Urbanisation Urbanization is an increase in the percentage of a population living in urban areas. It is one of the most significant geographical phenomena of the 21th century. Urbanization takes place when the urban population is growing more rapidly than the population as a whole. It is caused by a number of inter-related factors: •migration to urban areas •higher birth rates in urban areas due to the youthful age structure •higher death rates in rural areas due to diseases, unreliable food supply, famine, decreased standard of living in rural areas, poor water, hygiene and medication •rural areas being reclassified as urban areas (this would normally accompany the above factors). More than two-thirds of the world’s urban population is now in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The population in urban areas in developing countries will grow from 1.9 billion in 2000 to 3.9 billion by 2030. In developed countries, however, the urban population is expected to increase very slowly, from 0.9 billion in 2000 to 1 billion in 2030. The overall population growth rate for the world for that period is 1 per cent, while the growth rate for urban areas is nearly double, at 1.8 per cent. At that rate, the world’s urban population will double in 38 years. Growth will be even more rapid in the urban areas of developing countries, averaging 2.3 per cent per year, with a doubling time of 30 years. The urbanization process in developed countries has stabilized, with about 75 per cent of the population living in urban areas. Latin America and the Caribbean were 50 per cent urbanized by 1960 but here urbanization is now about 75 per cent. Africa is still predominantly rural, with only 37.3 per cent living in urban areas in 1999, but with a growth rate of 4.87 per cent, the continent of Africa has the fastest rate of urbanization. By 2030, Asia and Africa will each have more urban dwellers than any other major area of the world. Two aspects of this rapid growth Urbanisation have been the increase in the number of large cities and the historically unprecedented size of the largest cities. A megacity is a city with over 10 million people. In 1950, there was only one megacity: New York City. In 2000, there were 19 megacities, 424 cities with a population of 1 to 10 million, and 433 cities in the 0.5 to 1 million category. By 2015, it was estimated that there were 23 cities with a population over 10 million and of these, 19 are in developing countries. Most of the world’s megacities had slower population growth rates during the 1980s and 1990s, and most of the larger cities are significantly smaller than had been expected. For instance, Mexico City had around 18 million people in 2000 - not the 31 million predicted in 1980. Kolkata in India had fewer than 13 million inhabitants in 2000, not the 40-50 million people predicted in the 1970s. Several factors help explain this: •In many cities in the developing world, slow economic growth (or economic decline) attracted fewer people. •The capacity of cities outside the very large metropolitan centres to attract a significant proportion of new investment was limited. •Lower rates of natural increase have occurred, as fertility rates have come down. However, there were some large cities whose population growth rates remained high from the1980s through to the 2010s, for example Dhaka in Bangladesh and many cities in India and China. Strong economic performance by such cities is the most important factor in explaining Urbanisation this. This growth attracts many young migrants, to whom birth rates are higher in urban areas, and death rates are lower there too. Given the association between economic growth and urbanization, a steady increase in the level of urbanization in low-income nations is only likely to take place if they also have a steadily growing economy. Urban problems in developing countries Case Study- Urban problems in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is a city of contrasts, with a huge gap between rich and poor. Rio's urban problems and their causes Millions of people have migrated from rural areas and other urban areas in Brazil to Rio de Janeiro in search of work and a better standard of living. The problem is that there are neither enough jobs nor houses for everyone. Therefore, many migrants are forced to make their own homes (on land they do not own) and get whatever casual work they can, often in the informal sector. Rio de Janeiro has many slum communities. The natural increase in population is much higher in the most recent favelas (squatter settlements, largely in the outer suburbs and rural-urban fringe). As spontaneous settlements are forced to develop on available land, most of the sites have been used in the central and inner urban areas. Many favelas were moved to outer suburban areas. In inner urban areas, newly established favelas were frequently forced to develop on steep hillsides, where landslides are a threat. About 17 per cent of Rio's population are favela-dwellers. They occupy just 6.3 per cent of Rio's land area. There are four main types of slum in Rio: •squatter settlements or favelas - dense invasions of land with self-built housing on land lacking in infrastructure •illegal subdivisions of land and/or housing •invasions- irregular occupations of land still in the process of becoming fully established, generally found in 'risky' areas such as around and beneath viaducts, under electricity lines, on the edge of railways or in public streets and squares •corticos- old decaying housing that has been rented out without any legal basis. These are mainly located in the central areas and the port area. Population growth is very rapid in some slums. For example, Rio das Pedras, located in a flooded swamp area, grew to 18000 within its first two years. Recently there has been decentralization of activities from the CBD towards the edge of the city. The movement of high-income classes to the coastal expansion areas to the east of the city has mirrored this. The inequality in wealth in Rio is staggering: the richest 1 per cent of the population earns 12 per cent of the income and the poorest 50 per cent earns just 13 per cent of the city's income. The southern zone of the city is the richest area. Urbanisation Rio's period of extremely rapid growth (1960-80) has slowed but growth is still at the rate of over a million a decade. Public services such as education and health have become inadequate as a result of rapid urban growth. The steep mountains that surround the narrow, flat coastal strips of land have affected the physical growth of Rio. The mountainous relief limits the space for building and makes the development of an effective transport network more difficult. The few existing transport routes have to be used by everyone, which leads to traffic congestion. The mountains surrounding the city trap photochemical smog created by exhaust fumes, resulting in poor air quality. Raw sewage has been draining straight into the bay, with population growth and industrial growth in Rio worsening the problems this causes. Today there is no marine life left in much of the bay, commercial fishing has decreased by 90 per cent in the last 20 years, and swimming from beaches in the interior of the bay is not advisable. The Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is the lake inland from Ipanema and Leblon. Here, in February 2000 the release of raw sewage led to algal blooms and eutrophication which resulted in the death of 132 tonnes of fish. Solutions to urban problems The housing crisis in developing countries Provision of enough quality housing is another major problem in developing countries. There are at least four aspects to the management of housing stock: •quality of housing- with proper water, sanitation, electricity and space •quantity of housing- having enough units to meet demand •availability and affordability of housing •housing tenure (ownership or rental). There is a variety of possible solutions to the housing problem: •government support for low-income self-built housing •subsidies for home building •flexible loans to help shanty town dwellers •slum upgrading in central areas •improved private and public rental housing •support for the informal sector/small businesses operating at home •site and service schemes •encouragement of community schemes •construction of health and educational services. Urbanisation Housing the urban poor Governments of developing countries would not be able to solve their housing problems even if they were to try. The best that they could be expected to do in an environment of general poverty is to improve living conditions. They should try to: •reduce the number of people living at densities of more than 1.5 individuals in each room •increase access to electricity and drinking water •improve sanitation •prevent families from moving into areas that are physically unsafe •encourage households to improve the quality of their accommodation. A sensible approach is to destroy slums as often as possible, on the grounds that every displaced family needs to be rehoused, and removing families is often disastrous. Governments should also avoid building formal housing for the very poor. Sensible governments will attempt to upgrade inadequate accommodation by providing infrastructure and services of an appropriate standard. There are no easy solutions to housing problems in developing countries because poor housing is merely one manifestation of general poverty. Decent shelter can never be provided while there is widespread poverty. Urban agriculture The phrase ‘urban agriculture’ initially sounds like a contradiction in terms. However, the phenomenon has grown in significance in cities in the developing world over the past 20 years. Evidence suggests that in some cities, urban agriculture may already occupy up to 35 per cent of the land area, may employ up to 36 per cent of the population, and may supply up to 50 per cent of urban fresh vegetable needs. Food produced locally in urban areas may have several added benefits. First, it employs a proportion of the city’s population. In Addis Ababa, dwellers can save between 10 and 20 per Urbanisation cent of their income through urban cultivation. It also diversifies the sources of food, resulting in a more secure supply. New Cities For more New developed cities countries there are more options. At one end of the scale are new towns and cities, such as Brasilia in Brazil, Canberra in Australia, and Gongju-Yongi in South Korea. Gongju-Yongi is a 42 billion-dollar scheme to reduce the importance of Seoul as Korea’s capital by 2020. The relocation is necessary to ease chronic overcrowding in Seoul, redistribution of the state’s wealth, and to reduce the danger of a military attack from North Korea. Previous developments have concentrated huge amounts of money, power and up to half of Korea’s population in Seoul. Construction began in 2007. Another impressive scheme is the Malaysian new town of Putrajaya. Managing urban Problems Managing transport in cities Urbanisation Case study- Sustainable development in Curitiba Curitiba, a city in south-west Brazil, is an excellent model for sustainable urban development. It has experienced rapid population growth, from 300,000 in 1950 to over 2.1 million in 1990, but has managed to avoid all the problems normally associated with it. This success is largely due to innovative planning: •Public transport is preferred over private cars. •The environment is used rather than changed. •Cheap, low-technology solutions are used rather than high-technology' ones. •Development occurs through the participation of citizens (bottom-up development) rather than top down development (centralized planning) Urbanisation Transport Transport in Curitiba is highly integrated. The road network and public transport system have structural axes. These allow the city to expand but keep shops, workplaces and homes closely linked. There are five main axes of the three parallel roadways: •express routes - a central road with two express bus lanes •direct routes •local roads. Curitiba’s mass transport system is based on the bus. Inter district and feeder bus routes complement the express bus lanes along the structural axes. Everything is geared towards the speed of the journey and convenience of passengers: •a single fare allows transfer from express routes to inter district and local buses •extra wide doors allow passengers to crowd on quickly •double- and triple-length buses allow for rush hour loads. The rationale for the bus system was economic as well as sustainable. A subway would have cost up to $80 million per km whereas the express busways were only $200,000 per km. The bus companies are paid by the kilometre of road they serve, not the number of passengers. This ensures that all areas of the city' are served. Housing Areas of spontaneous housing in Rio used to be bulldozed without warning. However, the authorities were unable to offer enough alternative housing with the result that the favelas grew again. The authorities have now allowed these areas to become permanent. The primary phase of the project addressed the built environment, aiming to provide: Urbanisation •paved and formally named roads •water supply pipes and sewerage/drainage systems •crèches, leisure facilities and sports areas •relocation for families who were currently living in high-risk areas, such as areas subject to frequent landslides •channeled rivers to stop them changing course. The second phase of the project aimed to bring the favela dwellers into mainstream society and keep them away from crime. This is being done by: •generating employment, for example by creating cooperatives of dressmakers, cleaners and construction workers, and helping them to establish themselves in the labor market •improving education and providing relevant courses such as ICT •giving residents access to credit so that they can buy construction materials and improve their homes. The project has been used as a model of its type. The government is also helping people to become homeowners. The mountainous relief of Rio means there is not a great amount of building space available. Development has consequently moved out (decentralized) to create ‘edge towns’ such as Barra da Tijuca. Barra is an example of decentralization of the rich and upper classes. Education A number of developments have taken place to try to improve the quality of the education system. Amigos de Escola (school friends) encourages people from the community to volunteer their skills to improve opportunities offered by their local schools. Bolsa Escola (school grants) gives monthly financial incentives to low-income families to keep their children at school. Rocinha is a central favela with a population of about 200,000 inhabitants. Over 90 per cent of the buildings are now constructed from brick and have electricity, running water and sewage systems. Rocinha has its own newspapers and radio station. There are food and clothes shops, video rental shops, bars, travel agent and there was even a McDonald’s at one stage. Many of these improvements and developments are the result of Rocinha’s location close to wealthy areas such as Sao Conrado and Copacabana. Many of the residents work in these wealthy areas that surround Rocinha, and although monthly incomes are low, they are not as low as elsewhere in the city and in Brazil. These regular incomes have allowed improvements to be carried out by the residents themselves. Water pollution Urbanisation Much work has already taken place in Rio to improve the sewage systems. Improving sanitation will also help revive the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, where 4 km of new sewage pipes are currently being installed. Urbanization and the environment Managing environmental problems Environmental issues that most cities have to deal with include: •water quality •dereliction •air quality •noise •environmental health of the population. There are a range of environmental problems in urban areas. These vary over time as economic development progresses. The greatest concentration of environmental problems occurs in cities experiencing rapid growth. This concentration of problems is referred to as the Brown Agenda. It has two main components: •issues caused by limited availability of land, water and services •problems such as toxic hazardous waste, pollution of water, air and soil, and industrial accidents such as that at Bhopal in 1985. Urbanisation Attempts to turn cities green can be expensive. Increasingly local governments are monitoring the environment to check for signs of environmental stress, and then applying some form of pollution management, integrated management, or conservation order to protect the environment.
