flow
Water Pollution - Guanabara Bay is high polluted - 12 new sewage works have been
(environmental) → threat to wildlife → affects built since 2004, costing $68
tourism and therefore economy million
- Commercial fishing has - Ships are fined for illegally
declined by 90% in the past 20 discharging fuel into the bay
years - 5km of new sewage pipes
Waste Pollution - This is worse in favelas due to - Power plan set up near the
(environmental) steep hills which makes it University of Rio using methane
difficult for waste collection gas
lorries - Consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish
- Most waste is dumped and per day → enough electricity for
pollutes the water system → 1000 homes
encourages rats and diseases
(e.g. cholera)
