Challenges of and Urbanising World

Question 1

Define urbanisation

Answer 1

the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas like towns and cities

Question 2

Define megacity

Answer 2

a population over 10 million

Question 3

Define world city

Answer 3

‘urban primacy’ and importance and influence bigger than their size suggests

Question 4

Define major cities

Answer 4

cities with a population over 200,000

Question 5

Define primate cities

Answer 5

cities that are so important within a country that they dominate the economic political and financial systems

Question 6

By 2020 what does the UN predict the % of the world’s population to be urban?

Answer 6

53%
the biggest increase is in Africa and Asia
the causes of this growth are:
migration to cities, natural increase (more births than deaths)

Question 7

What are the rural to urban migration push factors (from rural areas)?

Answer 7

few jobs aside from farming the land
permanent poverty
few opportunities

Question 8

What are the rural to urban migration pull factors (to urban area of Mumbai)?

Answer 8

more jobs
better education (literacy rate 95%, India average 87%)
entertainment
higher income

Question 9

What is natural increase in Mumbai like?

Answer 9

migrants are young - in their 20s and 30s - thy tend to settle and have families
Mumbai’s natural increase in 1.4% per year which accounts for 1.2 of Mumbai’s annual growth

Question 10

What is Mumbai’s site and situation?

Answer 10

Mumbai’s site was ideal for a port with access to deep water estuary of Ulhas river
Mumbai’s situation on the west coast of India makes it easier to trade with Europe
Mumbai is connected well internationally via the Sahara International airport, nationally via the rail network and regionally through the road network

Question 11

What is the developing Kampala urban economy like?

Answer 11

80% of people work in the informal economy

in the formal economy manufacturing makes up 5% and the rest is mainly services like banks, shops and offices

Question 12

What is the emerging Mumbai urban economy like?

Answer 12

75% of workers are in the informal economy

informal economy provides 50% of India’s GDP

Question 13

What is the developed London urban economy like?

Answer 13

manufacturing small at about 1-% of economy

the most valuable part of the city’s economy is the knowledge economy employing 10%

Question 14

What are the similarities between the structure of Mumbai and the structure of London?

Answer 14

they both have the CBD in the centre - although in Mumbai’s case it’s on the southern tip near the port
they both have some industrial areas next to the CBD but many have moved out for cheaper land
they both have the wealthier suburbs next to the CBD along harbour or coastal waterfronts

Question 15

What are the differences between the structure of Mumbai and the structure of London?

Answer 15

in Mumbai: unlike London:
the poorest areas are found on the edges of the city
low income groups live in chawls which are low quality one room homes
the poorest 60% of the people live in informal housing or squatter shacks on the very edge and far from work in the CBD

Question 16

What is the 1st challenge facing Mumbai?

Answer 16

water supply and waste disposal:
only wealthiest have private water
60% Mumbai population use communal taps, water is polluted but Mumbai recycles 80% of waste

Question 17

What is the 2nd challenge facing Mumbai?

Answer 17

informal economy:
most factories are illegal sweatshops with low pay, no security and no tax
large informal economy means very little tax paid so Mumbai can’t provide services for population

Question 18

What is the 3rd challenge facing Mumbai?

Answer 18

sanitation:

increased demand for water causes stress on the sewage system causing contamination of water

Question 19

What is the 4th challenge facing Mumbai?

Answer 19

housing shortages and slums:
population growing too fast to keep pace with so most people live in cramped, poor quality, expensive rooms far from work

Question 20

What are the inequalities in Mumbai like at life at the bottom?

Answer 20

Dharavi the larges informall slum on the edge of the city:
1 million people
13-17 people per home sized 10m²
people per toilet = 625
literacy rate 69% (Mumbai average = 91%)

Question 21

What are the inequalities in Mumbai like at life in the middle?

Answer 21

middle classes growing:
average family share a 1 bed flat closer to the edge of Mumbai
teacher salary = £230 per month
TV, mobile phone

Question 22

What are the inequalities in Mumbai like at life at the top?

Answer 22

highly skilled graduates earn £16,000 per year
companies provide apartment in gated complex near CBD/harbour
shopping, entertainment, smartphone etc.

Question 23

What are the top down strategies to make Mumbai more sustainable?

Answer 23

build 1 million new homes, improve transport infrastructure, improve air and water quality

Question 24

What are the successes of the top down strategies to make Mumbai more sustainable?

Answer 24

slums demolished to build flats with piped water/sewage system
new train and safer platforms
new air quality measures - low benzene petrol, public transport, road tax on old vehicles

Question 25

What are the failures of the top down strategies to make Mumbai more sustainable?

Answer 25

Mumbai is growing to fast to make it work
200,000 people moved, would prefer piped water supplied to slum not new flats
apartments have split communities (like high rise blocks in London)
small workshops have had to go out of business e.g. recycling

Question 26

What is the bottom up strategies to make Mumbai more sustainable?

Answer 26

SPARC toilets - works in the slums to improve sanitation and reduce spread of diseases

Question 27

What are the successes of the bottom up strategies to make Mumbai more sustainable?

Answer 27

charity has built 800 toilet blocs in slums
local families construct the toilet meaning they are cheap to build
they have electricity and are connected to sewage pipes