GCSE Case Study Guide – UNIT 2: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Foundation Version
In the exam remember
to:
Locate your case study
clearly, with a clear
place name and where it
is in the world. Maps
can help here.
Link your case study
directly to the question
Answer all parts of the
question (sometimes
there can 3 or 4 sections
in one question!)
Quote some facts and
figures about the place
Mention specific
locations and place or
scheme names to
impress the examiner
Explain your ideas
fully.
Locate the case
studies in this
booklet on the
maps of the UK
and the World
Revise these case studies
for your examination
Extreme environments and the Antarctica Case Study
Antarctica is the World’s southern most continent. It is a land
made up of mainly ice (99% of the continent is covered in ice
sheet) and is uninhabited (barely anyone lives there) aside from a
few thousand scientific researches. The lowest ever
temperatures recorded on Earth have been recorded here, at
Vostok, Antarctica, where it dropped to nearly -89.2 °C
These temperatures make it a truly EXTREME environment, very dangerous for humans to visit and live. You
can also witness the Aurora Australis or southern lights here, and a huge range of wildlife from emperor
penguins, seals to whales.
The environment is also incredibly sensitive. It can take many hundreds of years for rubbish to decompose
because of the extremely low temperatures, and the food chain is also delicate because most of the marine
life rely upon Krill as their primary source of food.
Antarctica is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourists. Indeed, tourist numbers have gone
from 9,000 in 1992-93 to 46,000 in 2007-8 with over 100 companies being involved Visitors are mainly
from rich nations (39% American, 15% British).
Few visitors go on the ice as it is too hazardous, however, there are some very accessible sites and boats tend
to stop there. These are Honey pot sites and the animals get disturbed from their usual feeding and breeding
routines. In addition, many ships have run aground and had accidents and oil spills are an increasing hazard.
Waste from tourist boats is also a problem, and by law ships are required to discharge waste well away from
the edges of Antarctica.
The Antarctic is protected in many ways, but people are concerned that tourism and its increasing numbers
could become unsustainable.
The IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) is an organisation which rules the
companies and tries to be environmentally friendly.
Indeed, boats are limited to 500 passengers which should reduce the impact of tourism.
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In addition, Tourism has to follow the rules of the Antarctic treaty, signed in 1961, where many countries
promised to demilitarize Antarctica, to establish it as a zone free of nuclear tests and the disposal of
radioactive waste, and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes only;
to promote international scientific cooperation in Antarctica;
To set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty.
Visitors cannot visit SSSIs or Sites of Special Scientific Interest which often contain vulnerable wildlife,
again reducing the impact of tourism.
Permits must also be obtained to go, and these permits include sections on waste management, risk
management and how the applicant will minimise their Environmental Impact whilst in Antarctica.
The Antarctic Act of 1994 is a UK act which supports the Antarctic Treaty of 1961 and makes
environmental damage in Antarctica by any British citizen punishable by law.
National Parks – the Lake District case study - A case study of a
UK National Park
The Lake District National Park is England’s largest park and includes Scafell Pike - its highest mountain,
Wastwater - its deepest lake and thriving communities like Keswick and Bowness-on-Windermere. There are
42,400 permanent residents and a huge amount of activities for visitors on offer, including walking, climbing,
cycling, boat cruises and various museums. Current surveys show that at least 8 million visitors come to the Lake
District each year. Most come to enjoy the scenery, peace and quiet and walking but many others visit specific
attractions or take part in an outdoor activity. They stay in a mixture of self-catering and serviced
accommodation. The National Park Authority's current challenge is finding ways of encouraging sustainable tourism
without further damaging the very landscape which visitors come to enjoy. Indeed public access to the uplands or
fells is unrestricted, and this can pose problems
Lake Windemere attracts over 1 million visitors on its own each year! This makes sustainability difficult to
achieve with such large visitor numbers.
Problems in the Lake District and attempts at management
Limited supply of property
The limits placed upon development in the Lake District means that new houses are rarely built. There has also
been a rise in the number of people from outside of the Lake District buying up property for a second home they
can use to holiday in. These 2 factors have pushed up house prices in the Lake District and made it very
difficult for local people (especially those on low wages) to own their own property in the Lake District. The
ownership of second homes (15% of homes in the Lake district are second homes of holiday lets) has knock on
or secondary problems because holiday homes are unoccupied for most of the year – this can increase crime and
means people are not in the towns and villages using local services. This has a bad effect on the community and
means that local services such as schools and shops can be under pressure for closure. Housing is private, so there
is very little local councils can do apart from build more properties to rent to locals.
Traffic problems
89% of visitors come to the Lake District by car, often just for the day. In a region where roads are often
narrow and winding, and towns were constructed before the invention of the motor car this can pose massive
problems. Congestion, traffic jams and parking are major issues, and people can park on grass verges in
desperation, narrowing the road and making congestion even worse. These problems can be overcome in 2 ways –
improving the road network and improving public transport.
Environmental problems
There is a wide array of environmental problems associated with tourism in the Lake District. Aside from common
problems with litter, there exists footpath erosion, lakeside erosion and air pollution. The increased number of
cars damages the air from car exhausts, and also people park on grass verges, damaging the ground parked upon.
Footpath erosion occurs because of the sheer numbers of people using popular routes. According to the Park
Authority, 4 million people walk an average of 6km each year. The pressure of these people’s feet damages
plants and soil, making soil erosion possible. These issues are worst in Honey pot or popular areas, which also
suffer from the stresses of overcrowding, parking problems and second homes.
Jamaica – an example of a country that has Mass Tourism
Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean Sea within the Tropics. It has mass tourism because many people visit
every year (1.3 million people in 2001). People visit for the beaches such as Montego Bay, deep sea fishing at
Port Antonio, caves at Cockpit County, golf courses such as next to Kingston Town and water sports in
Montego Bay. More cultural activities include various historic plantation houses such as at Port Maria and there
are environmental tourist attractions such as bird sanctuaries inland from Montego Bay and Botanic Gardens and a
National Park in the Blue Mountains. Mass Tourism also brings problems and positives to the Island.
POSITIVES
Tourism brings in money to Jamaica – 20% of its GDP – this money can be spent on essential services such as
health care and education which can boost the overall level of development. This does have a downside however, as
Jamaica is dependent upon this income and if tourist numbers fall the economy would be affected.
220,000 Jamaicans work in tourism – it is a vital employer. People work in a wide range of jobs, from the
construction of hotels and tourist facilities, to service work cleaning, working in bars, caddying on golf courses
amongst other jobs.
Tourism benefits many sections of the economy as people spend money in bars, restaurants, and other local
businesses, so tourism has a positive multiplier effect.
NEGATIVES
Many of the jobs created are seasonal, so people can become unemployed
Large TNCs (Trans National Companies) such as Thomas Cook organise the holidays and make most of the money,
so the profits go out of Jamaica and into MEDCs
Local employees are paid low wages, whereas managers from other countries tend to earn more.
There is cultural pollution/dilution; Jamaica has a problem with sex tourism and a problem with drugs.
Land for the massive hotels takes away land from famers. Water use also increases for drinking water, washing
and recreation, taking water from local people.
As a response to some of the problems and in an attempt to become more sustainable, Jamaica is branching
tourism out into community tourism were tourists stay with locals in their homes, directly benefitting locals, and
ecotourism, in the inland area of the Blue Mountains with low densities and tourist lodges.
The Galapagos Islands – A case study of Ecotourism and benefits to
the environment, the local economy and the lives of the people.
The Galapagos Islands are a small chain of islands found 1,000km from the West coast of South America. They are
home to an incredible array of animals and plants. This is because the islands are isolated or cut off from the rest of the
World’s land mass by the Pacific Ocean, allowing the plants and animals to EVOLVE in their own way for hundreds of thousands
of years. Approximately 90% of the Islands are designated as National parks and there are only 20,000 permanent Human
residents (this is up from 9,700 in 1990), allowing for a high degree of protection of the environment.
The Galapagos Islands represent a place in the world were ECOTOURISM takes place. This is environmentally friendly tourism
where the people involved seek to protect the environment as much as possible and to allow for some level of education as well.
In many cases of ecotourism, some of the profits go back into protecting the environment and the tourism is small scale, with
low visitor number densities and environmental approaches to accommodation and food.
The Galapagos are run along these lines because;
1. Tourists visit under strict rules
2. They can only visit on small ships of 10 to 16 tourists, most of which are owned by local people
3. The tourists can only visit a limited number of places on the Islands, thus protecting the rest of the Islands
4. The tourists are only allowed to visit in small numbers.
5. Visitors also receive information on how to conserve the Islands prior to their departure to the Islands.
6. They also have to pay a £25 fee to promote conservation on the Islands
Despite all of this, there are still some problems from the overuse of some sites (honey pot sites), oil spills from boats,
and pollution to the Islands water supply and the water supply is put under pressure from the tourists use.
However, local people make a valuable living from tourism and there are few other employment opportunities available. Tourists
also generate a lot of businesses in the local economy as guides, restraints, hotels, boats owners and cleaners all benefit.
Impact of Government strategies from the 1990s on the inner city – Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tyne and Wear Development Corporation (TWDC)
The riverside areas of Newcastle upon Tyne were responsible for the cities incredible growth and wealth during
the industrial revolution. Heavy industries such as the Armstrong armaments works and ship building (e.g.
Swan Hunters) employed tens of thousands of people from riverside communities in Newcastle such as Elswick
and Scotswood. Overseas competition in these industries in the 1960s, 70s and 80s led to the decline and closure
of these industries and the communities suffered as a result.
The graph shows this decline in these riverside areas in comparison to the rest of Newcastle. The graph shows
that the West End is a poorer area than Newcastle overall. There are a lot more people who live in a council
property in the West End than Newcastle. This could be because of low monthly wages given to the people at the
West End, this might be because of the people being under qualified in the area from lack of education. This also
could be proven by the 30% of students still at school at the age of seventeen compared to the Newcastle
area of 41%. This means that the area overall is under qualified and a lot poorer than Newcastle.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Newcastle (%)
Council rented
accomodation
17 year olds
still at school
Households
with the use of
the car
Male
unempolyment
children from a
one parent
family
Westend (%)
nonwhitehead
household
Percentage
Comparison of Newcastle to the West End
Area of problem studied
Tyne and Wear Development Corporation (TWDC) – large
scale regeneration
West End City Challenge
Aims
Create new business districts or modern offices and
industrial estates
Increasing employment through grants and training
Reviving riversides as a place to live
Improving environment and landscaping
Create new jobs
Improve educational achievements
Support training and employment opportunities
Funding
£430 million of government money attracting £1,114
million of private sector money
£37.5 million of government money over 5
years, which attracted £80 million of private
cash.
Projects
Mainly Flagship projects including:
Local community based projects including:
Newcastle Business park - £140 million development Extension to Newcastle Breweries – creating
of 25ha of offices on previous derelict land British
280 jobs
Airways have offices there.
Renovation and gentrification of old Scotswood
Newcastle Arena
housing
Newcastle quayside – cost £170 million
Employing extra teachers and free alarm clocks
for students
John Marley community centre for training
CCTV to combat crime
Evaluation TWDC has transformed the Newcastle Quayside but has
WECC has tried to benefit local people in
been less successful at regenerating housing estates.
improving their local environment. Despite
Many local communities had to be relocated to make way
strides being made in local housing many
for the big developments.
properties remain derelict and children still fail
to achieve in school
China’s attempts to control population
Populations can grow or decline, and China is an example of a place that passed through a period of huge population
growth. China has the world’s largest population and a history of very strict controls on that population. The
Communist government of the 1960’s had to cope with a massive famine which killed over 30 million people. This led to
2 important changes – a government led farming policy and also a heavy handed approach to controlling population.
China’s “one child per family” policy was introduced in the 1970s amid fears of another 1960s style famine and changes
to society as it moved from an agricultural to industrial economy. Population growth in China is shown below.
This One child policy started in 1979 and is where every family can have only one child, but they must ask permission
from their bosses at work.
They also have to be over 24 before they can get married.
If allowed to have a baby the family are issued with a card; this card is very important, as the child cannot be
registered without it.
In addition, some women where sterilised (made infertile) after their first child and incentives were offered such as a 5
to 10% salary rise if the couple stuck to just one child.
However families were allowed to have a second child, but the family must pay for everything; unlike the first child,
where the government pays for everything. Salaries could also be cut, and the second child could not become a Chinese
citizen. There were “granny police” who snooped on their neighbours and on people at work, checking the women of child
bearing age.
Some people do not agree with China’s crash programme. If the new regime is followed for around 100 years china’s
population will have halved.
Problems with the policy
Benefits
People were pressured by the Granny Police
The forecast famine never happened
Women could be persuaded to have an abortion as late as
An estimate of 400 million fewer people have been born
7 months – this would be illegal in the UK
Controlling population has allowed China to develop and
Female Infanticide, where girls are aborted, was
reduced strain on public services such as schools and
practised. This is because Chinese society favours sons.
hospitals
This has created a gender imbalance.
Standards of living have increased
Chinese boys became spoilt – they were knick named “little
emperors”
Children had no aunts or uncles, no cousins, no brothers or
sisters
Recent changes
The policy has been relaxed in recent decades and in the last few years it has been withdrawn in major cities to prevent
a shortage of labour. Young couples can now have 2 children, but government workers must stick to the policy in some
areas. However, the policy will persist because in 2008 China had 1 million more births than deaths every 5 weeks and
600 million people living on less than $2 a day (the UN’s measure of poverty).
The UK - a EU country with an ageing population.
Many countries across the world have what is known as an ageing population. This involves an increasing
proportion of people living to old age (and in many cases extreme old age above 85 years), increasing life
expectancies and decreasing numbers of children as a percentage of the population. Many of the countries
in the EU have very low birth and fertility rates (the number of babies per woman) as shown below;
France - 12.43 births per 1000, 1.97 births per woman
Germany - 8.21 births per 1000, 1.41 births per woman
UK - 10.67 births per 1000, 1.66 births per woman
(Source: CIA fact book 2010)
The replacement rate for a country to have a population of a stable size is 2.1 births per woman. It is
clear from the table that many of these countries have fertility rates well below these levels. Coupled with
the ageing of these populations, this poses massive problems for the governments of these countries because
they have naturally decreasing and ageing populations.
The UK is a good example of one of these countries as is shown in the graph below;
So, what is the UK's solution to having an ageing population?
Dealing with ageing - the state pension age for females has already risen to be in line with males at 65 and
both will rise to 67. There has been extra money set aside for care of the elderly, including things like the
winter fuel allowance and free flu jabs for all elderly.
Dealing with low fertility rates - There are many pro natal policies in the UK designed to boost the fertility
rate. These include child benefits (a weekly payment to people who have children), improved maternity leave
for women and men, health in pregnancy grants and child trust funds (which are about to be phased out).
The other way of dealing with the increasing dependency ratio of the UK and the rise in the number of
elderly relative to the number of working age has been to allow unlimited immigration from the EU and
controlled migration of peoples from outside of the EU. This is a controversial issue, for example, many of
our health care workers come from poorer nations such as India. Should we take the skilled workers of
poorer nations?
Economic movements within the EU, refugee movements to
the EU and the impacts of such movements.
There is a huge amount of internal migration - that means Europeans moving to other European countries. If
you are a resident of a European Union nation you are free to choose to live and work in any of the EU
member states.
Britain and migration
In 2008 4 of the top countries of last residence for immigrants into Britain were from EU countries, and 7
were from MEDCs.
For people emigrating in 2008, 2 of the top 3 slots were taken by Poland and Germany, showing Poles and
Germans who had been living in Britain actually going home after a period of work.
For British citizens emigrating to live elsewhere, Australia was by far the most popular destination, but
48,000 British people in total went to live in the European Union, in France, Spain and Germany
Eastern European migration into Britain
On the whole wealthier countries in the EU tend to attract more migrants from other poorer European
countries. When countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004 their
people had the right to move to Britain and work. What followed was one of the biggest immigrations of
people into Britain since records began, as many Eastern Europeans flocked to what was a booming UK
economy in search of work.
Between 2004 and 2006 the UK became the host country for 600,000 Eastern European migrants. Many
found formal jobs particularly in the construction and retailing trades, earning as much as 5 times as much
as they did in their home countries.
The benefits of this are that the UK received lots of tax from migrant workers. Job areas that British
people would not do were also being filled, Eastern Europeans filled vital jobs within the NHS and
construction, whilst also doing tough farm work. For the Eastern Europeans, they sent money back home
(called remittances) which benefits their families and countries, and they earned lots of money.
Some negatives included some Eastern Europeans working informally and not paying tax. This meant that
British firms were undercut. Also, the Eastern Europeans used vital services such as health care and
education, all of which needs to be paid for and adjust to the language barrier.
Migration from outside of the EU
The EU also receives over 2 million people a year from outside of its borders. Most of this is labour or
economic migration. Europe needs migration because of falling birth rates but many people within Europe
would like to see the numbers of immigrants coming into the EU fall. However, highly skilled immigrants fill
vital jobs within the EU. Some migrants are refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries, such as
the Iraqis and Afghans who fled during recent wars. Today there are 2 million Iraqis who have fled their
homes for other countries including the EU. This can cause problems in terms of language, getting access to
services for the Iraqis, racism and finding employment for such a large group of people.
A case study of a squatter settlement redevelopment. Dharavi Slum in Bombay
Dharavi slum is located in Mumbai (formally Bombay) in India. Bombay is a thriving megacity that
has had an economic boom in recent years. Indeed, property in Mumbai is becoming some of the
most expensive in the world. One 28 storey structure for one family cost £2 billion. However,
many of the residents of Mumbai live in illegal squatter settlements (known as bustees in India).
India and Mumbai's biggest slum is known as Dharavi. There are a million people crammed into one
square mile in Dharavi. At the edge of Dharavi the newest arrivals come to make their homes on
waste land next to water pipes in slum areas. They set up home illegally amongst waste on land that
is not suitable for habitation.
In the slum people have to live with many problems.
Children play amongst sewage waste and doctors deal with 4,000 cases a day of diphtheria and
typhoid.
Next to the open sewers are water pipes, which can crack and take in sewage. Dharavi slum is
based around this water pipe built on an old rubbish tip. The people have not planned this
settlement and have no legal rights to the land. There are also toxic wastes in the slum including
hugely dangerous heavy metals.
People live in very small dwellings (e.g. 12X12ft), often with many members of their extended
families.
Water is a big problem for Mumbai's population, standpipes come on at 5:30am for 2 hours as water
is rationed.
Rubbish is everywhere and most areas lack sanitation and excrement and rats are found on the
street. 500 people share one public latrine.
There are positives;
Informal shopping areas exist where it is possible to buy anything you might need. There are also mosques catering for
peoples religious needs. 85% of people have a job in the slum and work LOCALLY, and some have even managed to
become millionaires.
One private enterprise makes the metal cages inside suitcases, making 700 pieces per day, paid 3 rupees per piece.
Dharavi has a recycling zone. Everything is recycled from cosmetics and plastics to computer keyboards. 23% of plastic
waste gets recycled in the UK, in Mumbai it is 80%.
A $2billion dollar development project threatens the recycling district and part of Dharavi. The land upon which Dharavi
is built is next to Mumbai’s financial district. This makes it a prime target for redevelopment. The people who are
relocated will be put into smaller housing in apartment blocks. The locals would prefer small improvements to the
existing slum such as improvements in drainage. The value of land is so high that redevelopment is now a real threat.
The alternative accommodation is very small.
This has been attempted before with 14 story apartments as accommodation. This will separate communities and make
people work away from where they live. Only people who have lived in the slum since 2000 will be relocated. Current
redevelopment projects are densely populated and house lots of people. They are not good for community cohesion.
A case study of sustainable urban living. Newcastle-uponTyne
Sustainability means living a life which meets your own needs without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. Newcastle-Upon Tyne is a large city in the North of England which has an
unsustainable past. This city of 260 thousand people was a centre for heavy industry, ship building, coal mining
and armaments works – all activities which can pose environmental problems. However, Modern Newcastle is
restyling itself as a science city and a city whose economy is based upon information services and quaternary
industries. A core foundation of this is environmental sustainability, and Newcastle offers a good case study of
sustainable urban living.
Transport
Newcastle has a comprehensive public transport network, including a huge bus network and the well known and used
Tyne and Wear Metro. These are both more sustainable alternatives to the car. This network also offers park
and ride facilities, such as at Four Lane Ends metro station! In addition to this, Newcastle has a cycle
network, some parts of which are off road, including through Jesmond Dene and the Wagon Way behind St Mary’s
school. In addition there are cycle routes running alongside the river including along the Quayside. The council
also has a range of electric cars and vehicles, including those used in Jesmond Dene and Heaton Park.
Waste
Every household in Newcastle has recycling bins, allowing local residents to recycle cardboard, plastics, metals
and glass. In many areas there are also garden waste bins, allowing the council to produce its own compost. Local
tips in Newcastle also force people to separate their waste whenever possible, further increasing recycling rates.
Fires within the central area of Newcastle are banned under the Clean Air Act, improving the quality of
Newcastle’s atmosphere. However, huge amounts of waste generated in Newcastle still end up in either landfill
sites or incinerated.
Conserving the historic and natural environment.
Newcastle is a fantastic city for architecture and much of it is conserved. The most architecturally beautiful area
is Grainger town, where Grey Street and the Theatre Royal can be found. These areas have been subject to a
£70million+ regeneration project that involved redeveloping the interiors of many buildings, cleaning the
sandstone on Grey’s monument and the Theatre Royal and bringing empty shops back into use. Many of the
buildings in Grainger Town are protected as Listed Buildings, and as such cannot be altered. Grey Street was
voted Britain’s best street!
Providing adequate open spaces
Newcastle has a huge range of open spaces available for public use, including Jesmond Dene which was donated to
the people of the city by Lord Armstrong and the Town Moor. There is also the Rising Sun country park, Leazes
Park and countless other open areas for people to relax and have fun.
Involving Local people
If people have ownership of ideas and feel involved in the decisions made in their town, they are more likely to
protect the environment in which they live. Whenever big or little schemes are launched in Newcastle public
consultation takes place. This even happened in the recent restoration of Heaton Park Play area, where local
school children were consulted! The council also publishes its financial reports every year and keeps the public
informed through its “city life” magazine.
Protecting the natural environment
Newcastle has fallen down a bit here. It has allowed Newcastle Great Park to be built in its green belt.
Newcastle Great Park is a major housing and commercial development that has been built on a Greenfield site
(land that has never been built upon before) within the greenbelt (an area of land that is protected by law from
development) of Newcastle. It is located in the north of Newcastle next to Gosforth and the government gave
special permission for this development to go ahead. There are many different interest groups who think the
development should go ahead including the developers (Persimmons homes), the government and the council and
some home owners. Conservationists and environmentalists, some home owners and some urban planners think the
scheme is a bad idea. The table below outlines the arguments for and against
Arguments for NGP
Arguments against NGP
1. 2,500 new homes in a parkland setting of 442
1. The three-storey properties priced from
hectares will be complete. Useful for richer
£188,000 are well beyond the average wage of
residents and generating income for the
people in Newcastle.
developers.
2. Environmentalists are concerned about the
2. There will be 80 hectares of commercial
impact upon Red Squirrel (an endangered
development which could generate jobs.
species) and deer populations which inhabit this
Already, the £50m headquarters for
area North of Newcastle.
Newcastle computer group Sage have been
completed. It is expected the software
3. The NGP housing plans contradict the principles
firm's 575,000 sq ft building headquarters
of no/little development in the Green Belt. The
will provide jobs for 1,500 workers within two
greenbelt was designed to prevent urban sprawl
years.
into countryside areas which have recreation and
agricultural uses.
3. There is an integrated transport plan which
will see every home not more than 400 metres
4. There is space for around 20,000 high quality
from a bus stop, 27km of cycle routes in and
homes on brownfield sites near to the city
around NGP, a discount cycle purchase scheme
centre in the East and West end of the city.
for residents and a car share database on the
These areas (e.g. Scotswood, Benwell and Byker)
Internet.
are in decline since the loss of the shipping
industry and are in need of a boost.
4. A full time ranger will be employed to manage
the country park to ensure local wildlife
5. There is no guarantee of job creation.
conservation
6. Traffic volumes in Gosforth and Newcastle city
5. The development lies adjacent to the A1,
centre will increase.
which will be widened and improved, and is
within easy reach of the airport, providing
7. Improving inner-city areas could slow down out
excellent opportunities for national and
migration.
international travel.
6. It is hoped that the scheme will slow down
the net loss of 1,500 people per year who
migrate from Newcastle.
Kerala – an alternative birth control policy
Kerala is a state in Southern India and is a popular stop off point for Western tourists. India launched its
family planning programme in 1952, just a few years after independence from the British. Kerala was part of that
programme, and used a range of social changes as well as contraception to bring down its birth rate. Kerala now
has a fertility rate of just 1.8 per 1000, which compares very well with the UK’s 1.7 and is lower than
India’s 3.1. Kerala is a very densely populated state, with 819 people per km2, and has 32 million people
living there. Its policy to reduce its population growth rate included a range of measures that would DIRECTLY
reduce birth rates and some that would INDIRECTLY reduce birth rates;
1. Providing literacy classes in villages – to raise education levels and to help people make informed family
planning choices
2. Improving education EQUALLY between boys and girls – this emancipates women, makes them more likely
to find formal work and delay child bearing ages.
3. Providing free contraception and advice – to DIRECTLY lower births rates
4. Allowing maternity leave for the first 2 births only – this discourages women from having a third child
5. Improving child health through vaccination programmes – this reduces Infant Mortality which reduces
peoples needs to have lots of children (the replacement rate factor)
6. Encouraging a higher marriage age through poster campaigns – this reduces the length of time women can
have babies
7. Provide extra retirement benefits to those who have smaller families
8. Land was reformed so that everyone had access to farming land, allowing people to be self sufficient if
they had small families
This programme has been a huge success with low fertility rates, slow population growth of 1.2%, more girls
going to university than boys, low infant mortality rates (12 per 1000) and a right to literacy programme.
Complete the table below by writing a summary sentence about the case study and by writing down 5 bits of factual information (location, dates, facts, figures,
distances etc) about the case study that you can remember for the exam.
Antarctica – Extreme Tourism
The Lake District – A UK National
Galapagos Islands - Ecotourism
Jamaica – Mass Tourism
Park
Newcastle – Revamping the Inner City
Newcastle - Sustainability
Dharavi Slum – problems and
redevelopment
The UK’s Ageing population
Migration in the UK and the EU
China’s One child policy
Kerala – alternative measures to
control population