2.2.5 - causes and consequences of rapid urbanisation in LIDC's

What are the causes of rapid urbanisation in LIDC’s

both rural to urban migration and internal growth

What are some reasons that people may want to leave the rural areas (push factors)

• Lack of Job opportunities - jobs tend to be limited to agricultural work

• Few services, such as education and healthcare

• wages are at poverty levels

• crop failure

• Lack of clean water

• Natural disasters, such as drought and flooding

What are some reasons that people may want to go to the inner city (pull factors)

• Greater range of employment with higher wages

• Better health care systems and schools

• stable government

• Better access to food

• Better quality housing

• More transport networks, such as road, rail and air

how does natural growth affect LIDC’s

there is a large, youthful population.

Once people have arrived in the City and found employment and housing they tend to have children.

This increase in Birth rate can result in a rapid rate of population growth.

AC’s tend to have the opposite problem: an aging population

what is the informal sector

it refers to Jobs that don’t offer regular contracted hours, salary, pensions or other features of more formal employment; it may refer to illegal or unlicensed activity

What of the consequences of work in the informal sector

It is a consequence of rapid urban growth

jobs in the informal sector require little capital to set up, require few skills and are labour intensive and small scale.

People working in this sector do not pay taxes and therefore do not contribute directly to the country’s GNP

These workers do not have legal rights or advantages like holiday and sick pay

What is GNP

gross national product

What is informal housing

also known as slums or squatter settlements

built on the land that does not belong to them.

It is usually land that is unsuitable for building on.

what is informal housing normally built on

• a river bed, which can fill with water after it rains

• land that is close to industrial activity, which could be bad for peoples health

• steep and unstable slopes, which are vulnerable to landslides and flooding

• land either side of railway tracks

What are the bad affects of informal settlements

Infrastructure is poor

there are problems with the reliability of electricity and water supplies.

With high population density, disease spreads easily and crime is common. Over time, areas can be improved through self-help schemes.