Urban Problems

Urban problems are the same the world over and require the same solutions.

To what extent do you agree with this view?

(40 marks)

Over 50% of the world’s population now live in urban areas. Every urban area across the world will to some extent suffer from urban problems of a social, economic and environmental nature. The majority of the problems will be the same the world over, however the problems are more evident within LEDCs rather than MEDCs, and therefore the solutions to remove or minimise them are not the same throughout the world. Most of the urban problems are due to the rapid urbanisation and population growth seen in every urban area; however the cities within MEDCs such as London, experienced urbanisation during the industrial revolution between 1790 and 1860, whereas some LEDCs are have just experienced or beginning to experience growth in their cities during the 20th century including Sao Paulo and Cairo.

Social

Social problems can be seen throughout the world. They are frequently the result of rapid growth and urbanisation within urban areas and are often integrated with economic and environmental problems. In 2011 it was estimated that more than 200,000,000 people globally were unemployed, 32% of the world’s population live in slums with the majority concentrated into developing countries, and in 2004, the WHO estimated that 932,000,000 years of potential life were lost due to premature deaths. Furthermore, these problems when experienced together have resulted in 1.7billion people living in absolute poverty with 42% of these people living in Sub Saharan Africa.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sao Paulo is the 8th largest city in the world and has a population of nearly 20.8 million and a population density of 7,216 people per km2. Due to its rapid expansion in the 20th century it now faces social, economic and environmental problems. One major problem that faces Sao Paulo is housing. Around 70% of the population live in informal housing, with...