Urbanization
For the past 50 years or so, South America has experienced major urbanization, meaning that many people have moved from the rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (cities). Multiple factors caused this movement to occur. For example, the growth of manufacturing created more jobs in cities. At the same time, many rural people lived in poverty, without enough land to support their families. The promise of jobs, schools, and health services drew them to cities.
Today, several South American cities rank among the largest in the world. In 2000, São Paulo (sow POW•loh) in Brazil was home to nearly 18 million people, and Buenos Aires (BWAY•nos AIR•ays) in Argentina had nearly 13 million people.
Urbanization is not only happening in South America, it is happening around the world. Recently, for the first time in US history, more people live in urban areas instead of rural areas!
ADVANTAGES
There are various reasons for which people move to city centers, such as Rio de Janeiro.
These include:
• More job opportunities in cities
• A better quality of education and health care in established towns
• There is more to see and do in the big cities
• Drought and other adverse weather conditions may make a rural way of life impossible
• War has pushed many to seek life in the urban hubs
• The use of machines in agriculture has left families with no work or opportunities in the rural areas
DISADVANTAGES
Houses cannot be built quickly enough to keep up with the growing number of people. Large slums surround South America’s biggest cities. In these areas, people live in shacks of cardboard, wood scraps, or tin. They often have no electricity or running water.
The problem with such rapid urbanization, though, is that the cities do not have the time or resources to accommodate and employ these people. Therefore, the people arrive to find themselves living in poor conditions and fighting for a degree of quality of life. This has led to informal settlements, called shanty towns or favelas, being established around the urban centers. In fact, in Rio de Janeiro alone, there are approximately 2 million favela inhabitants.
Favelas are not suitable solutions to the rising urban population, though. They present many health and safety problems.
They are:
• Built on hills that are too steep to support homes safely.
• Made of cardboard, corrugated iron or scrap wood, offering little protection from the weather.
• Lacking in water, electricity or a safe means of sanitation.
• Far from shops, schools or transportation routes.
• Usually inhabited by large families that have many children.
• Prone to disease outbreaks due to bad sanitation.
• Prone to crime and violence due to a desperate lack of money as well as the thriving drug trafficking industry
Favelas lack government over-sight, so people work together to solve problems like getting electricity, water and safety.
SOLUTIONS
In fact, the separation of the wealthy and the poor within one area is a common characteristic of urbanization. Unemployment and poverty are major issues of urbanization. Another enormous problem for those living in the favelas of Brazil is the rapid spread of diseases and the distinct lack of adequate health care.
These issues have to be addressed for the progress and development of a country like Brazil.
The following initiatives are being implemented in some areas to improve these conditions at the moment:
New housing structures are being built from bricks and breeze blocks, which are more stable and safe than the informal shacks.
Homes are being equipped with electricity and water.
The city councils are assisting the locals to build shops and schools near to or within the favelas.
Clinics are being built in and around the shanty towns for their inhabitants
Favelas are using GPS technology which is connecting them with things like quality health care.
