Geography GCSE
Case Studies
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Name and Location
Heatwave in
Europe (esp
France) 2003
Name and Location
Sheffield Flood in
2007
The Basics
More Detail
Example of:
Anticyclonic
weather system,
heatwave or natural
disaster caused by
weather.
Causes – long period of anticyclonic weather (high pressure) over
western Europe causing hot, dry weather.
Effects – 30,000 people died of heat related illnesses in France, mostly
elderly. The hot weather combined with national holidays so many elderly
were left alone and unable to get water or help.
Crops died in other European countries and income for farmers was
reduced.
Forest fires occurred in Spain, destroying homes and killing firefighters.
Transport ships using the Rhine were grounded in shallow water and so
industry lost goods and therefore profit.
Responses – There was an outcry in france and several top politicians
with health responsibility were sacked. New legislation was brought in for
elderly care homes to provide adequate cooling equipment.
The Basics
Example of: Flood
caused by
depression
More Detail
Causes – several days of rain left ground saturated. Depression (low
pressure system) brought heavy of rain over 3 days. Bowl shape of
Sheffield held water for several days after flood.
Effects – 2 people killed, thousands made temporarily homeless as
homes were made uninhabitable. Possessions ruined due to floodwater
and had to be thrown away and replaced. M1 motorway closed because
local dam showed cracks appearing and authorities felt there was danger
of the dam bursting.
Responses – Fire service called in to pump out water from villages and
towns. Ambulance used to treat people injured or ill from flood. Motorway
closed for safety.
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – ECOSYSTEMS
Name and Location
Amazon
Rainforest mostly
in Brazil, but
across large part
of South America
Name and Location
Yellowstone
National Park in
the USA
Name and Location
Heather moorland
in Pennine hills
and Scottish
highlands
The Basics
Example of: An ecosystem
that is being used
sustainably and
unsustainably by different
groups of people.
The Basics
Example of: an ecosystem
which has been changed by
humans (Wolves
introduced)
More Detail
Sustainable use – Indigenous native tribes are living sustainable
hunter-gatherer lifestyles in the forest, by subsistence farming
and hunting and gathering.
Unsustainable use – logging, mining and hydroelectric industry
has been steadily expanding into the Amazon, impacting on
biodiversity, the food chain and indigenous lifestyles.
Rainforest ecosystem – Bulk of biomass is in the actual plants
and animals. The soil is very thin and infertile, which is why
intensive farming cannot work in most cleared forest land.
Rainforest gives examples of adaptation by plants and animals
(e.g. buttress roots to hold up very tall emergent trees).
More Detail
Causes – Humans re-introduced grey wolves back into
ecosystem to return the ecosystem to its original state (wolves
had been hunted to extinction in the past).
Effects – Wolves hunted moose (like large reindeer). The
reduction of reindeer meant more trees survived and left more
wood for beavers, which grew in population.
The Basics
More Detail
Example of: an ecosystem
that is managed by
humans. It is a sustainable
ecosystem only because
humans constantly manage
it.
Causes – A large business exists around grouse shooting. To
maximise the number of grouse, heather is burnt periodically to
produce young growth (the ideal food and shelter for grouse).
Some predators of the grouse (weasels, stoats) are also hunted
to protect grouse numbers.
Effects – Grouse numbers are high and grouse shooting earns
local communities income. Biodiversity is lowered because other
species do not have opportunity to grow, this can make some
animals and plants more vulnerable to disease.
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – COASTS
Name and Location
The Basics
More Detail
Holderness Coast
in eastern England
Example of: A quickly
eroding coastline which
is being managed
(protected) in different
ways. Also, erosional
and depositional
landforms can be
found along this
coastline.
Longshore drift occurs along the coast from north to south moving
sediment quickly down the coast. The boulder clay which makes up
most of the coast is very easily eroded and can disappear at a rate of
up to 10m per year.
Flamborough Head is a headland at the northern tip of the
Holderness coast, which contains examples of stacks, arches, caves,
wave cut platforms along its chalk coastline.
Spurn point is the name of the spit at the southern tip of the
Holderness coast where it meets the Humber estuary.
Mappleton is a small village half way down the coast, which has built
boulders at the back of the beach and two boulder groynes to build a
wider beach in order to protect itself.
Managed retreat is allowed on most of the coast where the farmland
is not valuable enough to save from erosion.
Name and Location
The Basics
More Detail
Example of: a sea
stack and bay which
has been managed by
people and is used by
tourists.
Causes – Marsden rock used to be a free standing stack with an arch
in it. In 1996 the arch collapsed in a storm. The smaller stack which
was left was thought to be unstable. Because so may tourists used
the beach, the national Trust, a charity responsible for the beach
decided to demolish the smaller stack.
Effects – Marsden bay has always been a tourist attraction with
Marsden rock just being one part of the scenery. Marsden grotto is a
restaurant on the beach, where a lift is needed to access it from the
cliff top. The stack being demolished allowed tourists back on to the
beach.
Marsden Bay and
Marsden rock in
the north east of
England
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – RIVERS
Name and Location
Waterfall used by
humans (Niagara
Falls) in Canada
The Basics
Example of: a waterfall
used by humans
More Detail
Human uses –
Tourism – for over one hundred years people have visited
Niagara falls. Now there is a multi-million dollar industry of
hotels, casinos, shops and tours based around the top of the
Niagara gorge, looking down onto the falls.
Heavy industry – water is diverted above the falls to help
produce hydro-electric power which is used in producing
specialist metal products
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – WATER CYCLE
Name and Location
Flood protection in
Holland on river
Rhine (1998)
The Basics
Example of: how a country
responds to flooding, as a
nation and indivdually
More Detail
Causes – Heavy rain, early snowmelt and saturated ground led
to flooding along the Rhine, in Germany and Holland.
Effects – Significant flooding led to thousands of people being
evacuated, their homes being flooded and possessions ruined.
Responses
On a country scale, Holland invested in taller embankments
and wider floodplains between embankments to contain more
flood water. Flood basins were also built, which were low cost
areas of land that could hold a small amount of water in the
event of a flood to slow the flood down.
On a regional scale, building regulations were agreed that
raised the floor level of new houses, but tourist sites could use
temporary barriers to allow protection only at times of flooding.
On a personal scale, people adapted their homes. Carpets
were changed for tiles downstairs, Furniture was bought that
could easily be moved upstairs.
Name and Location
Water shortage
and river transfer
scheme in
southern Spain
Name and Location
The Basics
More Detail
Example of: water shortage
in Europe caused by overfarming and growth of
tourism and the river Tagus
water transfer scheme
Causes – Rapid growth of tourism along south eastern coast of
Spain has led to increase in demand for water (e.g. a golf
course uses the same water as 20,000 homes). Also, vegetable
growing has increased as a form of intensive farming in the
Almeria region. Mostly tomatoes and peppers grown in plastic
greenhouses.
Effects – Local water table has dropped by 250m in 20 years.
The Spanish government has responded by transferring water
from the centre of Spain (River Tagus) all the way to the south
coast. The results have meant the Tagus (which flows in to
Portugal) has dropped by 60%, and the growth of greenhouse
farming and tourism continues.
The Basics
More Detail
Causes – In 2004 there was a drought with very little water. By
2005 when the rains were short, the harvest failed and people
were left with no food. Two-thirds of the famine was caused by
the drought, the rest by locusts (an insect like a grasshopper),
which ate the remaining crops. Another cause was the growing
population in Niger, which causes increasing pressure for more
food. This means less suitable land has to be used for farming
which encourages desertification.
Effects – Over 3 million people were affected by the famine.
Many people died and many lost important cattle. Land on the
edges of the desert lost any fertility it had and desertification
spread south.
Responses – Immediate aid was supplied in 2005 by
governments, the United Nations (UN) and Non-government
organisations (NGOs) such as Oxfam.
Long term aid included trying to solve poverty, desertification
and the sustainable use of water. For example: intercropping is
where tree crops are planted amongst cereal crops to protect
the soil, provide extra food and add to soil fertility.
Water shortage in
Niger (Continent
of Africa)
Example of: water shortage
in a country outside Europe
Name and Location
The Basics
More Detail
Example of: water shortage
in the UK
Causes – A quarter of England’s population live in the south
east, which is has some of the lowest rainfall in the UK. The
government plan to build another million homes in the next 15
years. The number of single-person households is increasing,
so increasing the number of homes. Also, climate change may
evaporate more surface water from reservoirs and reduce
rainfall.
Effects – water use is unsustainable and within 20 years the
Thames water resources could be fully used.
Responses – Water customers could be encouraged to save
water. Metering and payment for water would encourage people
to use less. More reservoirs could be built to store more water.
A water grid could be improved so water from water rich areas
of the UK could be pumped or flow to the Thames region.
Water shortage in
the river Thames
drainage basin
(UK)
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – URBAN AREAS
Name and Location
Leicester in the
midlands of the
UK
Name and Location
Sau Paulo in
Brazil
Name and Location
Bangladesh
Name and Location
Cardiff Bay
Redevelopment
(Wales)
The Basics
Example of: different
zones within a British
city
The Basics
Example of: response
to shanty towns
More Detail
Inner city – the zone just outside of the CBD which used to be
factories and slum housing from the industrial era, but is changing.
In Leicester an example of this is Wycliffe, which was changed in the
1970s to have high rise flats. These slowly became less popular as
the services got worse and people living in the flats became
impoverished, increasing crime and anti-social behaviour. In
response the local council rented rooms to students and eventually
knocked down the flats in 2000.
Lower income housing zone – normally 19th century terraced housing
In Leicester an example of this is Westcotes ward. This has typically
housed lower income familes, with many buildings being in need of
repair and the environment being poor in terms of green space and
leisure facilities. Leicester responded to this by creating the ‘city
challnege’ which included: 3000 jobs created, 4000 houses improved,
street lighting increased, and small parks created for children to play
in.
Council estate on the edge of a city
In Leicester an example of this is north Braunstone. Originally the
estate had been designed as a high quality area to live with front
gardens and wide streets. Built in the 1920s it soon deteriorated as
unemployment rose as industry closed down. Education is low and
work is a long commute. All this leads to very high unemployment,
high crime, vandalism and lower safety for residents. The local
council responded by setting up the ’New Deal for Braunstone’. This
programme included: support for parents with babies, grants for small
businesses on the estate, an annual carnival, more police officers
and more CCTV cameras.
High income housing on the edge of a city
In Leicester an example of this is Evington. Here, the quality of life is
high with low crime, high incomes and large spacious houses. There
is lots of green space and easy access to the countryside for leisure.
More Detail
Responses – In Sau Paulo, a self-help scheme was tried, where the
government provided the building materials, then local people built
homes with the materials. However, the number of houses
constructed this way was o small it would not have any significant
impact on the slum population.
The Basics
More Detail
Example of: responses
to shanty towns
Responses – In Bangladesh there have been a range of responses
over the years, including forcing people out and bull-dozing the
shacks, which just forced people to move to another site nearby
A different approach was to offer incentives to move back to the
countryside, including free travel, free food for up to three months and
training to encourage new business in the countryside areas.
The Basics
Example of: decline in
industry followed by
the regeneration
(redevelopment) of a
city
More Detail
Causes – Cardiff went into a spiral of decline as the coal and steel
industry died in south Wales in the last half of the 20th century. Other
countries could produce cheaper steel because of lower labour costs.
Also the coal and iron ore became harder and more expensive to
mine in south Wales.
Effects – As jobs were lost, so the docks in Cardiff Bay became
disused. Incomes went down, homes were uncared for and many
became derelict. Crime, vandalism and anti-social behaviour rose.
Local services closed.
Responses – The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC) was
set up by the government to regenerate the bay. Millions of pounds
was poured in by government and private firms to redevelop the
whole area. This included: 6000 new homes, St David’s Hotel, The
Welsh Assembly (government building), Mermaid Quay shopping
centre and Techniquest science museum.
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – RURAL AREAS
Name and Location
Iceland
Name and Location
Peak District in
midlands of UK
The Basics
Example of: a rural
area that has suffered
from declining
population, but has
tried to reverse the
trend
The Basics
Example of: counterurbanisation
More Detail
Causes –
Effects Responses –
More Detail
Causes – More people are able to move back out to the Peak District
because: More people can afford cars and travel easier today,
internet access allows world wide communication from anywhere and
some people are able to work from home, people perceive there is a
better quality of life in the countryside and people think cities are too
crowded, too polluted, have high crime and not enough open space.
Effects – The Peak District has an increasingly ageing population,
where older people move out to retire. This leads to les young people
and consequently less services and facilities for younger people.
House prices rise because of higher demand and lower income,
especially younger families are no longer able to afford homes in the
area they grew up in. rural roads can become more congested and
the likelihood of accidents can increase.
Geography GCSE - Case Study revision – WORK AND INDUSTRY
Name and Location
Steel industry in
south Wales
Name and Location
Cambridge
Science Park
The Basics
Example of: a
traditional heavy
industry that declined
in the UK. Also an
example of primary
(coal mining) and
secondary (steel
production) industries.
The Basics
Example of: tertiary
industry and footloose
industry.
More Detail
Causes of growth – All primary raw materials found close by (coal,
iron ore, limestone). Britain at height of Empire, so huge market
available. Britain one of first countries to produce manufactured
goods, so little competition. Relatively close to coast for exporting.
Causes of decline – Coal, iron ore and limestone became harder to
mine and so more expensive. Other countries could produce steel
cheaper due to lower labour costs. More competition led to lower
profits.
Effects of decline – Huge loss of jobs in south Wales. Deprivation in
many coal mining and steel worker communities. Derelict housing,
high dependency on state benefits and higher crime rates. Steel
works shrunk to handful of high-tech plants on coast importing raw
materials. Now, all steel manufacturing has closed.
More Detail
Reasons for location – Cambridge university provides links with most
talented young scientists, who will be employed by companies
situated in the Cambridge Science Park. It is on the edge of
Cambridge to reduce congestion and the land is cheaper so more
open space can be provided around buildings. Cambridge has good
motorway links with London and international airports.
Name and Location
The Basics
More Detail
Nokia (Head office
based in Finland)
Example of: tertiary
industry outside of UK.
Also example of a
Trans-National
Company (TNC)
Reasons for location:
In MEDCs – Research and Development offices in eleven countries
where technical expertise is highest and other phone brands are well
known to be better than competition. Some high tech manufacturing
is done in MEDCs where a high level of skills are needed in the
construction of micro-electronics
In LEDCs – Many of the raw materials are mined in LEDCs where
labour costs are lower and laws are often less strict about
environmental damage due to mining. Some manufacturing is also
done in LEDCs where labour costs are lower and where an emerging
market (growing number of people able to afford Nokia products) is
likely.
Name and Location
The Basics
Overfishing in the
North Sea
Example of:
unsustainable primary
industry and use of
natural resource
More Detail
Causes – Fishing and fish processing is one of the main employers in
many Scottish coastal towns. Fishing is hard to regulate because fish
move across national boundaries. Pollution around the heavily
urbanised North Sea drainage basin is contributing slightly to reduced
number of creatures. Managing fish stocks requires all countries who
fish in the sea to agree.
Effects – Fish stocks are greatly diminished (Cod stocks area third of
the minimum recommended level). As fish stocks have declined,
many fishermen have lost their jobs leading to migration out of rural
communities, deprivation and derelict housing.
Responses – Fish quotas (number allowed to be caught) have been
agreed by European Fishery authorities. At the present time,
fishermen are suffering more from the increase in fuel prices for their
boats, so fish stocks may recover anyway.