Shanty Town Model Answer

For a named city in an LIC, explain the management strategies being used to minimise the problems of its shanty towns (squatter communities)                                                                                                         (9m)

This answer should get 8-9 marks, and is based on my own research and what I wrote in a unit test. Please refer to a previous post 'Shanty Towns' and 'Shanty Town Case Study: Sao Paulo's Favelas' for more information to help you develop your own answer. :) 

Name of city: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sao Paulo has around 2500 favelas including Jaguare, Heliopolis and Paraisopolis. Many improvements have been made to these shanty towns. There are site-and-service schemes where government or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provide building materials for the locals to build a better home on their land. Once built, city authorities would help install basic amenities like electricity, running water and sanitation. This reduces the number of people illegally hooking up to overhead electricity lines and improves health as people have access to clean water for cooking and washing. With sewage systems the chances of diseases spread is also minimised. There are microlending schemes where locals can apply for small loans to finance their businesses or to start a business. In Heliopolis a microcredit scheme was developed by a non-profit US organisation and the Brazilian government where locals with small businesses can apply for loans between $100-$1500. Tenure is used where help has been given to locals so they have legal rights over their homes and land, so they are more secure. In Jaguare for example, there is a strong neighbourhood association where people in the favela have worked together to persuade the government to reduce crime and offer people, especially children, a wide range of sport or other activities. They also helped provide better infrastrcuture with better roads, more recreational facilities, especially for children. There are charity projects so other wealthier people volunteer to teach the shanty locals basic hygiene. Through medical associations healthcare has also been made more accessible so there is more of a chance of diseases cured and longer life expectancy.Sao Paulo also has edge cities developing like Jardines which may encourage rural-urban migrants to live away from the main city, so there is less pressure in the shanty towns.

The full notes for Shanty Town Case Study: São Paulo Favelas is in my IGCSE Geo Notes Set which is up for sale! 
Contact: michelle.lim205@gmail.com

Shanty Towns

Shanty town (aka. squatter settlement) is a slum settlement (sometimes illegal or unauthorised) of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made of scrap materials such as packing boxes, wooden planks, corrugated iron and plastic sheeting.

Why are they formed? Where are they found? 
When people from poor rural areas migrate to LIC cities they find that there are no houses for them, so they have to build homes on land available to them. The land is usually in areas of no economic value, on the edge of town, along main roads or on steep slopes. They often build on land they do not own, or on land that they do not have permission to build on.

Many areas on which shanty towns are built are unsafe:

• prone to flooding
• prone to landslides (steep slopes--this is why it is unoccupied, people cannot build tall buildings on steep slopes..)
• heavily polluted location

Often, they lack basic services such as electricity, water and sewerage. (Sewerage: the provision of drainage by sewers) Sometimes raw sewage runs across the streets and contaminates the area, leading to a wide variety of diseases. It is an unhealthy place to live in. However, for many people living in a shanty town is better than the life they had in rural areas. They prefer to live there and work in the informal economy, as it offers greater opportunities.