Hwa Chong Institution
Secondary 2 Geography 2015
Term 2 – Housing
Exercise 1: Open-ended Essay Practice
Name: _____________________________ (
)
Date: _____________
Class: ______
1. High birth rate is the main cause of housing shortages. How far do you agree? [8]
I agree to a small extent that high birth rate. Housing shortage occurs when the supply of
houses cannot meet the demand and also when housing is unaffordable to those who need
it.
Some cities experience high rates of natural increase due to high birth rates and
declining death rates. Birth rates in cities may be high, especially in less developed
countries. Cities have a large proportion of people who are in their 20s and 30s who are
likely to start families. This may lead to rapid population increase and hence increasing the
demand for houses. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), London's
population increased rapidly by 104,000 in the years 2012-2013, with high birth and
migration rates. ONS data also showed that babies born to foreign-born mothers accounted
for over a quarter of the total births while births to UK-born mothers remained the same. To
cater to the increase in population, the city would need to allocate more resources to
housing.
One of the reasons that the urban population is increasing rapidly is rural-urban
migration. The reasons for rurual-urban migration can be categorised as 'push' factors or
'pull', factors. People move to cities in search of a better life. They are attracted by the job
opportunities in cities. More jobs are created in cities because of the wider range of
economic activities compared to rural areas. For example, people in the rural areas of Brazil
are attracted by work opportunities in Sao Paulo. However, there may be insufficient jobs to
cater to the huge number of migrants. Migrants may also lack the skills required for jobs
available in the cities. Hence, they have difficulty getting jobs and are not able to afford
housing. In addition, cities are unable to build sufficient houses quickly enough to house the
huge number of migrants. The migrants may then settle in slums.
Another reason for housing shortage is competing land use. There are many uses for
land, such as residential, commercial, industrial, recreation and infrastructure. With so many
competing uses for land in cities, stiff competition may result in insufficient land being set
aside for housing. If a piece of land is occupied by a huge industrial park, that plot of land will
not be available for housing development. Singapore has a wide range of land use needs.
To cater for a projected growth in population, the government has committed 17 per cent of
the land supply to housing needs. The influx of migrants to Singapore has led to an increase
in demand for HDB flats and increased in property prices.
In conclusion, I agree to a small extent that high birth rate is the main cause for housing
shortages. High birth rate will only result in higher demand for housing. However, if the
supply of houses is sufficient, there should not be any shortages. It is only when there is a
limited supply of houses due to reasons like competing landuse that will lead to housing
shortages.
2. Evaluate the strategies used to manage housing shortages.
[8]
Slum upgrading and public housing programmes are two strategies that widely used to
help improve the housing situation in many countries.
Some cities try to improve conditions in slum areas by improving the quality of housing
and basic services such as water, electricity and sewerage. Slum upgrading is carried out in
many ways and one of them is self-help schemes. Self-help schemes involve the
participation of low-income households to improve the conditions of existing housing. One
benefit of self-help schemes is governments do not provide housing directly, but instead
provide assistance in other forms such as providing construction materials or basic services.
People build the houses themselves, which reduces construction costs. An example of a
self-help scheme is the Rocinha Project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Self-help housing benefits
the locals too in that it can be carried out in phases. Residents can continue to stay in the
houses, and work on building the houses at a pace that is feasible for them. These schemes
have improved the quality of housing in Rocinha. Most of the wooden houses have now
been replaced by concrete houses. Seventy-five per cent of homes have electricity
compared to just 30 per cent in the past. Services such as rooftop water tanks and piped
water systems were also added to the houses. Proper sanitation facilities such as toilets and
sewers were also built.
However, there are cases of slum upgrading that are not so successful. Another example
of slum upgrading efforts is in Nairobi, Kenya. The government of Kenya partnered with the
United Nations (UN-HABITAT) in a project which aims to provide residents with the rights to
build on the existing land, and improve housing conditions and Infrastructure. The project
requires slum residents to shift temporarily to an area with new housing units equipped with
services. The vacated slum area would then be upgraded and residents can return to their
original sites when upgrading is completed. There are mixed responses to the project. Some
welcome it as an opportunity to improve their living conditions. Others are reluctant to
participate in the project as they are uncertain about its success and face difficulties paying
for the cost of the new housing units.
Another strategy is the provision of public housing. Public housing is reasonably priced
compared to private housing, and may also be subsidised by the government. In general,
governments plan, carry out and fund such projects. Public housing can also be provided in
other ways. For instance, old flats may be rented at a low price, abandoned buildings are
converted for residential use and new apartments can also be built. An example of the
provision of public housing is in Singapore. In the 1960s and 1970s, slums and squatter
settlements in Singapore had to be cleared to provide higher quality housing to residents.
The Housing Development Board (HDB) was set up in 1960 to build and provide public
housing for Singapore's increasing population. Over the years, Singapore's public housing
programmes have achieved considerable success. The public housing programmes have
also evolved to address the diverse needs of all residents. More than 80 per cent of
Singapore's population live in HOB flats in 2013.
However, some less developed countries do face challenges in the provision of public
housing. For instance, the Bairro Carioca Project in Rio de Janeiro (under the My House My
Life Programme in Brazil) comprises 2,240 apartments which will house 10,000 people.
However, Bairro Carioca received unwanted press shortly after the first units were launched
in 2013 due to severe flooding on the site, which was attributed to poor planning and faulty
construction. As first-floor residents suffered severe damage to their apartments and
personal property, many questioned being moved out of government-designated “risk areas”
only to be exposed to new risk factors.
In conclusion, both schemes are effective in addressing housing shortages in many
countries to a large extent. For these schemes to be successful, proper planning has to be
conducted by relevant agencies. Governments must be willing to fund such projects and not
compromise the quality of these projects with cheap materials and poor architecture.