Location

SE Brazil
30 miles from Atlantic coast
Situated on Tiete River
Population
20 million

The Problem
Rapid urbanisation causes
overcrowding
2,000 migrants arrive per week!

Causes of the Urbanisation in Sao Paulo

(Increasing % of urban population)

The population of Sao Paulo metropolitan area has rapidly increased over the past 40
years. It has increased from 7 million in 1970 to 20 million today. The following has caused
this population increase:

High birth rate and lowering death rate (stage 3)

Internal rural to urban migration mainly from the poor NE region of Brazil. (See
below for Sao Paulo pull factors)
Pull factors of Sao Paulo

50% of industry is clustered in & around Sao Paulo

(Manufacturing includes vehicles, machinery, textiles & shoes).

Also iron ore is found around Sao Paulo

Booming construction industry

Many businesses including coffee exports

JOBS

Improved roads & rail communication have encouraged migration

Impacts of urbanisation on people & environment

One of the greatest impacts of rapid urbanisation in Sao Paulo has been the creation of
large Shanty Towns or Favelas (the name given to shanty towns in Brazil)

What are Shanty Towns or Favelas in Sao Paulo?

When people arrive in a new city like Sao Paulo the first thing
they need to create is a settler or somewhere to sleep. Many
of the new migrants arriving in a city do not have very much
money and so cannot afford to rent a room or buy a house.
Instead they create makeshift homes that are constructed
out of what ever material they can find. This might be wood,
plastic, corrugated iron and some times old disused bricks.
These shelters are built illegally on land that the people do
not own. They are often built on wasteland for example along
train tracks, in marshy land, near rubbish dumps, around the
edge of cities. As the number of shelters increase they
become known as a slum or a shanty town or in Brazil a
favelas.
Unlike MEDC, the poorest housing tends to be found on the
edge of the city. As you move into the centre of the city the
quality of the housing improves. (see above)

What are the characteristics of a

Shanty Towns or Favelas in Sao Paulo?
Transport transport system cant keep pace with
urban growth. Traffic jams, noise & pollution result.
Most people walk or use public transport. In 1991,
75% of SPs 3.4 million public transport users
depended upon 10,000 buses, 16% used the subway
and 8.7% used the trains. In 200 more buses have
been ordered to provide jobs and improve the service.
Few services little provision of
electricity, clean water, schools,
hospitals, doctors. Particularly in
shanty towns.

Pollution cities have to deal with the problem of

waste disposal. In 1995 only 10% of SPs solid waste
was collected and treated. SP spends $US1 million a
day on rubbish collection. In 1999 the city had two
landfill sites and two incinerators.
Segregation (division) divided between very
wealthy & those with nothing. Rich rarely go
near favelas (shanty towns) & poor find it
difficult to go into rich areas.

Employment issues there are not enough jobs

for migrants who arrive (unemployment). Many
people work in the INFORMAL sector selling
fruit, barbers, prostitutes, rubbish collectors.
Poorly paid work.

Housing issues providing enough housing for the

migrants is difficult. Sao Paulo gets 2,000 migrants per
week. In the 1970s SP built hundreds of low-grade
apartment blocks, these did not meet the demand for
houses and so shanty towns developed in the edge of the
city. 1/3 families live in one room dwellings. Homelessness
- Many people have no home except the pavement.

Water, sanitation & health no running water &

sanitation (proper toilets). Sewage often
contaminates the water, rubbish is not collected, so
diseases e.g. typhoid, dysentery spread very quickly
due to over crowding & poor health conditions.