Topic 3 - Challenges of an Urbanising World

Geography Edexcel B

Global trend in urbanisation

% of world population living in urban areas has increased from 30%-63% from 1950-2030

Urbanisation in developed countries

• Growth in the urban population resulted from the agricultural revolution of the late 1700s, where mechanisation on farms reduced the need for employment.

• The period of most significant urban growth came about as a result of the industrial revolution of the 1800s. Rural-urban migration took place as people moved to cities in search of work.

• The rate of urbanisation in developed countries is much slower. This is mainly because developed countries are already highly urbanised. For example in 2014, 81% of the UK's population were living in urban areas.

Urbanisation in developing countries

• The growth of towns and cities has been rapid and has largely taken place within the last 50 years.

• Rural-urban migration has been on an unprecedented scale in developing countries, with people being 'pulled' into cities to take advantage of the opportunity to work in higher paying jobs. They are 'pushed' out of the countryside by a lack of services and opportunities.

Megacity

Megacities are cities with a population over 10 million

Growth rate of megacities

The number of megacities increased from 4 to 33 between 1970 and 2018

Urban Primacy

The most important city in a country which dominates the rest of the country

• Primate cities always have a large economic influence in a country. They have the most developed infrastructure and services and attract foreign direct investment.

• Primate cities often experience the multiplier effect and inward migration from other parts of the country creating a significant disparity in wealth between the primate city and rest of the country.

• Primate cities are almost always the political centre of a country where government decisions are made

How economic changes contributes to the growth/ decline of a city

• Economic growth means more people will move into the city in search for jobs. More people mean a bigger workforce therefore more industries. attracts foreign direct investment

• Economic problems can mean that industries shut down. Less access to jobs, people move out. City governments rely on taxes from businesses and residents to improve the city. Less people to fund for services provided in the city so city becomes run down, crime rates rise and people move away

How migration contributes to the growth/ decline of a city

• Rural urban migration is the main cause of rapid urbanisation in emerging and developing countries. More people mean a bigger workforce therefore more industries. attracts foreign direct investment

• Migration from rural to urban areas decrease population in rural areas.

• Natural Increase - it is generally young people who migrate into urban areas. This results in increased birth rates and decreased death rates.

Reasons why urban economies are different in the developing, emerging and developed countries

• Differences in formal and informal employment

• The relative importance of economic sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary)

• working conditions

Informal employment

• Informal employment is any employment which is unregulated and unofficial

• Most informal employment is work in the tertiary sector

• Low level of skills

• No set hours , environment may be unsafe

• No tax payed

• No contract or pension

• Examples: shoe shining, rubbish collecting, selling fruit or other products on the street

Formal employment

• Often requires qualifications

• Set hours, employees have legal protection which includes adherence to health and safety regulations

• Taxes payed to government

• Employment contracts, often have a pension

difference between informal and employment economies in developing, emerging and developed economies

Informal employment is hugely significant in developing and emerging countries in comparison to developed countries e.g 50% of the GDP comes from the informal economy in Kampala, Uganda (developing) and New Delhi, India (emerging) while only 7% of the GDP comes from the informal economy in New York, USA (developed)

How do cities change over time - the 'cycle of urbanisation'

1) Industrialisation: The development of large scale manufacturing in factories as a result of technological innovation.

Urbanisation: An increase in the percentage of people living in cities caused by rural to urban migration

2) Suburbanisation: The outward spread of an urban area caused by people living further from the city centre due to improved transport

3) De-industrialisation: The decline of industrial activity in a region caused by foreign competition and outdated infrastructure.

4) Counter urbanisation: The movement of people out of a city into surrounding rural areas for an improved quality of life.

5) Regeneration: The redevelopment of former industrial areas of housing to improve them.

Re-urbanisation: the movement of people back into a city as a result of regeneration.

Different urban land uses

• Commercial

• Industrial

• Residential

Characteristics of commercial land use in urban areas

• Mostly in the CBD due to accessibility

• Increasingly moving to urban fringe to business, science and retail parks due to:

Lower cost/cheaper land

More space

Better accessibility

Nicer environment

Characteristics of industrial land use in urban areas

• Was in the inner city

More recently on the edge of the city due to:

Lower cost/cheaper land

More space

Better access to main roads

Characteristics of residential land use in urban areas

Housing increases in size with distance from the CBD due to lower land costs

Factors affecting urban land use

• Accessibility: shops and offices need to be accessible to as many people as possible and so are usually found in city centres which have the best transport links.

• Cost: Land in city centres is often the most expensive because it is the most accessible. Some land uses e.g chain stores, banks and offices can afford to pay high rents in order to be in the city centre.

• Availability: lack of space in city centers also contributes to higher land values. This also results in developers maximising their profits by building high rise office blocks in city centres.

• Planning regulations: Planning also affects land use patterns. Urban planners try to balance different, oftenj competing land uses. The city authoprities often decide how they want a city to look and develop and have plans that show which land uses will be permitted in different parts of the city.

Site and situation of Mumbai

• Has a deep water port which is critical for international trade

• Mumbai developed on a peninsula - city has expanded northwards

• High land in the North has partly restricted the expansion

• New suburb developed due too lack of space which is beyond the peninsula - bridge connection facilitated it

- 1150km SSW of New Delhi (India's capital) - far enough to develop independently

• On the west coast of India, on the Arabian sea - key port location for exports to Europe and the Middle East

Mumbai in a national context

• Air, road and rail transport hubs

• contributions to India's economy - 1/6 of GDP

• India's 2nd largest city after New Delhi - population of 20 mil

Mumbai in an international context

• Air transport hubs - flights to globally important cities e.g London, Singapore, 45 mil passengers travel to and from Mumbai airport

• 40% of India's exports come from Mumbai. Key markets - Europe and Middle East

Mumbai's land use

in book

Structure of Mumbai - 1

1_) CBD, port and former colonial area

• The oldest parts of Mumbai are at the southern tip of the peninsula.

• The CBD is located here too, focused around the old banking sector. TNCs with headquarters here include Bank of India, Bank of America, Cadbury India, Microsoft India and VW.

• The port area is still economically active. Thousands of people work here.

Structure of Mumbai - 2

2) Old industry and chawls

• The old textile mills area has been redeveloped and housing here, right next to the CBD, is extremely expensive.

• Retail developments such as shopping malls are located here, too.

This area is also home to many 'chawls' - these are four to five-story apartment blocks inhabited by relatively poor, 'working-class' families

Structure of Mumbai - 3

3) Inner suburbs

• The first area of suburbs developed to the old textile mill workers.

• Some of this area now includes squatter settlements such as Dharavi.

• High quality housing has developed, particularly along the western coast, with areas such as Worli and Bandra attracting the rich and famous!

Structure of Mumbai - 4

4) Outer Suburbs

• The second area of suburbs developed along Mumbai's railway lines. The railways allowed commuters to travel into the city each day, including from New Mumbai via the Harbour Line.

• New Mumbai was planned as a low-density suburb where lower land prices would create a better quality of life, with less congestion, for commuters.

Structure of Mumbai - 5

5) New industry

• New industrial sectors have developed along the railway lines.

• As 'New Mumbai' grew, industries re-located because of cheaper land away from the crowded peninsula. There was more space for expansion here and there was an abundance of available workers with the necessary skills.

Informal settlements (slums)

Structure of Mumbai - 6

6) Informal settlements (or squatter settlements or slums) are initially built by migrants new to the city. They are the lowest quality housing, often without bas services, though improvements are made over time.

Slums develop wherever there is space, on marginal undesirable land, for example next to train lines or polluting factories or on marshland

Fact for Mumbai's growing population

by 2030, Mumbai's population is expected top increase to 25 mil

overall population growth rate is 4.2% per year

Reasons for Mumbai's population growth

Rural-urban migration (accounts for approx half of Mumbai's annual pop growth) -

• 1000 national migrants arrive daily.

• Push factors in rural areas are lack of services and opportunities, increase in mechanisation on farms which reduces employment opportunities

• Pull factors in urban areas are wider range of jobs with higher wages, more access to better services.

High rates of natural increase:

• Traditional gender roles so relatively high birth rate

• Improvements in health care has reduced death rates

• Most migrants are in their twenties so they come to Mumbai to settle down and start families.

How population growth has affected the pattern of spatial growth and changing urban functions and land use.

• City forced to develop northwards due to its peninsula location

•With limited available land for rapid pop growth, the city has spread eastward across Thane Creek

• Rural-urban migration has resulted in the growth of informal settlements across the city on areas of unused land

Opportunities of living in Mumbai

•Access to resources

• Employment - highly skilled Mumbaikars are employed by finance and IT services, low skilled Mumbaikars provide services for other residents e.g taxi services, cleaners, hairdressers. jobs in manufacturing

• Education - Mumbai has 10 universities and 96% literacy rate.

• Healthcare

• Wages are higher compared to the countryside.

Challenges of living in Mumbai

• housing shortages - Population growth has often been faster than infrastructure and services

• the development of squatter and slum settlements - makeshift huts on land that belongs to other people, 50% are on private land

• inadequate water supply - rationed between 1 mil people and waste disposal - have to use rivers and streams running through settlement to remove waste

• poor employment conditions

• limited service provision

• traffic congestion - currently over 1.8 mil cars in Mumbai

Pattern of residential areas

• Significant inequalities exist between the wealthy and the poor

• Mumbai has some of the world's most expensive apartments. but some people are too poor to even rent a room.

• 40% of Mumbai's population live in slums.

• 60% of the population work in the informal sector.

• Over half the population live in poor conditions without a decent water supply

Reasons for inequalities in mumbai

• Around 40% of Mumbai's population live in squatter settlements because over 60% of the population work in the informal sector

• City government is bureaucratic and corrupt so poorest areas don't get the investment they need

• Rural migrants have low levels of education thus lack of opportunities in comparison to Mumbai's elite and foreign TNC workers.

Political and economic challenges of managing Mumbai

• Squatter settlements are on valuable land which developers would pay a lot for if the government moved residents out. Residents don't want to move so politically it's difficult to move them but economically expensive to let them stay.

• Traffic congestion is politically unpopular but new transport infrastructure is economically very expensive.

• No taxes are gained from the 'informal' employment sector so if everyone worked in the 'formal' sector the government would gain taxes but politically it would be difficult to convince people that they weren't losing money.

Examples of top down strategies in Mumbai

The Gorai Garbage site closure project

The mumbai monorail

Gorai Garbage site closure project

For around 40yrs 1200tonnes of solid waste were dumped into Gorai landfill site. Toxic run-off and unpleasant smelling methane gas made this an unhealthy place to live

Adv:

• waste reshaped to create a gentle hill and planted with grasses to create a 19 hectare park

• Methane capture technology installed to use the methane gas produced by decomposing waste to generate power

Disadv

• Expensive - multi billion pound funds required for this project

• Action should have been taken earlier - site had been polluting Mumbai for 40 years

The Mumbai Monorail

In 2005, Mumbai's city gov decided that a monorail would be a good solution to Mumbai's transport problems in areas where buses are the only form of transport - it aimed to reduce congestion by taking poeple off the road.

Adv

• reduces congestion by taking people off roads

• Built off of street level so it could be constructed over areas without having to clear all the existent roads and buildings out of the way first

Disad

• Extremely expensive to build

• Passenger numbers much lower than expected - only 15,000 people taking the trip each day

Exmples of bottom up strategies in Mumbai

• SPARC and community toilets

• Agora Microfinance India

SPARC and community toilets

SPARC is an India NGO that work with communities in Mumbai to build new toilet blocks connected to city sewers and water supplies. Families in community can purchase monthly permits for 25pence, unlimited for that moth

Adv

• Electric lighting - safer at night

• Separate children's toilets

• SPARC have provided over 800 community toilets in last 5 years

Disadv

• NGOs can only do so much - only provide 800 community toilets in 5 years which only makes difference to a small proportion

Agora Microfinance India

Service which provides loans to people wo live in slums without a bank account

Adv

• Provides a loan service that otherwise couldnt be available - allows people to have aspiration and opportunity to improve their lives

• The interest rates a high - 25% a week - limits the positive impact that the loans can have on peoples' lives.