Settlement Change

Revision and Review

47 slides but still only 20 minutes…

Urbanization

Urbanization is a increase in the % of people living in urban areas

Why does urbanization happen?

Two main reasons;

• Rural to urban migration

• High rates of natural increase in urban areas (the new urban dwellers who have migrated from the countryside often keep their traditional attitudes to birth)

Where is urbanization most rapid?

• Currently urbanization is most rapid in LEDCs

• The growth of mega-cities such as Rio in south America, Shanghai and Mumbai in Asia and Lagos in Africa are evidence of this

LEDC City Case Study

Rio de Janeiro

Remember the No.59 Bus

Rural to Urban MigrationNorth East Brazil to Rio de Janeiro

WhyWhy do people migrate? do people migrate?

PUSH PULLPULL

Lack of high quality well paid jobs in the rural areas

Division of land among sons leading to smaller and smaller plots for subsistence

The bright lights and fast life – Copacabana beach

Better paid jobs with opportunities for development and promotion

Moving to join friends and family who are already in Rio

Drought, deforestation and other environmental pressure making agriculture difficult

Brazilian States’ Human Development Index

What are the impacts of rapid urban growth for cities like Rio?

• Size of city increases (Rio; 1950 = 2.3m, 2007 = 7m+)Size of city increases (Rio; 1950 = 2.3m, 2007 = 7m+)• Population structure of the city changes - youthfulPopulation structure of the city changes - youthful• Housing pressures (growth of favelas such as Housing pressures (growth of favelas such as

Rocinha)Rocinha)• Employment pressures; un- and under-employmentEmployment pressures; un- and under-employment• Transport – congestion and pollutionTransport – congestion and pollution• Sanitation and Health (sewage, waste disposal, Sanitation and Health (sewage, waste disposal,

disease)disease)• Energy demandEnergy demand• Services (schools and Hospitals)Services (schools and Hospitals)• Social problems (crime, Rio murder capitol of world)Social problems (crime, Rio murder capitol of world)• Counter-urbanisation and urban sprawl (Barra)Counter-urbanisation and urban sprawl (Barra)

Rocinha 750 favelas in Rio. But new ones still being established. 20% of Rio’s pop live in favelas. 33% of world’s urban pop live in spontaneous settlements.

Streets in a Rocinha

Housing in Rocinha2001 Census – pop 60,000But over 100,000 legally registered electricity meters.Estimated pop 200,000.Rocinha started 1940s, Every neighbourhood required domestic servants and labourers who lived in nearby favelas. No policing of these areas. 1950s drought in NE brazil led to rural to urban migration, 1960s construction boom in Rio attracted workers. Favelas integral part of Rio. Older favelas located centrally.

Rio’s first favela established in 1888 by government troops (ex slaves) who returned to Rio after defeating a Royalist uprising in NE Brazil. They were given no housing on their return and camped on Morro Providencia

1995 Favela Barrio Plan. Accept that favelas exist and try to normalise and integrate them through provision of sewage, water and rubbish collection.

Electricity companies had been supplying favelas since 1970s. High demand, easier to set up, residents use bills as proof of residency and ownership.

Recent focus on speeding up legalisation process. Property value doubles after legalisation. Tax paid but also possibility to realise the value of the asset.

With large barriers to entry to the formal sector such as lack of access to credit and bureaucracy, most enterprises are in the informal sector.

What are the sustainable solutions?• Forced evictions of squatter settlements – To clear land for formal

development

• Low cost housing – Very basic breeze block housing constructed. People re-housed in them. City of God

• Site and Service – Land is cleared and building plots prepared with water and electricity.

• Self Help Scheme – Existing settlements provided with water, sewage and rubbish collection. Building materials provided for residents to upgrade their homes (Favela Barrio Plan)

• Rural Development – To reduce rural to urban migration• Increasing policing - to stop new squatter settlement• Raise taxes - on the rich to pay for improving housing for the poor• Local initiatives – such as Afro-Reggae using music and culture to keep

kids away from crime and drugs

Think of the advantages and disadvantages of each possibilityWhat other options are there?

What about traffic, pollution and other issues – how can these be addressed?

MEDC City Case Study

BratislavaAlthough rapid urbanisation was a major

processes before 1950 in MEDCs (it started with the industrial revolution back in around

1800) cities like Bratislava are ever changing and dynamic places offering both

challenges and opportunities.

Going right back to the beginning…

You should be able to explain;

• Why Bratislava is where it is?

• Why Bratislava grew into the most important city in Slovakia?

This can be explained by understanding settlement site and situation.

Site and Situation• Site describes the point at which a settlement is

located, it describes the land it is build on. Factors such as relief, soil, water supply and other resources were important in choosing the sites of early settlements.

• Situation describes where the settlement is located in relation to the surrounding features such as other settlements, mountains, rivers and communications (roads, etc.). It is the situation of a settlement that determines whether it will grow from a small village into a large town or city.

Urban Zones

As a city grows and expands it often ends up being divided into different zones.

Each zone has distinctive characteristics and land use.

The Central Business District (CBD)

Bratislava CBD

Inner City Housing (UK)

Inner city housing – Bratislava Nove Mesto

Bratislava inner city housing – Petrzalka

Inner City Industry (UK)

Inner City Industry (BA Riverside)

Inner City Industry - Slovnaft

Suburban Housing (Anywhere)

Suburban housing – Lamac Bratislava

Suburban Housing - Lamac

Rural Urban Fringe (Anywhere)

Rural Urban Fringe – Zahorska Bystrica

Old and New – Zahorska Bystrica

Urban Land-use ModelsThe different urban zones can be

modeled and general patterns identified that might be common to all cities

MEDC Urban Land Use Model

KeyA The Central Business District.B The Zone of Transition.C Inner city.D Suburbs.E Urban rural fringe

Burgess concentric zone model.

What are the similarities and differences with Bratislava’s urban morphology

Bratislava Urban Zones

LEDC City Land Use Model

How does this compare with Rio’s urban land use zones?

Rio Urban Zones

Urban Change

Challenges and opportunities in an MEDC city - Bratislava

Inner City Decline and Regeneration

Inner City Issues• Many of the buildings are old,

disused and decaying (many Panelak in Petrzelka)

• Areas become run down and lack basic services such as schools and shops

• Levels of crime and general disorder increase as a result

• There is a lack of open green space and parks

• Traffic levels are high leading to congestion and pollution (train station area)

• Oldest and poorest members of society left within the inner city area as younger and wealthy move out to the suburbs (suburbanization)

Inner City Opportunities• But the inner city is a prime

location – close to shops, offices and businesses within the CBD

• Thus there are many opportunities for renovation (there are numerous renovated Panelak within Ruzinov and Petrzalk) and regeneration (Aupark are, Eurovea)

• As the inner city improves people return – especially younger, often middle class, single people – this process is called re-urbanization

• Such development is consider to be “brown-field” growth – where land that has previously be used is used again.

Urban Sprawl and Growth on the Rural-Urban Fringe

Benefits of the Fringe• Land is plentiful and much

cheaper than other areas of the city

• The environment is clean and levels of traffic and pollution lower

• It is accessible for people from the suburbs and those who live further away in satellite villages (such as Borinka)

• Thus the rural urban fringe is often the favoured location for new developments such as housing projects (Zahorska Bystrica), shopping facilities (Ikea, Avion) and business parks

• Such growth is considered as “green-field” development

Issues on the Fringe• Growth on the rural urban fringe is

associated with urban sprawl – the spreading of urban areas

• Surrounding countryside is taken and areas of forest and other natural environments are lost (e.g. on Koliba moving into the Mala Karpaty NP)

• There is competition for land with farmers who are often forced to move

• Levels of traffic and pollution rise within the area, especially associated with people commuting into the CBD for work

Rural to urban

migration

Natural change

Counter-urbanisation

Re-urbanisation

Suburbanisation

Urbanisation

Urban Processes and Change

Bratislava Case Study

Rio de Janeiro Case Study

Settlement Patterns

Rural settlements often form distinctive shapes or patterns; these can be easily identified on detailed topographical map – 1:25,000 and 1:50,000.

Settlement Hierarchy• Settlement hierarchy is when settlements within an area or country (e.g. the Bratislava

region) are ranked in order of importance based on population size, number and range of services and size of sphere of influence

• Sphere of influence is the area served by a settlement

• Functions are what a settlement does, what is it’s main purpose e.g. tourism, industry, administrative centre, port etc.

• High order services/goods have a high threshold population and large range examples include furniture, cars, electrical items such as TVs, financial expertise etc. These are comparison goods and services.

• Low order services/goods have a low threshold population and small range examples include bread, a newspaper, hairdressing. These are convenience goods.

• Range means the distance somebody is prepared to travel for a particular good or service

• Threshold population is the minimum number of people needed to justify (or support) the provision of a particular good or service.