What challenges do rapidly growing cities in poorer countries face, and how can they be tackled?
The challenges of rapid urban growth in poorer countries, especially squatter settlements, and the strategies used to improve them (AO1, AO2).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to the challenges of cities in poorer countries. Covers why these cities grow so fast, the problems of squatter settlements and services, and the self-help, site-and-service and upgrading strategies used to improve them.
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What this dot point is asking
CCEA wants you to explain the challenges faced by rapidly growing cities in poorer (less developed) countries, with the focus on squatter settlements (also called shanty towns or informal settlements), and the strategies used to improve them. You need to know why these cities grow so fast, the problems of housing, services, health and work, and the main improvement schemes: self-help, site-and-service and upgrading.
Why these cities grow so fast
The problems of squatter settlements
The problems are wide-ranging; group them to earn marks.
- Housing. Homes are built from scrap (wood, plastic, corrugated iron), are overcrowded, and can collapse or burn easily.
- Services. Often no clean piped water, no proper sanitation or sewerage, and limited electricity.
- Health. Dirty water and poor sanitation spread disease such as cholera; healthcare is limited.
- Safety. Settlements may sit on dangerous land prone to landslides or flooding.
- Work. Many people work in low-paid, insecure informal jobs, and crime can be high.
Strategies to improve squatter settlements
Modern approaches work with residents rather than bulldozing settlements.
- Self-help schemes. The city provides cheap materials, loans and legal land ownership so residents can improve their own homes step by step, while the council adds basic services. Giving people ownership encourages them to invest.
- Site-and-service schemes. The authorities provide a plot of land already connected to water, sanitation and electricity, on which people build their own homes to a safer standard.
- Upgrading (in situ). Existing settlements are improved in place by adding paved roads, clean water, sewerage, electricity, schools and clinics, rather than demolishing them.
Worked example: matching strategy to problem
Common mistakes
Examples in context
Example 1. Why ownership changes everything. When residents of a squatter settlement are given legal ownership of their land, they suddenly have the security to invest their own time and money in a brick wall, a tin roof or a concrete floor, because the home can no longer be demolished. This is why self-help schemes that grant land tenure can transform a settlement at low cost to the city, a powerful point in an improvement answer.
Example 2. Upgrading rather than clearing. Cities have learned that bulldozing a squatter settlement simply pushes thousands of people to build another one elsewhere. Upgrading, by paving the lanes and laying water and sewerage pipes into the existing settlement, keeps the community in place while removing the worst dangers to health. Contrasting upgrading with demolition shows the examiner you understand why the modern approach works with residents.
Try this
Q1. What is a squatter settlement? [1 mark]
- Cue. An area of self-built housing on land the residents do not legally own.
Q2. Give two problems found in squatter settlements. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two: poor self-built housing, no clean water, no sanitation, disease, dangerous land, informal jobs.
Q3. Name two strategies used to improve squatter settlements. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two: self-help schemes, site-and-service schemes, upgrading.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA Unit 2 (style)6 marksDescribe the problems found in squatter settlements in poorer countries.Show worked answer →
Six marks for a range of clear problems.
Housing: homes are built by residents from scrap materials such as wood, plastic and corrugated iron, are overcrowded and can collapse or burn easily.
Services: there is often no clean piped water, no proper sanitation or sewerage, and limited electricity, so disease spreads easily.
Health and safety: poor sanitation and dirty water cause illnesses such as cholera, healthcare is limited, and settlements may be on dangerous land such as steep slopes or rubbish dumps prone to landslides or flooding.
Work and crime: many people work in low-paid, insecure informal jobs, and crime can be high.
Markers reward several developed problems covering housing, services, health and work, not a single point.
CCEA Unit 2 (style)6 marksExplain how squatter settlements can be improved.Show worked answer →
Six marks for explained improvement strategies.
Self-help schemes: the city provides cheap materials, loans and legal land ownership so residents can improve their own homes gradually, while the council adds basic services.
Site-and-service schemes: the authorities provide a plot of land already connected to water, sanitation and electricity, on which people build their own homes to a safer standard.
Upgrading: existing settlements are improved in place by adding paved roads, clean water, sewerage, electricity, schools and clinics, rather than demolishing them.
A strong answer explains how each strategy tackles the specific problems of poor housing and missing services.
Markers reward named strategies (self-help, site-and-service, upgrading) each linked to how it improves housing or services.
Related dot points
- The causes of urbanisation and the pattern of urban land use, including the functions of the main zones of a city (AO1, AO2).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to urbanisation and urban land use. Covers what urbanisation is and why it happens, the difference between richer and poorer countries, and the functions and pattern of the main land-use zones from the central business district to the suburbs.
- Urban change in richer countries, including inner-city decline, counter-urbanisation and regeneration (AO1, AO2).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to urban change in richer countries. Covers the causes of inner-city decline, the process of counter-urbanisation and its effects, and how regeneration and redevelopment are used to renew run-down urban areas.
- The push and pull factors behind migration, the difference between economic migrants and refugees, and the effects on source and host areas (AO1, AO2).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to migration. Covers push and pull factors, the difference between economic migrants and refugees, and the positive and negative effects on both the source country and the host country.
- The meaning of development and the development gap, and the economic and social indicators used to measure it (AO1, AO3).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to the development gap and how development is measured. Covers what development means, the gap between richer and poorer countries, the economic and social indicators used, and why a combined index such as the HDI is more reliable than any single measure.
- The strategies used to reduce the development gap, including aid, trade, debt relief and appropriate technology (AO1, AO2).
A focused CCEA GCSE Geography guide to reducing the development gap. Covers aid and its types, fair trade and trade reform, debt relief, appropriate technology and investment, and how to evaluate which strategies are most sustainable.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCSE Geography specification — CCEA (2017)
- CCEA GCSE Geography (2017) Unit 2 past papers and mark schemes — CCEA (2024)