Shanty TownsIB SL

What Are They?

• Found mainly in LEDC’s.• They are informal and built from anything and

everything.• They are illegal and built on unsafe and

unwanted land.• Some are built on steep slopes and are subject

to landslides.• Others may be built on floodplains which will

be subject to flooding.

Types

Slums Of Hope

• Self built houses.• Immigrants consolidate

their position in the informal urban economy.

• Housing is improving.• Mexico City: Colonias

Paracondistas.

Slums Of Despair

• Little room for improvement.

• Incomes are low.• Rents are high.• Leasing arrangements are

insecure.• Environmental problems.• Mexico City: Ciudades

Peridias.

Rio De Janeiro

• The rise of favelas has been rapid.• A favela is an “area lacking formal services,

containing 60 or more families who are squatting illegally on the site”.

• Out of Rio’s 12 million population, between 1.7 and 2.5 million of them live in slums.

• The largest favela, Rocinha, is estimated to have a population of 80,000.

• The clearance of these sites is to cause problems.

Rio De Janeiro

• In 1990, a programme of electrification had started to improve conditions in the favelas.

• Some favelas date back to the 1940’s and have a mix of commercial services for a diverse socio-economic population.

• The worst conditions are found in the most recent favelas such as no basic services, low incomes, and very high unemployment.

Improving Shanty Towns

• Legalisation.

• Give residents security of tenure.

• Giving Assisted Self-Help measures (ASH).

• Recognising these neighbourhoods as part of the city.

• To provide these areas with essential services.

Primary Projects

• Paved and formally named roads.

• Water supply pipes and sewage/drainage systems.

• Creches, leisure facilities, and sports areas.

• Relocation for families living in high-risk areas.

• Channelled rivers to stop them changing course.

Secondary Projects

• Bringing favela dwellers to mainstream society.

• Keep the dwellers out of crime by generating employment.

• Improving education and providing courses.• Giving residents access to credit so they can

buy things to improve their homes.• Helping people to become homeowners.

Edge Towns

• A new town development built on the edge of a city.

• Here land is readily available and has good accessibility.

• This represents a movement away from more central areas by wealthy populations who can afford high-quality housing built away from the CBD.

Activity

Using A2 Geography P247, answer the following…

1.Summarise the links between the growth of shanty towns and the process of urbanisation in LEDC’s.2.Create a table to summarise the advantages and disadvantages of various schemes to the shanty town dweller and the local government.