Urban Growth and Rio de Janeiro Case Study

Vocabulary and key facts covering urban growth trends, megacities, and the case study of Rio de Janeiro.

Urbanisation

The proportion or percentage of people living in towns and cities.

Megacity

A city with a population in excess of $10$ million people.

Counter-urbanisation

The migration of people from cities to the countryside.

Natural Increase

The difference between the birth rate and the death rate.

Multiplier effect

The continued growth within an economy stimulated by industry.

Favela

An informal squatter settlement in South America.

Mortality rate

The number of deaths per $1000$ of the population.

Life Expectancy

The average age a person within a country is expected to live.

Literacy rate

The percentage of people within an area who can read and write.

GDP

The total earnings for a country.

Urbanisation (1950 vs 2014)

The global urban population grew from $30\%$ in $1950$ to $54\%$ in $2014$.

HIC Urban Trends

Highly urbanised areas (over $75\%$) like the USA ($82\%$) where the rate of urbanisation is slowing down due to counter-urbanisation.

LIC Urban Trends

Predominantly rural areas like Africa ($40\%$) where the rate of urbanisation is speeding up due to rural-urban migration.

Push Factors

Negative factors of the countryside such as poor harvests, food shortages, limited services, and climate change effects like drought or soil erosion.

Pull Factors

Positive factors of cities such as better paid employment, access to better schools and healthcare, and existing social networks.

Tokyo

The world's largest megacity with $38$ million people.

Rio de Janeiro Location

Located in south-east Brazil on the south Atlantic Coast close to the Tropic of Capricorn.

National Importance of Rio

Acts as a manufacturing centre producing $5\%$ of Brazil's GDP and serves as the headquarters for major companies.

Rio Social Opportunities

Includes a literacy rate of $95\%$ and access to mains water supply for over $90\%$ of the population.

Rio Health Challenges

High infant mortality rates of $50/1000$ in favelas due to high population density and rapid disease spread.

Favela Bairro Project

An urban planning project that improved favelas like Complexo de Alemao by installing cable cars, securing hillsides, and providing sanitation.

Police Pacification Units (PPUs)

Units established to reclaim favelas from dominant drug gangs as part of urban planning strategies.

Favela Bairro Project Budget

The project had a limited budget of US$\$1$ billion, meaning not all favelas could be aided.