Solutions to Impacts of Urban Growth
Pollution
- Towns and cities have less clean air than its surrounding rural areas
- MEDCs, over the last 60 years, have regulations to restrict vehicle and industry emissions
- NICs and LEDCs have the highest levels of pollution
Types of Pollution, Impacts and Solutions
Pollutant | Source | Problem | Solution |
Carbon dioxide (CO2) |
Power stations Industrial processes Domestic heating Vehicle emissions |
Major greenhouse gas |
Laws to regulate emissions Pedestrianize urban centres Emission charges |
Carbon monoxide (CO) |
Vehicle emissions | Reduces supply of oxygen to the heart |
Laws to regulate emissions |
Particulate matter |
Diesel vehicle Soot from open fires Construction dust |
Smog (smoke and fog) Respiratory diseases |
Clean air act Smoke-free zones Exhaust checks on vehicles |
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) part of the nitrogen oxide group (NOX) |
Power stations Vehicle emissions |
Irritates the lungs Strong greenhouse gas |
Reduce the amount of electricity generated by thermal power stations Higher taxes on most polluting vehicles |
Hydrocarbons (inc. benzene) |
Vehicle exhaust | Contributes to ground-level ozone |
Regular checks on vehicle emissions Laws to regulate emissions Remove most polluting vehicles |
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) |
Coal power stations Open coal fires Vehicle exhausts Industrial processes |
Lung irritation Acid Rain |
Laws to control emissions from industry Smoke-free zone Close coal-fired power stations Introduce new more efficient power stations |
Ground-level Ozone (O3) | Reaction through vehicle exhausts and sunlight | Photochemical smog leading to eye and chest irritation |
Catalytic converters fitted to car exhausts Laws to reduce emissions |
Lead (Pb) |
Exhaust gases from leaded petrol | Lead harms the liver, kidneys, nervous system etc. |
Unleaded fuel |
Water, visual and noise pollution
Pollutant | Source | Problem | Solution |
Water |
Raw sewage in groundwater and rivers |
Drinking water contaminated Environmental health issues such as dysentery and diarrhoea |
Improve sanitation through sewage works Education Water treatment plants |
Visual |
Ugly buildings Graffiti Derelict land Litter |
Source of stress Impact on the social structure of cities Overflowing bins can lead to rats, mice and foxes |
Laws to regulate graffiti Stricter planning Improve refuse collection |
Noise |
Vehicles Industrial processes Large crowds Social events Nightlife |
Stress Lack of sleep Reduced concentration and work performance |
Laws to limit noise levels Planning to separate noisy activities from homes Building noise-reducing structures such as fences, trees and screens around motorways, factories etc. |
Managing informal settlements
- One challenge common to many urban areas is informal settlements
- There are five management options:
- Bulldoze and clear away
- Clear away but relocate people
- Redevelop
- Improve using self-help or site-and-service schemes (self-help gives tools/training and low-cost loans to help people help themselves, and S&S schemes provide a new or cleared site with basic services for people to buy at low cost, with low-cost loans to buy materials to make their homes)
- Ignore them
Bulldoze and clear away
-
- Operation Murambatsvina (Move the Rubbish), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country
- It affected at least 700,000 people directly through the loss of their homes or livelihood and indirectly around 2.4 million people
- Robert Mugabe and his government claimed it to be a crackdown on illegal housing and commercial activities, and to reduce the risk of the spread of infectious disease
- Critics saw it as a way of driving out anyone who opposed Mugabe's administration
Clear away but relocate people
-
- Occurring in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya
- In 2003, the Kenyan government and UN-Habitat created the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme, or KENSUP
- it aimed to improve the infrastructure and housing of 5.3 million people living in squatter settlements in Kenya
- The first step was to build modern high-rise flats and give the residents a chance to own an apartment in the new development
- The flagship of KENSUP in Kibera is several concrete buildings called “The Promised Land” by local residents
- The apartments inside are heavily subsidised and provide the formalised services that slums lack – like water, sanitation and electricity
Redevelop
-
- Wholesale clearance and redevelopment of squatter areas is a more drastic approach
- This involves simply evicting the squatters and rebuilding the site in a more formal and organised way
- This is proposed for Dharavi, Mumbai, India and is the approach taken in the UK for many old inner city slum housing areas
- The city authorities of Mumbai want to improve the quality of life of the people who live there
- This includes the informal or squatter settlement dwellers
- Current approaches across Mumbai are complete demolition of the informal settlements to be replaced by high rise tower blocks for people to live in
Self-help or site-and-service schemes
-
- Self-help schemes give people the tools and training to improve their homes. Low-interest loans are available to help pay for the upgrading
- Site-and-service schemes give people the chance to buy or rent a piece of land with basic services on a new or cleared site. Low-interest loans allow people to buy the materials for building their new homes
- In Rocinha, self-help schemes have improved the area from squatter settlements to low-quality housing where the majority of homes have basic services like electricity
- There are now services in Rocinha including cafes and shops
- Some people have been granted legal ownership of the land on which their houses are built
- 'The Favela Bairro Project' or 'Slum to Neighbourhood' project is a site-and-service scheme
- The local authority provides residents from favelas brick houses to rent, built with electricity, running water and sanitation pipes installed
- Some people are allowed to buy these houses
- Services in these areas also include refusing collection, schools and health centres
Ignore
-
- Some local authorities either turn a blind eye to the informal settlement and hope they go away
- Or they do not have the resources to commit to slum redevelopment
- But in some places, such as parts of Rocinha in Rio, many informal settlement dwellers have slowly improved the stability, durability and quality of their homes by buying better quality materials and doing the work themselves
- In some parts, people have done this so well and built such a stable community that authorities are no longer required to provide assistance
Worked example
(Study the table below on the quality of life in four cities.
City | Persons per Room | Percentage of homes with power and water | Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 births) | Noise Index (Scale of 1–10) |
Mumbai, India | 3.5 | 57 | 46 | 9 |
Washington, USA | 0.5 | 99 | 9 | 7 |
Mexico City, Mexico | 1.8 | 94 | 32 | 6 |
Auckland, New Zealand | 0.7 | 100 | 4 | 5 |
NB: The noise index is on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is low and 10 is high
1. Compare the quality of life between cities in LEDCs and MEDCs
[4]
2. Suggest two other factors that affect quality of life. Justify your answers.
[4]
- Possible answer:
- There appears to be no link between noise level and economic development [1]. Infant mortality is much higher in cities in LEDCs [1]. Overcrowding appears to be greatest in LEDCs cities, with Mumbai in India with the highest number of people per room [1]. MEDCs have a better supply of power and water [1] but Mexico City, which is an LEDC, has a high figure [1].
- Choice of two with justification from a list of possibilities including:
- Refuse collection [1]
- Mains sewerage/home sanitation [1]
- Crime levels [1]
- Unemployment or underemployment [1]
- Transport availability - public and private [1]
- Overall income levels [1]
- Available health care - maternity and child [1]
- 1 mark each for identified factor and 1 mark for reasons up to a max of 4 marks