Case Study: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Essay, Research Paper

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Steps to follow: Name the city: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil General facts

about Rio de Janeiro. ·

10 million people

live in Rio de Janeiro (once the capital of Brazil). ·

Of these up to 2

million live in favelas, the

Brazilian name for shanty towns. ·

Many of these are

newcomers living in the very poorest conditions. Have a look at

this image of a shanty town, a new favela on the north side of the city. Favela on the northern edge of Rio de

Janeiro © BBC Describe what

the shanty town is like. Use these headings to help you. ·

Location:

Built on the edge of the city. ·

Building materials:

Any available scrap – cardboard, wood, corrugated iron, etc. ·

Amenities:

Few – often no water, sanitation or electricity. Few shops, schools, clinics or

transport. ·

Quality of life:

Poor, little money, large families – illness and disease common, widespread

crime and drug dealing. Those with jobs would probably have long journeys to

work. Name an

improved shanty town: Rocinhà is an old favela now

inside the city. General facts

about RocinhÃ: ·

Between 50,000 and

100,000 people live in Rocinhà a favela on the hills on the edge of Rio. ·

Like many such

areas the housing was poor and there was no water, electricity or basic

services such as schools or clinics. ·

Today the situation

is very different. Improvements to

Rocinhà – What has happened? ·

Temporary wooden

shacks have been rebuilt using bricks and breeze-blocks, often by? the people themselves with help from

neighbours. ·

Water, electricity

and other services have been put in. Many homes have satellite TV! ·

People have built

shops, schools and clinics with help from the city council. ·

Crime is still a

problem, but people feel safer now and enjoy a much better quality of life. Happening

hints ·

If you would like

to use Rio as a case study, copy and paste this into a word processor and edit

it so it will fit on a small revision card. ·

Did you study

Mexico City or Djakarta or Calcutta? If you wish to revise your own city, copy

and paste the headings and fill them in for another example. ·

To help with your

revision draw a sketch map of the city that you have studied including facts

and figures about the location, amenities, quality of life and population. Population structure:

Dividing the population of an area into age groups: usually, 0-14, 15-65 and

over 65. The first and last groups are children and elderly (often retired)

people. The middle group contains most of the working (economically active)

population. Socio-economic group:

In the UK people are grouped according to the type of work they do. This often

relates to income, with the professional group earning most and the unskilled

least. Housing tenure:

This refers to who actually owns the house or property – the people who live in

it (owner-occupiers) or who it is rented from (private landlord/council, etc.) Amenities:

These are facilities such as central heating, double glazing, running water,

energy supply, etc. ·

·

·

·

Better job prospects and wages ·

Exciting/lots of opportunities ·

Variety of shops, entertainment, (e.g. theatres,

restaurants etc) ·

Good services (transport, schools, colleges, hospitals)

·

A range of accommodation available ·

Better overall quality of life Push factors

Sometimes people want to move away from an areas because there is little there

for them. These possible reasons are called push factors. Many people move away from their home area because

there is: ·

Little work and low

pay ·

Drought/crop

failure ·

Large family, land

inherited by eldest child ·

Farms more

mechanised ·

Poor services (e.g.

transport, schools, doctors etc) ·

Little or no

entertainment or leisure facilities ·

Isolated ·

Boring ·

Lack of housing ·

Generally poorer

quality of life migrationpeople moving from one place to another to live push

factors reasons for moving away

from a place pull factorsreasons for moving to a place ruralcountryside area urbantown or city (built up areas) Types

of migration: internalmigration within a country international migration from one country to another voluntarypeople migrating by choice forcedpeople who are forced to move e.g. because

of wars or persecution (including refugees and asylum seekers) illegalmoving into another country without

permission Model A – Burgess

This is a very simple urban model (and quite easy to remember). As the city

grows, newer buildings are built further away from the centre. ·

Zone 1 -

Business is attracted to the centre to be easily accessible. Competition for

space leads to high prices. ·

Zone 2

-Industry developed in the UK in the nineteenth century, and factories were

built around the CBD. Housing for workers was built close to the factories. ·

Zone 3 -

People then moved further out into newer residential areas as transport

developed. ·

Zone 4 and 5

- Today many people prefer the space and cleaner environment on the edge of the

city and often commute to work or work in new out of town (green-field) sites.