LIVING IN TOWNS

SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 9

1
LIVING IN TOWNS

Student’s Book

Year 9

Ministry of Education
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
2000

1
Fifth Edition 2000.

Revised by Reginald Garoleo, following recommendations from the Social Science Workshop held at Matevulu College in
August 1995.

Layout: Raela Ruben

Previous editions 1997, 1980, 1985, 1988.

© Ministry of Education

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or
by any means, without prior permission from the publisher.Layout:

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 Contents
Chapter 1 Villages, Towns and Cities ................................................................. 5
Chapter 2 Early Towns and Cities ....................................................................... 7
Babylon ............................................................................................... 7
Nile Valley .......................................................................................... 7
Indus Valley ........................................................................................ 8
Greece ................................................................................................. 8
Rome ................................................................................................. 10
Mexico City ...................................................................................... 10

Chapter 3 Where do towns grow up? ................................................................ 15

Sites of villages and towns ............................................................... 15
Why do towns develop? ................................................................... 18

Chapter 4 Towns in the South Pacific ............................................................... 23

Recent growth ................................................................................... 23
Pacific towns today ........................................................................... 24
Urban drift ........................................................................................ 26

Chapter 5 Urban Inhabitants.............................................................................. 33

Population of Port Vila* in 1989 ...................................................... 33
Population of Luganville Town* in 1989 ......................................... 33
The multi-racial character of Port Vila and of Luganville (1989) .... 34
The multi-racial character of New York ........................................... 34

Chapter 6 Urban Problems ................................................................................ 39

Slums, or “Shanty Towns” ................................................................ 39
Pollution ........................................................................................... 40
Traffic Congestion ............................................................................ 40
Crime ................................................................................................ 41
Unemployment ................................................................................. 41
Accidents .......................................................................................... 42

Chapter 7 Urban Zones ..................................................................................... 43

What is a zone? ................................................................................. 43
The arrangement of zones in a town ................................................. 46
Heights of buildings in towns ........................................................... 47

Chapter 8 Urbanization in Vanuatu ................................................................... 53

Introduction ...................................................................................... 53
The growth of Port Vila .................................................................... 54
The growth of Luganville ................................................................. 68

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Chapter 9 Urbanization in the world today ....................................................... 83
Growth of world population ............................................................. 83
The world’s largest cities .................................................................. 84

Appendix A Revision Test .................................................................................... 88

Appendix B Glossary ............................................................................................ 91

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 CHAPTER 1
VILLAGES, TOWNS AND
CITIES
You have already studied how people live together in families and in
communities. In most parts of the world, the main type of community is
still the rural village. However, in the last 150 years there has been a
tremendous growth of towns and cities in every continent of the world
except Antarctica.

A.

A village on Tanna, in Vanuatu

B.

The town of Bergen, Norway

5
 C.

The city of New York, U.S.A.

ACTIVITIES

1. The class should divide up into small groups, with approximately

5 students in each. The group then studies photographs A, B and

6
 C above and makes a list of the differences between villages,
towns and cities. Think about the following features:
• size (population, area, etc.)
• type of building (materials, size, etc.)
• how people make their living (type of employment, etc.)
• the inhabitants and how long they have lived there
• main problems of living.
After the group discussion, the class comes together again, and
one person from each group can report on the group’s findings.
2. Would you rather live in a village, a town or a large city? Give
your reasons.

CHAPTER 2
EARLY TOWNS AND CITIES
Although most towns and cities have only grown up in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, some cities such as Jericho, Babylon and Damascus
are thousands of years old. Some archaeologists believe that Jericho began
as long as 10,000 years ago!
The first great cities grew up in the six areas shown on the map of the
world on page 9. These areas (Mesopotamia, Nile Valley, Indus Valley,
Hwang-Ho Valley, Central America and the Peruvian Andes) all had fertile
alluvial soils, and the farmers could produce plenty of food, especially
cereals. Surplus food could be grown to feed the people living in the
cities, who were not themselves involved in food production.
It was when people first started living in towns and cities that civilization
A “grid-iron”
street pattern
began. The world “civilization” originally meant “living in a town”.
Here are some short descriptions of some of the early cities:

Babylon
Around the year 3000 B.C., Babylon was a large and magnificent city,
protected all around by 18 km of wall, with watch-towers at intervals. The
main gate into the city had many carvings on it. From the wall, you could
look down on to the congested (1) town and its temples, palaces, gardens,
markets and storehouses. Most of the ordinary homes were made of dried
clay, and were close to the streets that crossed the city in a grid-iron
pattern (2). The city was also an important port on the banks of the

7
 Euphrates River.

Nile Valley
In 3000 B.C., there were many small towns in Egypt along the banks of
the River Nile. Each town and its small river port was surrounded by a
mud-brick wall to protect it from attack. The streets were mostly on a
squared or grid-iron pattern.
The rich people lived in one part of the town “up-wind” from the poorer
people. The wealthier people lived in two storey (3) houses. There were
many community buildings such as temples, sports stadiums and theatres.

Indus Valley
By 2500 B.C., the town of Mohenjo-daro had about 50,000 people. The
streets were unpaved (4), but the town had a complete sewage disposal
system (5). All homes had bathrooms, and any had running water. Houses
were usually of two stories and were made of mud-brick. Streets were laid
out in a grid-iron pattern.

Greece
In the country of Greece at about 600 B.C., each tribe formed a separate
state, each with its own city. They called each city-state a “polis” (from
which comes the word metropolis (6). The main city-state was called
Attica, with the city of Athens at its centre.
Each city had a grid-iron street plan and was surround by strong walls. The
Greeks had a system of government called democracy (7), in which all the
free people (not the slaves) voted to choose their leaders. The people loved
beauty and thought that leisure (8) was very important, so they built
beautiful libraries, temples, theatres, swimming baths and sports areas.

8
 Areas where “civil ization” first began

Hwang-
Ho Valley
Mesapotamia

Indus Valley
Nile Valley
Central America

Peruvian Andes

9
Rome
By 0 A.D., Rome had become a large city, with a wall all around it. The
city was connected by excellent paved roads with its surrounding
hinterland (9) and the rest of the Roman Empire. Along these roads were
small farms and country houses for the rich people of Rome, who
commuted (10) to them at weekends.
The city was carefully planned out and organized, with bridges over the
River Tiber, and many huge community buildings like Athens had had. In
addition, the Romans developed many amenities (11) to help the people.
For example, there was a supply of running water to every house, and a
sewage disposal system carried waste along a series of drains into the
river.
A picture of ancient Rome is show below. The larger buildings are temples
and palaces. The famous narrow square called the Forum runs from left to
right through the centre of the picture. Very few of these old buildings
remain today.

Ancient Rome

Mexico City
This began when the Aztecs, or Mexicas, settled on a marshy island in the
middle of Lake Texcoco at about 1325 A.D. The settlement was called

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Tenochtitlan, and it was made the capital of the Aztec Empire.
The city was zoned (12) into districts from different activities. In the
centre was the magnificent Great Temple, where the Aztecs regularly made
human sacrifices. This was surrounded by other temples, and then by the
homes of the rich. Beyond came the poorer homes around the edge of the
city. Some of the poorest people even lived outside the protection of the
city walls.
Each day the townspeople commuted to the mainland to work on their
farms, and each evening they returned again to the safety of the walls.
In the early 1500’s, the Spanish army, led by Hernan Cortes, set out to
conquer the whole of Central America. When they first arrived at
Tenochtitlan in 1521, the island city covered about 10 km2 in area. To
Cortes and his men, the city was dazzling, appearing like a “vision from a
dream”. This is how they described it:
“We had a clear view of the causeways by which the city communicated
with the land, and of the aqueduct (13)… which supplied the city with the
finest water. We were struck with the numbers of canoes, passing to and
from the mainland, loaded with provisions and merchandise… We could
now see that the houses stood separate from each other, communicating
only by small draw-bridges and by boats, and that they were built with
terraced tops. We observed that the temples were built in the form of
towers… and were wonderfully brilliant (red, green, turquoise and
yellow)…”
The Spanish destroyed most of the buildings in Tenochtitlan, and rebuilt
the city as Mexico City. As the city grew, so people gradually reclaimed
(14) the old canals; they also reclaimed parts of the surrounding lake in
order to make the ground suitable for building houses.

Tenochtitlan in 1521

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 The Great Temple, Tenochtitlan, in 1500 A.D.

Today, the fastest-growing metropolis on earth stands upon the site of

Tenochtitlan. Mexico City, with its 18 million inhabitants, covers most of
the former Lake Texcoco, its islands, and some of the mainland beyond.

ACTIVITIES

1. On an outline map of the world:

a. shade and name the 6 areas where civilization began
b. mark by a dot and name the following early towns and cities
that still exist today: Athens, Rome, Damascus, Jericho,
Mexico, City, Cuzco, Beijing (Peking).
Give your map a title!
2. Explain why the earliest cities developed in very fertile areas.
3. Explain the present-day meanings of the 14 terms numbered (1)
to (14). Give an actual example of each.

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4. Complete this list to show the common characteristics of early
towns and cities. The first one has already been done for you:
a. They were usually surrounded by a high wall
b.
c.
d.
e.
5. a. In Egypt, the prevailing winds for most of the year are
westerly (i.e. they come from the west). In the towns, the
more wealthy people lived “up-wind”, while the poorer
people had to live “down-wind”. Try to explain the reason
for this, illustrating your answer with a sketch map.
b Can you describe any other ways in which the life of the
richer people was different from that of the poorer people in
the early towns and cities?
6. What is the difference between social services and amenities?
Give examples of each from the early towns that you have studied.
7. As the early towns grew in size, why did buildings in the centre
become taller and taller?
Extra activity:
8. Find out more from your library about one of these topics. Then
prepare a 1 - 2 page illustrated report of your research:
• Roman towns
• Greek city states
• Early civilization in the Nile Valley
• The Aztecs
• The Incas

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14
 CHAPTER 3
WHERE DO TOWNS
GROW UP?
Sites of villages and towns
The place where a village or town starts to grow up is called its site.
Usually a site is chosen because it has certain advantages. There must be a
supply of fresh water, from a stream or well. The place must be able to be
defended from attack. The ground must be suitable for farming. Low
ground must be avoided in case there is a flood.
Can you think of any other reasons why people might choose a particular
site?
The map below show sites of settlements in the north east of Malakula,
Vanuatu. Notice how people have chosen to live on small offshore islands
like Vao and Atchin. Such islets could easily be defended, and they
generally had fewer mosquitoes. They were also the places where the early
mission stations were set up, so that people came to live there when they
were converted to Christianity.

I. VAO
Tobghanu
Bétéhul Bétérihi
Lavamé Vénu Singon
Norowré
Ambilak
Lahambar Tolamp (Rf)
Véturah
Lambetbak

26

Tonmalvar Lé Malvéveng (Rf)

bu

09
15
Palanua

I. ATCHIN
Melmarur
Lovalsal Melbarav
Mélep
Tchinarngatan
Fotinwéiu Onma Tchinarmaré
Kernaï Rowar
ua (Camp.)
lan
Pa Viungnaot
Noos

Wormet

1000 m 0 1 2 3 4 5 km

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 Every town and city has an original site, from which it began. London and
Bangkok grew up near the mouths of rivers. Rio de Janeiro and Sydney
grew up around sheltered harbours.
The city of Paris started on a small island in the middle of the River Seine,
known as the “Ile de la Cité”. Look for this island in the picture below,
which shows Paris in 1596. Find the famous church known as Notre
Dame. Notice how the town has spread out on either side of the river, and
look for the city wall.

Paris in 1596

Today, Paris covers an area of many hundred square kilometres, but the
original site can still be seen.

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17
Part of the city of Paris today
 The town of Casares in Spain

ACTIVITIES

1. Describe the site of your own village, town or school. For

example, is it on the coast? Is there a stream or river close by? Is
the ground flat or sloping? How high is it?
2. Give three reasons why most people on the north east of Malakula
chose to live on the offshore islands and not on the mainland.
3. With the help of a simple sketch map, describe the original site of
Paris. What were two advantages of this site? What is the
approximate area in km2 of the original site? (Use the scale of the
map on page 17 to help you measure the length and breadth of the
island.)
4. Study the picture above. Then briefly describe the site of the town,
and suggest why it was built on this site.

Why do towns develop?

Why do some settlements grow up into great cities, while others do not?
The answer is partly to do with the site of the settlement. For example,
places that have good natural harbours, with deep water and shelter from
prevailing winds, often become large ports. Settlements on flat land can
expand easily.
But there are other reasons. The position of a place inside a country, and its
nearness to lines of communication, is very important. So is the type of
activity, or function, that is being carried out. For example if a place is
made the capital city of a country, it will grow rapidly; the setting up of
factories in a town will “pull” in many people to work, and the town will
expand.
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The following activity will help you to understand why certain villages
grow into towns.

ACTIVITY: The Paci Group of Islands

A. Background planning
1. The class should divide into pairs. Each pair takes a large sheet
of paper and writes along the top “the Paci Group of Islands”.
Each pair should then draw a map of a group of 15 imaginary
islands. These islands must not be real, i.e. they must not look like
any existing islands! Show features such as bays, reefs, rivers,
high ground (brown) and low ground (green). Five islands should
be large, five should be of medium size and five should be very
small. Each island should be given a name or a code letter.
2. Draw an arrow ( ) to show which way is north. It is usual to
have north at the top of the paper. Draw another arrow or sign to
show the direction of the prevailing winds.
3. At the foot of the paper, draw a linear scale to show that 10
kilometres on the ground is represented by 4 centimetres on the
map. Indicate a key for your map by drawing a box 20 cm by
10 cm in one corner of the paper.
4. Now write in one of these 15 labels next to each island. It is up to
each pair to choose which label belongs to which island;
• Valuable kaori forest
• Mt. Tabu (2000 m)
• Attractive scenery and sandy beaches
• Low-grade copper deposits
• Large area of coconut plantations
• Steep volcanic island
• Flat coral island with no water
• Island with a large natural harbour
• Island with a small, well-sheltered natural harbour
• Islanders refuse to sell land
• Islanders willing to sell land
• Island with a very powerful chief
• Very fertile garden land
• Long period of missionary influence
• Excellent offshore fishing grounds
5. The last step is to mark the sites of 15 villages using red dots.
Three islands should be left uninhabited. Some of the other
islands will have more than one settlement. Number each village
form 1 to 15.

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 B. Activities (You are still working in pairs!)
1. Decide which one of your villages 1 to 15 will grow the most
rapidly into a town. Look carefully at the site of each village, and
its position within the Paci Group, before making your decision.
Label your chose place “Gudton”. In your exercise book, list all
the reasons why Gudton will develop.
2. Choose another village that is remote and has a poor site. Label
it “Nating”. List all the reasons why this settlement is not likely
to grow into a town.
3. With a ruler, draw straight red lines joining settlements with their
nearest neighbours. You will end up with a number of triangles.
Now copy the table shown below into your exercise books.
Measure the distance from Gudton along the red lines to each of
the other villages, and put a tick (4) in the appropriate place in
column (a). For example, if you have 3 villages at distances of
11,18 and 37 km from Gudton, you would show three ticks as on
the table. Then measure the distance from Nating to each of the
other villages, and record your answers in column (b). Check
that you have 14 ticks in (a) and 14 in (b).

(a) (b)
Distance in km from Gudton from Nating

0-9

10 - 19 44

20 - 29

30 - 39 4

40 - 49

50 - 59

60 - 69

70 - 79

80 - 89

90 - 99

100 and over

Now write down what you notice about differences between the
distribution of ticks in the two columns. Does Gudton have
several villages close to it? What about Nating?

20
4. Draw blue lines on your map to show the likely routes taken by
ships to reach each settlement. Think carefully about such things
as:
• shelter from prevailing winds
• reefs
• high costs of fuel for long journeys.
In your key, draw a blue line and label it “sea communications”.
5. Assume that the red lines already drawn refer to air routes.
In your key, draw a red line and label it “air communications”.
6. Draw black lines to show the main roads in the Paci Group.
Several roads will link Gudton to other villages and places on its
island.
7. Do you think that Gudton is a route focus? Why do you say this?
Write down your reasons in your exercise book.
8. The hinterland of Gudton means the area it serves. Inside this
area, village people send their crops and produce to Gudton for
sale there. Also, people living in the hinterland go to Gudton for
services like hospitals, secondary schools and shopping. In your
exercise book, describe Gudton’s hinterland (which villages and
islands are inside it, how wide it is, etc.). Say whether there is
enough room for Gudton to expand into its hinterland in the
future. Why is it important for Gudton to have good
communications with the villages in its hinterland?
C. Summary
Each pair takes it in turns to hold up its map in front of the class
and to explain the reasons for its choice of Gudton, Nating and
the lines of communication. The rest of the class can question the
pair about its map.
D. Extra tasks
1. Imagine world copper prices rise very rapidly. Where might a
small mining town develop in the Paci Group? What problems
will it face?
2. Suppose that the Paci Island government wanted to have a new
capital. All government offices are to be moved out of Gudton to
this new city, which will also have new housing areas and
factories. What new site would you choose, and why?

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22
 CHAPTER 4
TOWNS IN THE SOUTH
PACIFIC
Recent growth
For centuries, Pacific islanders lived in scattered or dispersed family units
or in small nucleated villages. In Vanuatu, such settlements were usually
sited on small islands near to larger ones (e.g. Ifira, Mele, Toman, Tangoa),
or on hill-tops. Why?
The first Pacific towns developed as a result of the establishment of
trading posts and mission stations just over one hundred years ago. Such
towns grew up at good anchorages, and were all ports. Examples are
Levuka (founded in 1825), Avarua (1831), Papeete (1843), Noumea
(1854), Suva (1876), Port Moresby (1884) and Port Vila (1886). Towns
like Labasa and Lautoka grew up around sugar mills. The towns of
Honiara and Luganville grew up around American military bases built
during the Second World War. Honiara was only really established as late
as 1944.
The rapid expansion of Pacific towns in recent years is due to the
migration of people from rural areas, or outer islands. All the towns grew
larger as colonial powers set up their administrations there and needed
people to come and work in government offices. Now that most Pacific
countries have their independence, people have continued to migrate into
the towns seeking employment in industries, commerce and

23
 administration.

Part of the city of Honolulu, Oahu island, Hawaii

Pacific towns today

Estimated Name of Estimated % of total pop.

Country total pop. Main centre pop. of main living in main
(1986) centre (1986) centre

American Samoa 56 000 Pago-Pago 26 800 48

Cook Islands 19 020 Avarua 4 222 59

Fiji 797 000 Suva 366 620 46

French Polynesia 223 000 N.W. Tahiti 120 420 54

Hawaii 1 187 000 Honolulu 387 500 33

Kiribati 80 000 South Tarawa 29 600 37

Marshall Islands 57 000 Majuro 37 050 65

New Caledonia 196 836 Noumea-Mt.Dore 139 754 71

Solomon Islands 391 000 Honiara 50 830 13

Tonga 98 000 Nuku’alofa 35 280 36

Tuvalu 10 000 Funafuti 4 200 42

Vanuatu 174 000 Port-Vila 30 320 18

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 Map showing
Western Samoa the principal
166 000 Apia 34 860HAWAII 21
towns of the 20oN
Central and South Pacific Honolulu

MARSHALL
ISLANDS
10oN
Majuro

South Tarawa
KIRIBATI 0o

SOLOMON
ISLANDS
TUVALU
Funafuti
Honiara
10oS
SAMOA FRENCH
Pago-Pago POLYNESIA
VANUATU Apia
FIJI AM. SAMOA
Port-Vila Papeete
Suva TONGA Avarua 20oS
NEW Nuku’alofa COOK
Noumea
CALEDONIA ISLANDS

160oE 170oE 180o 170oW 160oW 150oW

ACTIVITIES

1. Draw a bar chart to show the total populations of the 13

countries listed in the table on page 24. Inside each bar, shade
the part that represents the number living in the main centre of
the country. Use a vertical scale of 1 cm = 50,000 people. Label
your graph fully.
2. Make a list of the main Pacific towns in order of population size.
3. a. Which two towns have the greatest percentage of their
countries’ population?
b. Which two towns have the least percentage of their
countries’ population?
c. Which countries have more than 1/3 of their population
living in the main centre?

25
 4. Why do you think Pacific towns are growing rapidly at the
moment?
5. Draw a sketch map of the South Pacific to show the location of
the main towns. Show each town by a different sized dot to
indicate its population. Here is one way that you could show the
dots:
123456
123456
123456
123456
123456 > 200,00
123456
12345
12345
12345
12345
12345
12345 100,00 to 200,000

50,000 to 99,999

20,000 to 49,999

10,000 to 19,999

< 10,000

Extra activity
6. Find out more about the growth of any one Pacific town outside
Vanuatu. You could choose Honolulu, Avarua, Levuka, or any
other town. Prepare a short report.

Urban drift
You have just found out that Pacific towns are showing a rapid increase in
population at present, largely because people are moving from the villages
and the outer islands to the main urban centres of each country. This
movement is called rural-urban drift.
Rural-urban drift takes place in almost all countries of the world. In
European countries like France, Britain and West Germany, the movement
began 200 years ago, when factories were built during the industrial
revolution. In the Pacific islands, the same thing is happening, but the
drift started much later. In some places it only began after the Second
World War.
There are several reasons for rural-urban drift. They can be divided into
“push” factors and “pull” factors. “Push” factors make people want to
leave the rural areas because of difficulties they are facing there. “Pull”
factors make people want to come and live in the towns because of various
advantages that are there. “Push” and “pull” factors are shown in the
diagram on page 29.

26
 Many young people drift to Vila

In Vanuatu, many people leave their villages because it is hard for them to
earn money there, especially if copra prices are low. They also leave if
their gardens have been damaged by cyclones or volcanic ash, or if they do
not have enough land. In the past, it was not necessary to have much
money. But nowadays people want to buy clothes, they need to pay school
fees, and they like to be able to buy tinned foods and other goods from the
many local stores around the islands. Some people may be able to earn
money by sending artifacts or shells to be sold in Port Vila or Luganville,
or by selling copra or cocoa, or by driving a taxi, or by working in a
mission or government job (for example, in a school or dispensary).
However, most people need to go to the towns and find paid employment,
if they want to make money.

27
 To many, especially the young people, the village does not seem an
exciting place in which to live. Towns appear to offer excitement and
interest - shops, busy markets, cinemas, public buildings, parks, sport,
night clubs, music and the chance of meeting many new people. We say
that the young people are attracted by the “bright lights” of the town.
Others go to the towns in order to continue with school or higher
education.
Those who drift to the towns often go to stay with relatives from their
island who are already there. The kind relatives let the young person stay
with them. They feed him too, since he probably doesn’t have any money
when he first arrives. Their house may be crowded, but they make room
for him to sleep on the floor.
Most people who drift to the town soon find out that urban life has many
problems. There are not enough jobs for those who need them, and
unemployment is very common. Many of the new arrivals are unskilled
workers who have not had much education. They cannot therefore obtain
highly paid jobs. Most of them work on the wharf, on building sites, on
plantations, or as housegirls. The work is often irregular and is poorly
paid. At any time, a worker may lose his job and not be able to find
another one. Money that is earned must be used to pay for accommodation
and food. And if a person does not have a garden, the price of food
becomes very expensive.
Living conditions in the town may also be difficult. In several parts of
Port Vila and Luganville there is overcrowding, lack of good water and
sewage facilities, and no adequate lighting.
Then there are the problems that arise when people have to adjust to a new
way of life in a crowded place among many strangers. In the villages,
young people are known by everybody, and they are under the control of
their parents, elders, pastors and chiefs. But once they reach the town, they
think they are free to behave in any way they wish. Girls and boys go and
live together without getting married. Illegitimate babies are born. Young
men spend their money in night-clubs and bars. They get drunk and fight
people from other islands. They get involved in traffic accidents. They may
start stealing. If young people are single, they may get bored at weekends
and on public holidays, as there is nothing to do in the house where they
are staying. Married men who have left their wives and children behind in
the villages may also get bored and unhappy, since they miss having
family life and a home of their own.
So perhaps young people should think very carefully before leaving their
villages for the excitement of the town. Unless they have a good
education, they will not get work in an office. If they do not have a
particular skill or trade, it will be hard to find other work.

28
 Throughout the Pacific, governments are trying to stop the drift to the
towns. But unless a real effort is made to encourage rural development, the
migration will continue.

Reasons for rural-urban drift

“PULL” FACTORS
More jobs
More amenities
Better education
“Bright lights”

“PUSH” FACTORS
Lack of jobs
Lack of money
Few amenities
Lack of land
Natural disasters

A discussion between students of the former British Secondary School,

Port Vila, about whether ni-Vanuatu should stay in their villages or go
away to work in towns such as Port Vila, Luganville and Noumea

Tasaau: I feel that ni-Vanuatu should stay in their villages and follow
the traditional way of life, growing crops in their gardens and
cutting copra. If all the strong young men go and work in the
towns, the land will be neglected.
Kollan: When a man goes away to work in the town, his wife can stay
behind in the village to look after the animals and tend the
land.
Julian: I disagree with you because there might be a cyclone while
the husband is away, and a wife should not be expected to
look after the home at such a time and do the heavy work of
rebuilding afterwards.
Lindsay: Like Julian, I also feel that husband and wife should stay
together and not be separated. The wife might get sick while
her husband is away. If a man goes to town he should take his
wife and family with him.
29
 Reporter: Why then do people go to the towns, especially when life
there is so much more expensive?
Serei: You can live quite cheaply in a village if you build your own
houses of local materials and grow your own food. As soon
as you move to a town you have to pay rent and water rates as
well as having to spend a lot of money on food each week. If
you haven’t got any land to make a garden in town you have
to buy all your vegetables, and this makes a big difference to
the family budget.
George: Many people are forced to leave their villages and go to work
in towns because they do not have much land in the village.
This means they cannot earn money to pay for such things as
their children’s school fees. Maybe they have very small
plantations and so cannot cut enough copra to sell, and
anyway the price of copra is so low now that it is impossible
to make a lot of money by selling it. If you want your
children to be educated, then you must go and work in the
towns to earn the money for their school fees.
Leonard: I feel it is possible to make money while still living in your
village. You can raise cattle or grow cocoa.
Job: You still need both money and land to do this. Before you can
start raising cattle you must go to the town and earn the
money to buy stock and equipment and to pay the wages of
those who will work for you.
Kenneth: Although many ni-Vanuatu go to the towns to earn money to
help their families and their village, they do not always use
the money for this purpose once they have earned it.
Hilson: I agree. Many young men get into bad habits while they are
living in the towns, and they waste their money on drinking
in the bars and going to night-clubs. Sometimes they have
girlfriends in towns and deceive their wives, and sometimes
they get drunk and fight with other men. When such men are
in the village, they obey their pastor and chief, but when they
come to the towns they do not go to church and there is no-
one to correct them.
Jerry: I totally agree with you, Hilson.
Andrew: Their relatives back in the village might get sick and die
while they were away. It is no good earning a lot of money to
help your parents if by the time you return they are dead.

30
Jerry: I’ve changed my mind. The ni-Vanuatu are content to sit in
their villages learning nothing new and just following what
their fathers and grandfathers did before them. Ni-Vanuatu
should come to the towns and learn new and better ways to
develop their country.
George: I agree. Most of the jobs for educated people are to be found
in the towns.
John: I know it is a good thing for ni-Vanuatu to go to the towns
and get education and training, but I think that once they have
acquired these they should not stay in the towns to work.
They should take their skill and knowledge back to the
villages and help develop their country in this way. Not all
development takes place in the towns, since the majority of
ni-Vanuatu live in the villages, and it is these people that the
educated ni-Vanuatu should try and help. People could come
and get training at the Teachers’ College in Port Vila and then
go back and teach in their village schools. They could go to
the Agricultural School at Tagabe and then teach the village
people new and better techniques of farming or show them
how to improve the quality of their copra.

ACTIVITIES

1. Read the article on urban drift on pages 26 to 29, and then write
one sentence to answer each of these questions:
a. How long has the drift to the towns been going on in some
European countries?
b. When did the drift to the towns start in the Pacific?
c. Why do some young people feel freer in the town?
d. How do people in a town get their food?
e. How would you describe the age and sex of most urban
migrate?
f. State one way in which rural-urban drift might be stopped.
2. Divide into groups. Make lists of the advantages and the
disadvantages of migrating from rural areas into towns.
3. Explain the difference between “push” and “pull” factors in
causing rural-urban migration. Give some actual examples of
each from Vanuatu.

31
32
 CHAPTER 5
URBAN INHABITANTS
Population of Port Vila* in 1989

Citizenship Place of Birth Number

Ni-Vanuatu Port Vila 6960

Efate Rural 1155
Tafea 1805
Shepherds 1508
Paama 997
Malekula 992
Ambae/Maewo 829
Santo 760
Pentecost 715
Ambrym 588
Banks/Torres 187
Epi 182
Total 16608
Non-Ni-Vanuatu 1599
TOTAL 18207

Population of Luganville in 1989

Citizenship Place of Birth Number

Ni-Vanuatu Luganville 2798

Santo Rural 466
Ambae/Maewo 527
Pentecost 493
Malekula 402
Banks/Torres 394
Ambrym 382
Paama 381
Efate 353
Tafea 120
Shepherds 66
Epi 50
Total 6432
Non-Ni-Vanuatu 239
TOTAL 6671

*See maps on pages 56 and 73 for limits of Port Vila and Luganville.
Note that “Port Vila” here means the Municipal Council Area plus
Malapoa Reserve.

33
The multi-racial character of Port Vila and of Luganville (1989)

Ethnic group % of population % of population

of Port Vila of Luganville
Ni-Vanuatu 89 96
European 8 1
Others 5 3
TOTAL 100 100

The multi-racial character of New York

A crowded street in central New York

Can you name 4 different ethnic groups in this photograph?

ACTIVITIES

1. Study the tables on page 33, and then answer the following
questions:
a. Draw a pie-chart to show the place of birth of the
inhabitants of Port Vila in 1986.
Method: Firstly round off each number to the nearest
hundred, e.g. 1,044 becomes 1,000; 586 becomes
600. Then divide each number by the total for
Port Vila (13,800) and multiply by 360o.
For example, Malakula will be:
Refer to the figure on the next page:
34
 o
600 x 360
13 800 1
23
o o
360 15
= = 15
23 23

= 16o (to the nearest o)

Shade your pie-chart in different colours an label it carefully.

b. Draw a similar pie-chart for Luganville. Use the same
colours for shading the place of birth that you used in a.
c. What was the total urban population in 1986? What % of
the urban population were citizens?
d. From which three islands outside Efate do most inhabitants
of Port Vila come?
e. From which three islands outside Santo do most inhabitants
of Luganville come?
f. From which islands do many people migrate to both
Port Vila and Luganvilla?
g. From which countries outside Vanuatu do most inhabitants
of Port Vila and Luganville come?
2. Write a paragraph about one family that you know that has
migrated to Port Vila or Luganville. Give the names of members
of the family, say how long in the first place. Draw a sketch map
to show where exactly their house is in Port Vila or Luganville.
3. Study the table on page 34, and then answer the following
questions:
a. What is meant by a multi-racial society?
b. What is meant by “Ni-Vanuatu” in this table?
c. Where have the Europeans come from, and for what reasons?
d. Which countries have the “Other Pacific Islanders” come
from? Why have some of them settled permanently in
Vanuatu?

35
 e. What is means by “Other”?
f. Can you now make a full list of all the distinct ethnic groups
that are to be found in Vanuatu?
4. Carry out the following exercise in order to find out some of the
different kinds of people who move into Pacific towns, and
where they choose to live.
Copy lists A and B into your exercise book. List A gives 9 kinds of
people who move into the town, and List B contains 8 places or
areas in the town where they may go to live. Then answer
questions a. to f.:
List A List B
• students • government housing
• unskilled workers • hotels
and their families
• trained government • boarding schools and
workers colleges
• single men and women • overcrowded, low-cost
housing areas
• expatriates • homes of relatives and
friends of that particular
• tourists island
• very old people • hostels
• sick people • hospitals
• people from one • high-cost housing areas and
particular island residential estates
a. Draw a box ( ) around the kind of people who
would not normally wish to migrate to a town.
b. Draw straight lines from the kinds of people in List A to the areas
of the town in List B where they will be most likely to live.
Note: If you think that one type of people could live in more than
one area, draw several straight lines. Do not draw any
lines coming out from the people you named in question a.
c. Explain the meaning of these terms:
unskilled worker hostel
expatriate residential estate

36
d. If a trained government worker is earning a high salary, where
might he/she and the family decide to go and live?
e. Excluding the people named in a., which two kinds of people are
likely to be only temporary residents in the town? Why?
f. In many South Pacific towns there are far fewer expatriates today
than there were a few years ago. Why is this?

37
38
 CHAPTER 6
URBAN PROBLEMS
Slums, or “Shanty Towns”

Makeshift houses built by squatters in an African city

39
Pollution

Rubbish left behind by the tide near Unity Park, Luganville

Traffic Congestion

Traffic in Seoul (S.Korea)

40
Crime

Articles stolen from houses in Vila by a gang of thieves in 1999

Unemployment

A man seeking work in Mexico City

41
Accidents

Traffic accident at Nambatu, Port-Vila

ACTIVITIES

1. Briefly describe the problem shown in each picture. Then suggest

reasons why this problem occurs.
2. Give two actual examples of each problem that you have come
across. Take your examples from Port Vila, Luganville or any other
town or city.

42
 CHAPTER 7
URBAN ZONES
What is a zone?
A town can often be divided into different parts or zones according to the
various activities that are being carried out.
The following photographs show you some of the main zones that can be
found in urban areas:
COMMERCIAL ZONE

Shops and offices in the center of Port Vila

43
 ADMINISTRATIVE ZONE

Government buildings and the Post Office, Port Vila

INDUSTRIAL ZONE

Docks (wharves) and warehouses in the port of London

44
RECREATIONAL ZONE

Park in the centre of town, Port

Vila
RESIDENTIAL ZONE

Malapoa Estate, Port Vila

45
The arrangement of zones in a town

Key VILLAGE
Built-up areas
Mai
Ribbon development nR
oad
By-pass
Q.D.A. Central Business District
Gree Belt
N
IAL
Main ENT
Road SID
RE
Q.D.A.
RE
SI INDUSTRIAL
DE
NT
IA
L

0 1 2 3 km

The central business district, or C.B.D., is the central part of the town
where most of the commercial activities (shops, businesses, offices, etc.)
are located. It often contains government buildings and parks.
Residential zones are where people live. They may have their own homes,
or they may live in rented accommodation. Blocks of apartments or
“flats” may occur in this zone. Some residential zones may have high-cost
housing. Others may have low-cost housing, inhabited by people who have
less money.
The industrial zone is where most of the factories and industries are
located. This zone includes the port area and nearby warehouses.
The whole of the built-up or town area can be called urban. Undeveloped
ground, gardens, plantations and farmlands make up the rural areas.
The suburbs are the parts of the town outside the central area, or C.B.D.
In some very densely populated countries such a U.K., Belgium, France,
West Germany and Japan, large towns and cities have a green belt around
the urban area. This is a belt or area in which no building is allowed, and
the land remains as farmland, forest and parkland. The purpose of the
green belt is to stop the town from rapidly encroaching into the rural areas
around it.
Do you think that green belts should be established around Port Vila and
Luganville?

46
 Central Business District

River
Commercial/Industrial Zone
Long Island

Hudson
Residential Zone
Bridge sound
Statue of Liberty
Manhattan Is.
Bronx PARTS
Queens OF Central Park
THE CIY

er
Brooklyn OF

Riv
Richmond NEW YORK L O N G

t
Eas
N
y
Ba
Ne
wa
rk I S L A N D

Th
e
Na
rro
ws

A T L A N T I C O C E A N
0 8 km

Heights of buildings in towns

The Central Business District usually contains several multi-storey
buildings. Why is this? (Hint - think about the value of the land in the
centre of a town).

Diagram showing the relative heights of buildings

in the Central Business District and in the suburbs

7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1

SUBURBS C.B.D. SUBURBS

47
 Multi-storey buildings in central Sao Paulo, Brazil

The “Banque Indosuez Vanuatu” (B.I.V.), the tallest building in Port Vila

48
 ACTIVITIES

1. The zones of an imaginary Pacific island town

a. Draw a square frame measuring 15 cm by 15 cm in your
exercise book. Then copy the following sketch map inside the
frame. Leave enough room for the key.

Reef
200 m

S E A
20 Swamp
0m

Re
Pre

ef
vail
win

ing
ds

M
an
gr
ov
es

Land over 200 m > 1,000,000 VT per hectare (red)

Road 100,00 to 1,000,000 VT per hectare

(yellow)

Bush < 100,000 VT per hectare (blue)

Swamp Free land (green)

Mangroves Reef
Each square = 1 hectare

b. Now draw a series of grid lines at 1 cm intervals across the map.

There is no ned to draw them over the sea area. You will end up
with a number of squares, each of which is 1 cm2 in area and
represents 1 hectare on the ground.
c. Colour each square (or part square, if along the coast) in one of
the four colours mentioned in the key. Think carefully about your
choice.

49
 Remember that expensive land is usually:
• in great demand by many people
• at a route focus (e.g. a road junction)
• difficult to build on, but has a good view of the sea
• near the deepest water (for a port)
• needed for shops and offices.
On the other hand, cheap land is usually:
• low-lying and subject to flooding
• near noisy or smelly areas (e.g. the refuse dump)
• in places where people don’t want to live
• undeveloped land
• owned by people who allow their relations and friends to
use it for little or no money.
d. Study the list of features below. Find out what each one
means and then write its number only in any of the squares
on your map where you think the activity may occur.
You may write the same number in several squares. You may
also need to put several numbers in one square. Some
squares will have no numbers in them - this will mean they
have not been developed in any way.
1. commercial
2. port
3. government offices
4. schools
5. factories
6. parks
7. football fields
8. flats above shops and offices
9. tall blocks of flats and apartments
10. ordinary houses
11. expensive houses with large gardens
12. sewage works or refuse dump
13. squatter shacks
14. shopping centre out of the main centre of the town.
e. Now that you have filled in the numbers in some of the
squares, your town will show different types of land-use. It
is possible to group these even further into major zones of
activity. To do this, write on these names on your map in the
most suitable positions:
C.B.D.
residential
industrial
50
2. Make a copy of the simple town plan on page 46. Then explain
what is meant by each of the following terms:
ribbon development encroachment
by-pass commuters
3. Draw a labelled diagram to show a typical multi-storey building
that might be found in the Central Business District of a city.
4. Zones of New York
(Refer to the map on page 47, and the photograph on page 6)
a. Explain why the buildings at the southern end of Manhattan
Island are so tall. (They are called “skyscrapers”)
b. Describe the location of the different zones of New York. For
example, where is the C.B.D.? Where are the industrial/
commercial zones? Which zone covers the greatest area?
5. Copy the chart on the following page into your exercise book and
place ticks (4) in the spaces where you think each particular
feature would occur. If you think that the feature might possibly
be found there, or occurs only sometimes, put a small tick (4).

51
 Zones

Feature of urban life C.B.D. Industrial Residential Rural

high population density

low population density

buildings close together

buildings far apart

high cost of land

low cost of land

small gardens and little bush

large gardens and much bush

many large concrete buildings

multi-storey buildings

good roads with footpaths

poor roads with no footpaths

street lighting

much traffic

little traffic

several parks and sports fields

noisy, dusty and perhaps smelly

peaceful surroundings

roads often follow a planned

pattern

mostly homes for people

mostly places of work

places of entertainment
(cinemas, restaurants, etc.)

few places of entertainment

single-storey buildings

electric power station

52
 CHAPTER 8
URBANIZATION IN VANUATU

Introduction
Urbanization means the way in which more and more people are coming
to live in towns.
A country which is “highly urbanized” is one in which most of its people
live in towns. Examples of such countries are Australia (where 86% of the
population live in towns) and Belgium (where 87% of the population live
in towns).
The countries of the South Pacific are less urbanized than Australia or
New Zealand, but the percentage of urbanization is increasing rapidly.
In Vanuatu, approximately 18% of the population live in the two urban
areas of Port Vila and Luganville.
Population growth in Vanuatu

Month Port Vila Urban Total Urban pop. Total

and Area* Luganville Urban as a % of population
Year total pop.

May 1967 7,738 2,564 10,302 13.2 77,988

January 1979 14,598 5,183 19,781 17.8 111,251

May 1989 18,207 6,671 24,878 17.5 142,419

November 1999 29,356 10,738 40,094 21.5 186,678

“Port Vila Urban Area” includes Port Vila Municipal Council Area,
Malapoa Reserve, and the plantations and villages close by.
(See map, pg 56)

53
 One out of every six ni-Vanuatu is an urban dweller!

The growth of Port Vila

a. Distribution of population
Although Efate is the third largest island in Vanuatu, with an area of 923
km2, it is only recently that it has had a large population. The spareseness
of the population, in fact, may have been one reason why large-scale
plantations developed in the Port Vila and Hanannah Harbour areas. Here,
land could be obtained, and labourers could be introduced from the more
densely populated islands.
The areas of densest settlement on Efate are those which have always held
the most people, that is, the area from Erakor around the west coast to the
coast and offshore islands of North Efate (see map on page 56).

54
 The smallest islands have been traditionally valuable settlement sites in
Vanuatu - because they were safer from attack and usually had fewer
malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Around Efate, such islands are Erakor,
Eratap, Ifira, Mele, Lelepa, Nguna, Pele, Kakoula and Emao. (The four
islands in italics are already deserted, and depopulation is occurring from
the others to the mainland of Efate). The island of Moso has always had a
small population, due to a serious lack of water.
Eastern Efate has never had a dense population, and is unlikely to have
large numbers in the future. Forari used to be a large settlement, but
declined after the manganese mine closed in 1981.
A simple time-line for Efate (1879 to 1999)
Total pop. of Total pop.
Approx. 2,000 Total pop. 186,678
about 20,000,
About 1,000 2,000 24,360 people people
New Hebridean of whom
New Hebridean New Hebridean, 22,643
and other 15,600 were
and 5 500 Europeans, ni-Vanuatu
ethnic groups, New Hebridean
Europeans 100 Chinese,
plus 119 and 1,700 were
100 Tonkinese
Europeans Europeans

1879 1894 1938 1979 1989 1999

b. Early settlement on Efate (Pre-European contact)

It is not known when Melanesian settlement first began on Efate, but there
is archaeological evidence to show that man was living there at least 1,000
years ago. By the 12th century, there were several settlements in the west
and north of Efate.
It also seems that several groups of Polynesians (Samoans and Tongans)
arrived and lived among the Melanesians. The language of people from
Ifira and Mele, for example, is different from that spoken in other parts of
Efate, but is similar to Samoan.
For many centuries, the only contact between most settlements, even
between those on the same island, was when they raided and fought each
other. Cannibalism was common.

55
 Distribution of population for Efate, 1999

NGUNA
N
PELE EMAO

MOSO
Undine KAKOULA
Bay

Havannah
Harbour

LELEPA

MELE

Devel’s IFIRA
Point

ERAKOR
ERATAP
0 2 4 6 8 10 km

KEY
NGUNA Names of islands
IFIRA

Boundary of “Port Vila Urban Area”

Port Vila Municipal Council Area

Boundary of the daily commuter zone for Port Vila

Village

Large plantation

Malapoa Reserve

56
c. Europeans settle on Efate
By the time the first sandalwooders, missionaries and traders landed on
Efate in the early 1800’s, ni-Vanuatu villages and dispersed settlements
were scattered all around the island, but mostly occurred on the coast.
Samoan missionaries landed at Pango, Erakor and Havannah Harbour in
the 1840’s, and prepared the way for mission stations set up later on by the
Presbyterian Church.
European traders first established themselves at Havannah Harbour,
which became the main commercial centre of the New Hebrides from
1860 to 1880. Plantations were developed here, first for cotton, then maize
and coffee, and finally coconuts. Hanannah Harbour also became an
important centre for ships recruiting labour for the sugar cane plantations
in Queensland. But because of droughts, hurricanes, disease and a shortage
of plantation labour, the settlement at Havannah Harbour declined very
rapidly, and by 1879, the planters and traders had left.
d. Establishment of Vila
By the 1880’s, planters and traders began to settle in south-west Efate in
the area that is now Port Vila. The company C.C.N.H. (“Compagnie
Caledonienne des Nouvelles-Hebrides”), which was based in Noumea,
was able to acquire a lot of land from the people of Erakor and Ifira and
set up plantations and a trading post.
The principal reasons for the establishment of Port Vila were:
1. It had a large natural harbour with deep water close to the land and
good shelter from the prevailing S.E. Trades
2. There was plenty of water available
3. A large fertile lowland, the Mele Plain, was close by and was suitable
for the development of plantations
4. It was easier to buy or acquire land here than it was in north Efate,
where the villagers were more hostile.
Thus, Port Vila first grew up because it was a centre of French commercial
and agricultural activity. Two huge plantations, called “Franceville” and
“Framnais”, developed in the Vila-Mele area. Many French settlers, or
“colons”, arrived from Noumea, and names such as Higginson, Klehm,
Rodin and Frouin date from this time. With the help of C.C.N.H., the
French colons brought in a lot of workers to run their plantations -
New Hebrideans from others islands, people from other Pacific islands,
and especially the Vietnamese (formerly known as “Tonkinese”).

57
 By 1898, Port Vila consisted of a few houses along a rough track known as
the “Rud de Commerce” (now called “Lini Highway”). However, there
was no proper wharf or town. Two large stores dominated the settlement -
C.C.N.H. and A.N.H. and Company (“Australasia New Hebrides and
Company”, afterwards known as “Burns Philp”). Port Vila’s hinterland
produced bananas, coffee, copra, cocoa, vanilla and maize, all of which
were shipped out each month by two steamers - one to Noumea and the
other to Sydney.
e. Growth from 1898 to 1939
During the early years of the 20th century, Port Vila was confined to a small
area around the just north of the present Central Business District. The
town could not grow southwards because of the Colardeau Plantation.
When the Anglo-French Condominium was set up in 1906, Port Vila
became the seat of “government” for the New Hebrides.
By the 1920’s, the settlement consisted of stores, private houses, the Hotel
Reid (now the “Rossi Restaurant”), two government headquarters (known
as the British and French Residencies), warehouses, and two coffee
processing factories (one of which gave its name to the part of Port Vila
known as “Melcoffee”).

The early growth of Port Vila

1902 1913

Residential areas British Gov.

Mission land Workshops

French Government Commercial zone

Condominium Gov. Road N

0 100 200 300 400 500 m

58
f. Port Vila during and after World War II
The real growth of Port Vila only began during the Second World War. In
1942, large numbers of American troops arrived in Efate. Until they
moved to Santo, they made Havannah Harbour their main base, but built
roads, warehouses, workshops and camps in Port Vila. They built a
military hospital on the present site of Malapoa College, and constructed
base camps and rest areas at Nambatu and Nambatri.
The last remaining wartime building, Ballande Store, was pulled down in
1987.

Port Vila’s main street in 1942

The photograph above was taken looking northwards from opposite

C.F.N.H. Store (later called Ballande Store). Notice the American soldiers.
The seashore is just to the left of the picture.
Another photograph of Port Vila during the Second World War is shown
on the following page. The old post office and C.F.N.H. Store are in the
upper right of the picture. The houses in the foreground are where the
Constitution Building and General Store are situated today. Notice the
many jetties that come right up to the main road; today, all this shoreline
has been reclaimed.

59
 View of Port Vila in 1942, looking towards Malapoa

Until 1959, most buildings in Port Vila were constructed of wood and iron,
but in that year a hurricane destroyed many of these flimsy structures.
Subsequently, a building “boom” began in Port Vila, most of it in concrete
block.
Ten years later a further building boom began, and it was then that most of
the multi-story buildings began to appear. Much of this development was
due to Port Vila’s growth as a tax haven (a place where foreign business
firms can operate without having to pay taxes).
A new deep-water wharf was constructed in 1972. This enabled ocean-
going vessels to load and unload their cargoes directly from or to the land,
instead of having to anchor in the harbour and trans-ship all the cargo on
to smaller lighters. The result was a great increase in the volume of
overseas trade.
g. Port Vila today
Today, Port Vila is the capital of the independent republic of Vanuatu, the
seat of government and by far the largest town. In 1986, Port Vila Urban
Area had an estimated population of 19,200. It is the main port of entry to
the country by both sea and air.
The Port Vila Municipal Council has been in operation since 1976. This
body has been responsible for many improvements to the town, such as
new roads and footpaths, street lighting, town wardens, traffic signs and
general cleanliness.

60
Port Vila is the largest commercial centre in Vanuatu. Its port handles the
greatest tonnage of shipping, although Luganville earns more through its
bigger exports of copra, meat and cocoa. It has 9 commercial banks, 6 trust
companies, 5 accounting firms and 6 legal firms. There are 3 large
supermarkets and a great variety of smaller stores and specialist shops -
more than in any other South Pacific town of comparable size. For
entertainment, there are 11 hotels and motels, 22 restaurants and snack
bars, several night clubs and a cinema. Port Vila has a large hospital,
several private doctors, three secondary schools and several institutions
offering education at tertiary level (U.S.P. Emalus Campus, Institute of
Technology, Vanuatu Teachers College, School of Nursing, etc.)
Port Vila is the principal tourist centre in the country. In 1997, around
46,605 visitors arrived by air at Bauerfield airport, and by cruise ship.
Port Vila, in fact, is now the second most important port-of-call for cruise
ships in the whole of the Pacific (after Honolulu). Income from tourism is
estimated to be one of Vanuatu’s largest sources of revenue, and the
industry gives work to a lot of people in the Port Vila area.
Recent signs of Port Vila’s increasing importance are the construction of
new multi-storey office blocks in the centre of the town - such as “Raffea
House”, and “Basilea Building” - and the establishment in Port Vila of the
Pacific headquarters of such international organizations as ESCAP and the
Asian Development Bank.
Port Vila is an important town, with good transport facilities, banking
services and labour supply. However, its manufacturing industries are
small in number. Most industries are concerned with the making of food
and drink - for example, bread, ice-cream, soft drinks and canned meat.
Other secondary industries include the manufacture of jewellery, trochus
shell products, concrete blocks and furniture. By far the greatest number of
people in Port Vila are employed in tertiary or service industries,
particularly in government, commerce and tourism.
Although by world standards Port Vila is very small and has few urban
problems, town planning is still necessary. The Municipal Council has
already started to plan the future development of Port Vila according to
five zones. For example, all industrial development will be confined to
two main areas - around Tagabe, and along the south shore of Port Vila
Bay; similarly, only high-cost housing may now be built along the shores
of Ekasuvat Lagoon. Recent planned developments have been the low-cost
housing estate at Freswota, and the reclaiming of the waterfront between
the Rossi Restaurant and BP Wharf.

61
 In February 1987, Port Vila experienced hurricane “Uma”, one of the
worst cyclones in living memory. Almost every building was damaged or
destroyed, and several businesses were forced to close down. Tourism was
seriously affected for several months.

BAUER-FIELD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

TAGABE

OHLEN
BLACKSANDS

MANPLES TEBAKOR

FRESH WOTA Municipal Boundary

ANABROU

MALAPOA MELCOFE

STADE

CHAMPAGNE

National Sports Stadium

CENTRE TASSIRIKI
EM

PORT VILA BAY

TE

Hospital
N
LA
G

Parliament
O
O

SEASIDE
N

Ifririki Island

Ifira Island
NAMBATU
ON
GO
LA
AT
UV

Main Wharf
AS
EK

NAMBATRI

Pango
Erakor 100 Ha
Erakor Island

Port Vila in 1999

62
 Aerial photograph of the southern part of Port Vila, taken in 1986

Can you find the following on the aerial photo above: the Central
Hospital, three big hotels, the Main Wharf, the village of Erakor and Iririki
Island?

63
 KEY
Boundary of Vila
Municipality (Municipal
Council Area)

M. 1000 500 0

0 1 2 3 km

Port Vila Municipal Council Area, 1984

64
Aerial photo of Port Vila’s central business district, taken in 1982

65
 Tourist map of Central Port Vila
43
1 22
17 18 23 24
16
12 15
11 19 20 21
14 25
10
2 13 26
3 7
6 9 27 31
4 28 30
8
32
34
5 29
33
36 35
36
38
37
39
40
41
42

66
Specialist shops in “Olympic Court”, Port Vila

Looking north along Lini Highway, Port Vila

67
The growth of Luganville
a. Early growth
Luganville is a very recent town. Like Port Vila, it began as a European
trading center, and was not built on the site of a New Hebridean village.
The settlement was first established around one hundred years ago near the
mouth of the Sarakata River on the northern side of the Segon Canal,
which is a deep-water channel separating the islands of Aore and Espiritu
Santo. Large ocean-going ships could sail up the Segon Canal and find a
safe, sheltered anchorage.
Luganville, which is also known as “Santo”, or “Canal”, remained only a
very small settlement until World War II. For many years, it was
essentially a small service centre that provided trading and other facilities
for the surrounding French-owned copra plantations, the New Hebridean
villages along the south and east coasts of Espiritu Santo, and villages on
neighbouring islands such as Malo and Ambae. The population numbered
only a few hundred and consisted almost entirely of Europeans (mostly
French), with a few New Hebridean servants.
At this time, Luganville had no land communications. Travel to the rest of
Espiritu Santo island was only possible by small ship. The only
administrative building in the settlement was the French District Agency at
St. Michel. The British District Agency was located at Hog Harbour.

b. Luganville during World War II

When the Second World War began in 1939, the Japanese set out to
“conquer the Pacific”. By 1941 - 2, they had spread through South East
Asia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and much of Micronesia.
The United States of America, determined to stop the Japanese expansion,
decided to set up a major military base at Luganville. American troops,
money and equipment poured into the tiny settlement, and construction of
the base began in 1941.
The Americans changed Luganville completely. They built 3 large air-
strips for bombers, and one of these, Pekoa, is still used today. They
drained marshes along the coast, and built wharves and very wide roads.
They built many quonset huts, using corrugated iron, to house all the
troops.

68
The following description of wartime Luganville was written by an
American author who was stationed there for a while:
“In the early stages of the War, Luganville was the USA’s biggest base. In
1942, we landed ships at the edge of jungle so dense that it invaded land
which was uncovered at low tide. In two months we had a flourishing city
that soon grew to a population of 100,000. I say “city” because Luganville
had more public services than many American cities - a telephone system
with seven exchanges, a superb teletype network, a radio station, miles of
fine roads, 43 cinemas, a PX department store, industrial workshops of all
descriptions, an optical laboratory, 4 huge hospitals and a mammoth steam
laundry…”
(See page 180 of “Return to Paradise” by James A. Michener, published by
Corgi Books in 1951).

69
The photograph above shows Luganville in 1942. Notice the American
warships in the Segond Canal, the quonset huts and the island of Aore.

70
 The troopship “President Coolidge” sinking in the
Segond Canal after hitting a mine, October 25th 1942

c. Luganville after the Second World War

At the end of the Second World War, the Americans left Luganville, and
the facilities they had built fell into disuse. It would have cost too much
money to keep most of them operating. Heavy equipment that could not be
taken away easily was driven to “Million Dollar Point” and simply pushed
into the Segond Canal.

71
 Luganville continued to act as a trading centre, however. Plantations
expanded on the islands of Espiritu Santo, Aore and Malo, with the help of
foreign labour recruited from Vietnam (the “Tonkinese”) and other Pacific
islands (especially people from Kiribati). Chinese traders established
stores in the town, and the British District Agency was moved there from
Hog Harbour. New hebrideans migrated to Luganville looking for work,
and found accommodation in the old quonset huts left over from the War.
A new wharf was built in 1958.
Luganville developed rapidly in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It became the
country’s leading port from the export of copra, frozen fish, cocoa and
meat, with a hinterland covering the northern and central islands of the
country. It was considered as the “economic capital” of the New Hebrides.
The Municipal Council was established in 1976. Soon afterwards, a fine
new town hall was constructed to serve as the Council’s headquarters;
next to it was built a large covered market, to be used by people from
distant villages who come to sell their produce in the town.
In 1979, Luganville had a population of 5,183. It had factories for canning
meat and making coconut oil, six hotels, several good restaurants and a
growing tourist industry.
Then, just before Independence, came the “Santo Rebellion”. In May
1980, members of “nagriamal” and other opposition groups took control of
Luganville, Pekoa airport and the radio station, and declared that Espiritu
Santo was now the independent state of Vemarana. The New Hebrides
Government blockaded the port of Luganville, and all imports and exports
were stopped. Eventually law and order were restored with the help of
troops from Papua New Guinea. However, great physical damage was
done to the town, and many people left or were deported (especially
Europeans and Pacific islanders).

72
Distribution of population on Espiritu Santo, 1979.

KEY
Cap Cumberland
Principal village
Large plantations
Names of islands
Luganville Municipal Council Area

* Mountain

Cap Queiros
SAKAU

THION
Big Bay

LATHU

Hog. Harbour

LATARO

LATAROA

*
Tabwemasana
MAVEA

AESE

Palekula

Pic *
Santo

AORE
TUTUBA
TANGOA
ARAKI MALO
0 5 10 15 20 km

73
d. Luganville today
Luganville extends for approximately 8 km along the northern shore of the
Segond Canal. It is a very spread-out and sprawling town. Its lay-out still
follows the street plan set out by the Americans, but only a few thousand
people live in a town built for 100,000 troops.
The town has not yet recovered from the effects of the 1980 rebellion. In
January 1986, the population was 5,621 - just a few hundred more than in
1979. Most people are employed in service or tertiary industry (for
example, working for the Vanuatu government, or labouring at the wharf).
Some work in food processing industries such as the biscuit factory and
the abattoir. But there is hardly any secondary industry, and employment
opportunities are very limited. Only three hotels are presently operating,
and there is little tourist activity. Just one or two cruise ships call there
each year.
Luganville is still Vanuatu’s most important port for exports, and there are
signs that the production of copra and cattle on Santo island are starting to
increase again. With the help of agricultural projects such as the “South
Santo Cattle Project”, and the establishment of more secondary industry,
the town of Luganville should continue to revive in the future. The
Municipal Council has made plans for the future development of the town,
including a low-cost housing area and an industrial zone.

74
 Aerial photograph of Luganville in 1990

Even though this photograph was taken in 1999, there have not been many
changes since then. Can you find the Sarakata River, the Hospital, the
Main Wharf, Unity Park, the old American camp of Mango?

75
 Tourist plan of Luganville

76
 ACTIVITIES

1. Invite a resident of Port Vila or Luganville to give a talk to your

class on “What it is like to live in Port Vila/Luganville”.
2. Write a short essay about either Port Vila or Luganville, including
a sketch map to show all the places you have mentioned in your
account.
3. Study the following advertisement for a job, and then answer
questions a. to f. below:

Customs Officer Class II

The Vanuatu Government wishes to recruit a Customs Officer

Class II for the Customs Department in Port Vila.
Applicants should:
• have the Vanuatu Year 10 Leaving Certificate, or Brevet
d’Enseignement du Premier Cycle, or have successfully
completed 4 years service in the Customs Department.
• speak English or French correctly and have a good
knowledge of the other language. A knowledge of
Bislama is essential.
• hold a current driving licence.
The salary scale for this post is P.3 (375,600 VT per year,
rising to 390,720 VT per year). No accommodation can be
provided.
Applications should be sent to the Director of Public Service
not later than 5th December 1997. Applicants should enclose
evidence of their qualifications.

Imagine that you apply for the job from an outer island of Vanuatu,
and are successful. Imagine also that you are married and that your
wife/husband and two children come with you to in Port Vila.

a. Describe some of the problems that you and your family will have
to face as you make your new home in Port Vila, a town in which
you have never lived before.
b. How much money will you expect to receive after your first
month’s work?
c. Make a detailed budget for you and your family for spending
your first month’s salary. Say how much you will spend on food,
rent and other necessary items.

77
 d. What conflicts or differences of opinion might you have with your
wife/husband regarding how the money is to be spent?
e. What things will be very much more expensive in Port Vila than
they were in your home village?
f. Many people in the outer islands hear of high salaries and wages
offered to people working in Port Vila. Because of this, they
believe that everyone living in Port Vila is very wealthy. Do you
think that this is true?
4. Draw line graphs to show the population growth of Port Vila,
Luganville and Vanuatu between 1967 and 1999. Use the
information in the table on page 53.
Note: You should draw the three lines on the same graph, but
use a different colour for each.
5. Study the two population pyramids on the following page,
which are for Efate Rural Area and for Port Vila Municipal
Council Area and answer these questions:
a. What do you think is meant by “Efate Rural Area”?
b. To what year do the population pyramids refer?
c. How many men aged 45 - 49 years were living in Efate
Rural Area?
d. How many girls aged 10 - 14 years were living in Port Vila
Municipal Council Area?
e. Compare the numbers of people aged 20 - 39 years in the
two pyramids. What do you notice? Why does this difference
occur?
f. Describe and explain the difference between the number of
old people in the two areas.

78
Ages for the Population of Port Vila in 1989

Age Male Female

65+ 151 120

60 - 64 104 73
55 - 59 173 117
50 - 54 206 131
45 - 49 390 239
40 - 44 498 331
35 - 39 798 520
30 - 34 829 858
25 - 29 1 180 1 060
20 - 24 1 190 1 130
15 - 19 1 066 1 117
10 - 14 918 883
05 - 09 1 012 915
0 - 04 1 460 1 435

Total 9 975 8 930

Ages for the Population of Rural Efate in 1999

79
 6. Map-work
Make a tracing of the buildings, roads and waterfront from the
aerial photograph on page 65. Then colour and name as many of
the buildings and features as you can, using the map of Central
Port Vila on page 66.
7. For discussion:
a. “Living in Port Vila or Luganville is better than living in the
outer islands!”
b. “It would be better to decentralize some of the activities
now carried out in Port Vila and Luganville, and to develop
a small town in each Local Government Region.”
8. Describe the scene shown in the photograph of Kumul Highway,
Vila on page 67. Mention at least 3 features of urban life that you
can see.
Extra tasks
9. Urban fieldwork (Choose one exercise)
a. Land-Use Survey
Draw or trace a map of part of Port Vila or Luganville. Then
go and find out how all the land on your map is being used.
Distinguish between residential areas, factories, schools,
gardens, parks, waste land, offices, shops, etc. Use a
different colour to show each type of land use.
b. Commercial Survey of the C.B.D. of Port Vila or Luganville
Draw a map to show the different types of shop, business, or
administrative building that are present in the C.B.D. For
example, you could show al large department stores in red,
restaurants and cafes in blue, specialist shops in green,
banks in yellow, private houses in black, etc. If a building is
used for several purposes, e.g. private residence/shop, show
the colours in stripes.
You could also draw a map showing the number of storeys in
each building.

80
c. Traffic Survey
Stand at a particular point on a street and count the number
of vehicles that pass you during 1 hour. If different members
of the class stand at different points, you will be able to
build up an interesting picture. The exercise can be repeated
at a different time of day for comparison.
Results can be shown in the form of a flow diagram, where
the width of each arrow represents the number of vehicles.
See example on the following page.
d. Survey of reasons for the drift to the town
Interview at least 5 families. Find out why they have come to
live in the town, where they came from, and what difficulties
they have found. Write up your findings in the form of a
table.

81
 To Bauefield
Example of a Traffic Survey
Results of a traffic survey that was conducted by
students of Form 3B at Malapoa College during 1979.
The flow-chart shows the total number of vehicles
passing points in the Tebakor area between 1 - 30 p.m.
and 2 - 2.30 p.m. on 18th October 1979. Other flow-
charts were drawn for each of the different types of
vehicle (cars, buses, motorbikes, etc.) and for
pedestrians. Students stood at points A - J.
The width of each of arrow shows the number of
vehicles in the hour. (1 cm corresponds to 100 vehicles) A

I H G F
To Malapoa

C
D

82
To Vila
 CHAPTER 9
URBANIZATION IN THE
WORLD TODAY
People who live in towns and cities make up the urban population. The
world’s population has been increasing very rapidly, but the number of
people living in towns is growing even faster!
In 1950, it was found that 30% of all the people in the world were living in
towns and cities. In the year 2000, it is estimated that this percentage will
have risen to 51%!!

Growth of world population

Urban 6,200 million

Rural
4,800 million

2,800 million

51%
42%

1950 1960 1970 1980 1986 1990 2000

Towns and cities are growing most rapidly in the poorer, or developing,
countries of the world, such as those in Africa, South America and Asia. In
these countries, the population is growing so rapidly in rural areas that
more and more people are short of food and land; these people then
migrate to the towns in search of what they think will be a better life.
In 1950, there were 7 cities with more than 5 million inhabitants. In 1984,
there were 34. By the year 2025, in only 37 years’ time, it is expected that
93 cities in the world will have over 5 million inhabitants. 80 of these will
be in the developing countries.
The fastest-growing city in the world is Nouakchott, in Mauritania, North
Africa. This city was 43 times bigger in 1982 than it was in 1965!

83
The World’s largest cities

Estimated population in millions

City Country
1984 2025

Baghdad Iraq 5 18
Bangkok Thailand 5 18
Beijing (Peking) China 10 18
Bombay India 8 25
Buenos Aires Argentina 11 13
Cairo Egypt 7 25
Calcutta India 11 25
Chicago U.S.A. 5 8
Delhi India 7 25
Hong Kong Hong Kong 5 6
Istanbul Turkey 5 18
Jakarta Indonesia 8 25
Karachi Pakistan 7 25
Lagos Nigeria 5 25
Leningrad U.S.S.R. 5 8
Lima Peru 5 13
London U.K. 10 10
Los Angeles U.S.A. 10 13
Madras India 5 13
Madrid Spain 5 8
Manila Philippines 6 18
Mexico City Mexico 16 32
Moscow U.S.S.R. 9 13
New York U.S.A. 15 18
Osaka/Kobe Japan 5 8
Paris France 9 9
Rhein-Ruhr West Germany 8 8
Rio de Janeiro Brazil 10 18
Sao Paulo Brazil 16 25
Seoul South Korea 6 10
Shanghai China 12 25
Tehran Iran 6 18
Tientsin China 5 18
Tokyo/Yokohama Japan 17 20

(Source: “National Geographic”, August 1984)

The expanding cities in Africa, South America and Asia are facing
enormous problems. As migrants pour in to cities like Lagos, Sao Paulo,
Calcutta and Jakarta, they must find somewhere to live. Shanty towns, or
squatter settlements, grow up on the edge of the city, and the city itself gets
bigger and bigger. The example on the following page shows the growth of
squatter settlements in Lima, Peru.

84
 Hills

Urban Area

Squatter
Settlements

0 5 10 km

LIMA
1957 1977

Living conditions in these shanty towns are often terrible. Homes are built
out of scrap materials. There is no clean drinking water, proper sanitation
or electricity. Poverty, disease and crime increase. At the same time,
people from the shanty towns get poorly-paid jobs in the city doing
essential services like cleaning, driving and rubbish collection. This
situation is show in the cartoon below.

These are other problems facing the rapidly expanding cities of the
developing world - great traffic jams, a lot of unemployment, the regular
failure of electricity and water services, overcrowded schools and
hospitals, and very high prices for food and fuel. As the cities get bigger,
these problems will get worse.

85
 Squatter settlement, Bombay, India

School children wearing cloth masks as a

protection against air pollution, Tokyo, Japan

86
 ACTIVITIES

1. On an outline map of the world, show all the cities listed in the
table on page 84. Mark each city by a dot ( ) and print its name
or initial letter carefully alongside. Put a small circle around the
dot ( ) if the city’s population is expected to double or more
than double in the next 40 years.
2. Draw a bar chart to illustrate the fourth paragraph on page 83.
3. Describe the growth of Lima, as shown in the maps on page 85.
4. “The world’s population is becoming increasingly urbanized”.
Write one paragraph to explain what this statement means. Write
a second paragraph to explain why it is happening. Write a third
paragraph in which you say whether it is a good thing or a bad
thing.
Extra task
5. Prepare a wall chart containing pictures, maps, diagrams and a
written article on any two of the cities listed in the table on
page 84. This may be done as a group project.

87
 APPENDIX A REVISION TEST
TIME: 45 MIN.
• Write your answers in your exercise book or on special paper.
• Trace a copy of the map on page 90 and answer question 7 on your
own copy.
************************************************************
1. Define the following and give an actual example of each:
a. amenities c. tax haven
b. urbanization d. grid-iron street pattern (8)
2. Draw a labelled diagram of the kind of building that is normally
found in the Central Business District of a large city. (2)
3. Describe two differences between a town and a village. (2)
4. Describe two problems of living in towns and give an actual
example of each. (4)
5. Explain two “pull” factors that cause rural-urban migration to
Pacific towns. (4)
6. Name the world’s three largest cities, and give their
approximate population. (2)
7. On page 90, there is a map of an imaginary town known as
Missimae.
Answer questions a. to d. below. (Use your own copy of the map.)
a. Draw these three underlined features on the map, using the
symbols indicated:
The Central Business District of Missimae ( ) is a
circular zone about 1 km wide centred on the main road
junction.
The village of Manples ( ) is situated approximately
3½ km due south of the village of Saro, and is connected with
Saro by a winding track ( ) (2)

b. Now put these letters in the following places on the map:

R in two areas where ribbon development can be found
H in the place where a high-cost residential estate might occur
I in the area where you might find an industrial zone situated
close to the port. (3)
88
c. Shade ( ) on the map an area in which the town of
Missimae is likely to encroach rapidly into the countryside in the
future. (1)
d. Explain why many of the inhabitants of Saro will be commuters,
while those of Manples will not. (2)

( 30 )

89
 SARO

Riv
er R
etu

Lake
Banana Bay

Prevailing winds
NATIONAL
PARK

0 1 2 3 4 km

KEY

contour lines at 50 metre intervals road

marshland boundary of the built-up area

boundary of the national park reef

village

Missimae

90
APPENDIX B GLOSSARY
(Note: the meanings given below are for the words as they are used in
this booklet. You may also find other meanings in your
dictionary.)
administration system of government
alluvial deposited by a river when it is in flood
amenities things that make life more pleasant
apartment block building containing several rented rooms, or “flats”
aqueduct raised channel for carrying water, usually made of
stones
by-pass road built to avoid the congested part of a town or
city
causeway raised road across marshland or area of water
central business
district (C.B.D.) central part of a town or city where
most of the commercial activities are located
city state area controlled by one city that includes both the
city and the farmland around it; the area has its
own laws and is in fact a separate country
civilization living in an advanced stage of development
(original meaning - “living in a town”)
commercial connected with the buying and selling of goods
communications ways in which people get from one place to another
commute travel daily to another place for work, and then
return home again to sleep
congested overcrowded, or crowded together
dazzling so bright that the light hurts your eyes
decentralize to move something outwards from a central place
democracy system of government in which people elect their
own leaders and make their own laws
depopulation loss of people from an area
deport to send a person away from a country, and not
allow him to return

91
 developing country one of the poorer countries in the world;
sometimes called a “Third World” country
dispersed settlement one or two dwellings only, separated from other
dwellings by several hundred metres, or several
kilometres
encroach take over an area that does not really belong to
you
expatriate person living outside his own country
flimsy thin and easily destroyed
function kind of activity being carried out
green belt area or belt around a town in which no building
is allowed; the land remains as farmland, forest
or parkland
grid-iron pattern streets meeting each other at right angles
hinterland the area around a town, or the area that a town
serves
illegitimate child child whose mother and father are not married
industrial revolution change in the method of making things - use of
machines in factories rather than human labour
in a home; this change started in Europe in
about 1750
industrial zone area where there are a lot of factories and
industries; also includes the port area
leisure time when you are free and do not have to work
makeshift houses temporary houses built out of any available
materials
metropolis chief city of a country
multi-racial society people belonging to several different ethnic
groups or races
multi-storey building building with more than two floors or levels
nucleated settlement dwellings are grouped together to form a village
or town
port town or settlement that grows up around a good
harbour
prevailing winds winds that blow for most of the time

92
pull factor feature of town life that is very attractive and
makes you want to go and live there
push factor something that makes you want to leave a rural
area because of the difficulties you are facing
there
quonset hut long hut with a semi-circular roof, make of
corrugate iron
reclaim bring into a useful condition
refuse dump special place where household rubbish and
industrial waste is thrown
rent regular payment of money to a person for the use
of his house, room or land
residential estate area of widely-spaced, high-cost, private housing
residential zone area where people live and sleep
revenue income received by a country or a large company
ribbon development when a town, or a zone of a town, grows out in a
narrow strip along a main road
route focus place where several different lines of
communication meet together
rural area anywhere that is outside a town or city
rural-urban drift slow, steady migration of people from villages
and rural areas to the towns
sanitation method of removing waste or rubbish
service centre place that provides services and amenities for a
wide area around it (e.g. shops, banks,
mechanical repairs)
settlement place where people live
sewage disposal
system method of removing human waste from a
building
site place where a village or town starts to grow up
slums (shanty towns) overcrowded, dirty housing
social services things that must be provided for a community of
people, such as education, health care and
housing

93
 specialist shop shop that sells only one or two kinds of article, e.g.
a clothing shop, a camera shop
sprawling spread out over a wide area
squatter person who lives on another person’s land without
permission
suburb outer part of a town or urban area
surplus extra amount
tax haven place where foreign business firms can operate
without having to pay any taxes
temple place of worship
temporary very short time
theatre building where plays or concerts are performed
town planning making plans for the future development of a
town, e.g. dividing it into well-marked zone
two-storey building building with two floors or levels
unemployed not having a job
unpaved no proper tar-sealed surface
unskilled no special training or ability
urban area town or city
urbanization the way that more and more people are coming to
live in towns
zone distinct area, or belt, that is different in some way
to other areas or belts.

94