Problems of Urban

Growth in LEDCs
What is the meaning of URBAN
GROWTH?
This is the
expansion of towns
and cities – the
increase of the size
of a built up area.

(Remember this is
not the growth of
cities and it is not
population growth)
Study the figure 3 which shows the
If your were to
percentage of population living in describe the pattern
urban areas in different parts of the of this graph make
world. sure you look at the
overall trends.
Which is the most
urbanised?
Is Urbanization
slowing down or
rapidly increasing
Which one has the
most rapid
urbanisation?
Which is more
urbanised?
This is Calcutta
and it has grown
as a result of
migration and
other factors
Looking at this
give two Physical
& two Human
Factors that
caused the
growth of
Calcutta’s
population.
Where is it?
Sao Paulo is a city
located on Brazil's
south-east coast. It is
Brazil's largest city with
a population of
approximately 25
million.
 The population of Sao Paulo has grown for a number of
reasons.

• Natural Increase is one reason for its growth (this is

when the birth rate is higher than the death rate).
• The population has also grown as the result of
urbanisation. The has been caused by rural to urban
migration. Millions of people have migrated from Brazil's
rural areas to Sao Paulo. In Sao Paulo 65% of urban
growth is a result of migration. This is caused by a
variety of push and pull factors.
• Mechanisation of farms and
shortage of alternative jobs results
in high unemployment
• Flooding of land from projects such
as the Caatinga with little
compensation.
• High Infant Mortality due to lack of
clean water, electricity, sewage &
medical care
• Housing in rural areas even poorer
than cities also poorer services
• Drought meaning crops failed
• Advertising campaigns were
run in rural areas in the
1950’s & 1960’s to attract
workers to the city
• More schools and other
services in the city
• Better housing and a chance
of obtaining a job
• Successful migrants
encourage people to join
them
• Inadequate housing and services – 40% live in shanty towns or
favelas which lack basic amenities such as sanitation, sewerage,
water and electricity. These services are not capable of
maintaining a basic standard of living.
• Shortage of affordable formal housing
• Shanty (favela's) are found on inappropriate land e.g. land that
could to prone to landslips as they are on steep slopes or on land
that is badly polluted by neighbouring industry. Shelters are
made of wood and hence could burn down.
• Collapsing Infrastructure – Government can’t cope with the
increases in population as don’t have the money to invest in
maintaining the existing facilities let alone improve them.
• Increasing levels of pollution – air, land and water pollution as the
country tries to industrialise and legislation to improve the
environment is often non existent also small industries often
pollute these are informal and set up in peoples homes.
• Increase volumes of traffic
• Lack of employment means people are looking for other ways to
earn money many will work in the informal sector e.g. porters,
shoe shiners this is employment for half the city’s work force
• The rapid growth of Sao Paulo's population has
led to a severe shortage of housing. Millions of
people have been forced to construct their own
homes from scrap materials such as wood,
corrugated iron and metals. These areas of
temporary accommodation are known as favelas
in Brazil.
• The conditions associated with favelas are very
poor. Often families have to share one tap, there
is no sewerage provision, disease is common
and many people are unemployed.
Inadequate housing and services – live in shanty
towns or favela’s which lack basic amenities such as
sanitation, sewerage, water and electricity. These services
are not capable of maintaining a basic standard of living.
Shelters are often made of scraps of wood and can
easily burn down. They may also be located near
industrial sites that badly pollute the land.
Sao Paulo’s Traffic
Congestion is notorious.
With all the increase in
migrants per year this is
only going to get worse.

The amount of traffic will

not only affect peoples
ability to move around the
city but will also affect air
quality. Brazil’s car users
do at least use alternative
fuels to try to combat the
problem.
 By looking at the Hoyt Model both MEDC and LEDCs
have their CBD’s in the centre however this is where the
similarity ends. In MEDC’s the poorer housing tends to
be in the inner city and the zone of transition. Favelas are
located on the edge of most major Brazilian cities. They
are located here for a number of reasons.
• Firstly, this is the only available land to build on within the
city limits.
• Secondly, industry is located on the edge of the cities.
Many people need jobs therefore they locate close to
factories. Some of these settlements may be 40 or 50 km
from the city centre (on the edge of the city), along main
roads and up very steep hillsides.
Shanty towns are often built on land that no one else can use.
Often this is very steep land as it is very difficult to build formal
housing here. This land is prone to landslips when it rains and
many people can be killed
In cities in both MEDCs and LEDCs there is a CBD
usually near the centre of the city. The poorer part
of the MEDC city is the inner city and the zone of
transition, which are close to the CBD. In an
LEDC city the poorest people live in shanty towns
(favela’s). Many of these are on the outskirts of
the city but others are found near transport routes
or where there are unfavourable physical sites
such as steep slopes.
SLUM CLEARANCE
get rid of them by using
bull dozers. This
approach was soon found
to not work as people
were too poor to rent
anywhere else and the
government could not
house the large numbers
arriving from the rural
areas to the city. THIS IS
NOW SEEN AS NOT A
SOLUTION

These schemes are also called
SELF HELP SCHEMES
SITE & SERVICE SCHEMES
These are schemes where the
government will provide a site
(a small concrete building)
and basic amenities such as
water and sewerage. The
migrant will be given rights of
ownership and then expected
to complete the work at his or
her expense. This is often
done as a cooperative
between groups of migrants.
In other situations the
authorities will just provide the
plot (land) and building
materials and the migrants will
construct their own homes
The government puts in basic services such as clean water & sewerage
and provides building materials, such as breezeblocks. The families
then get together & help build the homes (Some being trained as
plumbers, some electricians) Hence the buildings are relatively cheap,
hygienic & gives the migrants a sense of control over their future it also
creates good community spirit.
REHABILITATION
An alternative scheme as
the residents of an existing
shanty town are given
materials to improve their
shelters and also
encouraged to set up
community schemes to
improve education and
medical services.
Residents may be given
rights of ownership and
local authorities may
provide electricity, water
and sewage disposal
One example in FAVELA
MONTE AZUL
HOUSING
DEVELOPMENTS
Large areas of shanty towns
were cleared, tower blocks
were then built in their place
often on very steep land to
house the shanty town
residents. One example is
the CINGAPURA HOUSING
project. This has not been
seen as a success
The Cingapura project is a low-cost housing initiative in São Paulo, Brazil.
It is designed to try and move the poor population from favelas (shanty
towns), where one quarter of people in São Paulo now live, into more
permanent structures. These structures are often called 'Superblocks'.
They were intended to have a supply of electricity, a good water supply and
sewer pipes. On top of this, residential security guards were to be
employed to reduce crimes which were/are rife throughout the favelas in
Brazil. Much of the work was to be done by the residents of the favelas
themselves, the project being dubbed a 'self help' project. The existing
favelas were to be cleared and building materials provided for the builders
for free. One of the major difficulties in building on the sites of the favelas
was the large slopes on which they are built. This difficult terrain was the
only reason the owners of the land did not use it. Levelling the land was
very expensive and eventually proved too expensive, only a tenth of the
proposed apartments were completed.
Those that were built were not very successful, as many of the families
from the favelas found that the new apartments were too much of a change
of environment. They did not like the fact they couldn't extend on their new
apartments, and many attempted to bring their livestock into the flats. Only
14 of the 140,000 projected apartments were actually built.
THINK ABOUT ALL THE PREVIOUS SLIDES

SLUM CLEARANCE
SELF HELP / SITE & SERVICE
REHABILITATION
HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

NOW THINK OF THE DISADVANTAGES – THINK ALSO

OF THE EFFECT IT WILL HAVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.