Geography Case Studies (Click me)

The city is Cardiff - capital city of Wales - in the South West of the UK.

Four main housing areas have been studied with varying qualities of life.

• Pontprenau had the highest QOL because 78% of the residents have good health. This means that they livehealthier, happier lives, thanks to the public parks and large green gardens. Among young people (16-24 year olds)only 24% of them are unemployed.
• Ely has a lower QOL. Its unemployment level is at a higher level than the average in Cardiff meaning there is less money in the area,reducing its QOL. However there is a strong sense of community in the area, they also have nice gardens.
• Cardiff Bay is an area that has had huge redevelopments; with new houses, flats and shops, crime and unemployment rates have fell significantly.However, parking is communal and open space is limited, lowering QOL.
• Butetown is full of terraced houses and flats meaning residents have little space. Parking is only on the road, and there are few gardens in the area.A huge 36% of the area's population have no qualifications reducing employability, many available and therefore life quality.

Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, and is located in the South West of Wales.

Shopping services are distributed in the CBD in a linear fashion because this is a pedestrianised area, so peoplecan shop freely without having to worry about their safety. Shops in retail parks are found randomly around the outskirts of Cardiff because, particularly by majormain roads such as the M4 and A48 because they are accessible for lots of people as they are on main roads and roundabouts. Corner shops are found randomly in the lessbusy parts of Cardiff because these are good for locals who just need the essentials. Suburban shopping streets are spread over Cardiff because these have betteraccess as you don't have to go into the middle of the city where it's busy and there is a lot of traffic.

Cardiff Bay, located in the South of Wales, has seen an urban change.

The area has changed because is used to be a large port and had a good source of coal and iron ore. There was also a site of ironworks and steelworks.The docks imported tin and palm oil. They exported coal, iron, tin plate and steel. In 1913, Cardiff docks went into decline because other countries developed their ownresources and they began to run out of iron ore and coal.
In 1987 change began with the formation of the CBDC (Cardiff Bay Development Corp.)They added restaurants, modern buildings and introduced the Red Dragon Centre where there is a cinema and bowling alley. They also build the 'Cardiff Bay Barrage' across the Cardiff Bay,allowing it to fill up with water, this created a giant freshwater lake for watersports, before this, that area had been saltwater mudflats with water only occupying the bay 14 hours a day.By building the barrage, Cardiff bay can now be classed as 'seaside'; allowing for construction of high quality (and higher priced) housing.

Although all of these developments seem good, many have been against it, such as the RSPB because the birds feed on the mudflatsand so wouldn't have anywhere to go when the mudflats go. Also, some locals were against it because there would be an increased risk of floods as ground water could rise by 3m. On the other hand,business men will be for the plan because they can create a business in Cardiff Bay and earn lots of money due to the bay being popular and attracting many tourists who will spend money there.Also, future tourists will be for the plan because it makes the area look more attractive and it will also have more shopping facilities and places to eat.

Rural to urban migration is happening in Sao Paulo, which is located on the South East coast of Brazil.

People moved away from the countryside because they had droughtsand therefore the wells ran dry and crops failed, so farmers had less stock to sell, which lead to food shortages. Also they have less services in the countrysidesuch as doctors and chemists. Villages have few schools and houses often have no electricity, water or sanitation. Also, the majority of jobs involve farming paying low wages.
Pull factors to the city include a wide range of jobs with good salaries, more infastructure and housing with electricity, a water supply and sanitaion.

An increased amount of people in the city means that there are not enough jobs for everyone, so crime and unemployment rise. Also, diseases spread quickly due to contaminated drinking water andthe fact there are not enough doctors. There are also not enough schools, for the thousands of people arriving in the city. Land slides can also occur due to the favella's, which are illegal houses that have been poorly built on steep slopes due to the lack of decent housing in the area, an example of this is in Rio.

Cwrt-Y-Gollen is a former Military Base located just South of Crickhowell, in Wales, UK.

The plans for Cwrt-Y-Gollen involved the building of around 200 houses, but when this was rejected they changed the plans to 70 houses instead. There were also plans for many services, including a small business district with offices and other commercial units. The development hoped to have a Gym,built in the old Gym building, an old peoples home and a nursery. Plans also included those for new tennis courts.

The local Tennis club is very happy for the development, as they have received heavy pressure on their small club and have a very long membership waiting list. Another local group who would be very happy with the new development is Crickhowell High School, which will receive more funding with an influx in new students brought by the new residents of the Cwrt-Y-Gollen development.A party that would not be happy with the new development are the local commuters, as they will face increases in traffic on the A40, with cars and other transport exiting from the development which is on the side of the main road. Another party that would be unhappy are the local environmental groups. They are not happy about the disruptive building equipment and vast increase in local CO2 emissionsthat would emerge from such a development, although the development is taking place on a brownfield site and so is more environmentally friendly than if it were to be builton a greenfield site, this also means that the site has infastructure such as electrical cables and water pipes. An alternative unhappy party would be the local dog walkers, who would lose access to a very good public park.

The rural area where the environment is under pressure from visitors is Crickhowell, a small town in the Brecon Beacons, South East Wales, UK.

To help stop further footpath erosion, The National Trust have put signs up asking toursts to stick to the paths and some paths have been repaired. This means that there is less packed earth that results in damaged soilwhich become muddy ditches that cause tourists to do more damage to the environment by stepping off the muddy paths. Another management tactic is the placing of more bins, especially in Honey Pot areas, so that there is less littering and therefore less damage of the local environment. A third management tactic involes the Cric Center and Brecon Beacons Mountain Center supplying people with information on alternate walking routes to slow footpath erosion. During the Green Man Festival, lots of the wildlife become disturbed, so to reduce this, organisers have roped off the River Usk so people cannot swim in the river. Also, to stop people travelling to the Green Man Festival by car,they have organised free shuttle buses from Abergavenny train station to the site, this encourages use of public transport.Finally, another reason that management is needed is because farmers fields are being left open and so they are losing livestock.

Boscastle is located on the north coast of Cornwall, 30km North West of Plymouth.

The flood affected about 1000 residents and tourists because they had to leave and find temporary shelter. The firemen were busy helping rescue people because 29 of 31 Cornwall fire stations were occupied. Luckily nobody was killed, however one person had their thumb broken and 87 cars were washed away.

The natural causes include an extremely high amount of rainfall over the drainage basin - 200mm in one day. Also, the two rivers join in Boscastle which gives double the flow of water through the harbour. As the rocks of the drainage basin are impermeable slates, and thin clay soils, they do not allow rainwater to infiltrate the ground. Also, it was high tide at the same time as the flash flood, the river water was dammed back adding to the flooding of the town. The human causes include Boscastle being build near the harbour because this is where the tourists businesses are located. Also, some of the bridges became blocked with debris and dammed back with flood water.

Boscastle is located on the north coast of Cornwall, 30km North West of Plymouth.

Disadvantages of the flood prevention scheme include the river channel being straightened and then lining it with concrete because it is expensive and stops the natural flow of the river. Local residents would not like this because their homes would have to be relocated. Also, building a dam in the upper valley because it is expensive to construct and maintain. However, this is an advantage to land owners because they would be paid compensation. Also, planting trees on steep slopes is a disadvantage because it replaces high biodiversity habitats with lower. However, local residents would be for it because it makes the landscape look nicer. Also, not buildingon the lower flood plain by the harbour there would be less room for shops and housing. However the RSPB would be for it because building destroys destroys habitats and therefore the number of birds living in the area would decrease.

The Holderness Coast is located on the East coast of England. It extends 61km from Flamborough in the North to Spurn Point in the South.

The Holderness Coastline is one of Europe's fastest eroding coastlines with an average annual rate of erosion at around 2 meters per year. Underlying the Holderness coastline is bedrock made of Cretaceous chalk. The Holderness coastline is subject to coastal erosion and depositation e.g Flamborough has coastal erosion which leads to the formation of caves, arches and stacks. Finally, Spurn Point is a result of longshort drift on the Holderness coast and isan excellent example of a split, around 3% of the material eroded from the Holderness coast is deposited here each year!

The Holderness Coastline is used for housing, especially in the village of Mappleton perched on a cliff top which measures approximately 50 properties.The Holderness Coast also contains the Easington gas terminal which supplies 25% of Britain's gas. It is also used as a nature reserve as Spurn Point as aquatic wildlife can easily be preserved there as well as unique habitats due to the defences which are in place. Finally the surroundng land is great for agriculture due to highlyfertile soil which is caused by mineral deposits by the sea.

Hurricane Katrina on the East Coast of the USA, specifically New Orleans.

The hurricane started forming in the North Atlantic Ocean when sea surface temperature rose to 27^oC and above. Strong winds of 70mph blew the water in-land,creating a surge wave. This is whipped into a hurricane as the wind speed increases and the event gathers momentum. It reached Florida with wind speeds of 220mph at theeye of the hurricane and was a Category 4 storm.

It left 100,000 homes without power. Those with cars or who were able to book flights were able to travel to safety, but many airports were closed and flights werecancelled. This led to many thousands of people stranded. Those who were unable to leave because they could afford to had their homes destroyed and their possessionsleft to the storm. 20,000 of these people hid in the superdome which became unsafe very quickly. The government had to airlift people out, costing millions.Many businesses were also destroyed, which negatively impacted the economy. Flood defences broke which later had to be repaired costing the government many millionsof dollars more. 1836 people died and 80% of the city was flooded, resulting in the destruction of many buildings and a large amount of infastructure.

The Amazon rainforest is located in South America.

The climate of the Amazon rainforest is humid; generally hot with an average rainfall of 335mm per annum, and a temperature range between 25-28C. The climate consistsof different layers of evergreen trees, rivers as well as a wide range of animal and plant species.

Most of the trees in the area are being cut down due to the demand for wood and other products such as palm oil.

Over the last three decades, trees have been cut down for various reason. The forest provides habitats for many people and animals. A way that the climate has affectedpeople is due to deforestation, which has meant that land is worth more and more likely to be sold for industrial purposes, such as gold mining. Many tribes are dyingparticularly from disease that they were not subjected to before other people entered the forest. This has led to a decrease in tribe population from 8 million to 200,000

The tropical weather here means that farmers can grow crops all year long. Due to the high volume of trees, a small number of trees can be cut down without damaging the environment too much. Large corperations are able to use large areas of rainforest for farming animals and for gold mining. When the trees are cut down, the oil from thetrees that replace them (fast growing palm trees) can be used in soaps and oven chips. The sap from rainforest trees can also be used to make rubber, meaning companies create a higher profit margin by being able to sell more product.

Burkina Faso is located in the North West of Africa. It is part of the Sahel region which is the semi-desert area South of the Sahara Desert.

There are many causes of desertification within the Sahel, some human and some natural. The human causes of Desertification are; overgrazing - when soil is used too much by farmers the soil losesmoisture which means it is less productive. This process reoccuring over a number of months leads to the lang being unusable. Another human cause is deforestation; trees are cut down for fuelwoodand building materials. This leaves the soil exposed to wind and rain which causes soil erosion. Poor farming techniques are another cause - slash and burn leards to moisture being removed from thesoil, leaving it damaged and suseptable to further erosion. Of the 6.1 billion hectares of desert on earth, only 1 billion hectares is naturally occuring, highlighting the increase in desertification.
One natural cause of desertification is variable rainfall/reduction in rainfall. This causes the ground to dry out and become compacted, when it rains the water can not infiltrate and soruns over the land, removing the soil and minerals. Another natural cause is removal of vegetation, decaying leaf litter adds to the soil nutrients, but without this there soil becomes degraded.

There have been many impacts of desertification in the Sahel region and Burkina Faso; one of the biggest impacts is food insecurity and vulnerability. Countries such as Niger have 5.5million people who are at risk of food insecurity. Burkina Faso has 1.7 million. in the Sahel region in total 13 million people are vulnerable, of which 10 million are food insecure and 1million children are malnourished. This has led to 10-15% more children being malnourished and food prices have increased by 25-50% compared to previous years. This has led to morepeople not being able to afford food and so dying of starvation. Some farmers have lost over 75% of their livestock as a result of these drought conditions. In 2012 drought reduced cropproduction by 26% and over 19 million people in the Sahel region were at risk of food shortages.

There are some solutions to the issue of desertification:

• Drought resistant seed - this has been introduced in countries such as Kenya. The seed is resistant to drought and can grow in the conditions seen in the areas surrounding the Sahel. It also matures quicker and is resistant to common diseases. Some farmers who have used this have seen their harvests double.The seed however is expensive and only small amounts of farmers can actually afford to switch to this.
• Relief aid and money - although this is a short term solution it can be helpful to those who are suffering from the effects of drought and desertification.
• Family planning - by reducing the amount of children a family has to feed, there is less reliance on growing large amounts of crops. The traditions of these countries mean that many women have on average 6 children in their lives. If this could be reduced from family planning, there would be less strain.
• Afforestation - by growing and planting trees this can help improve the soil in the area. Trees will increase the amount of moisture in the soil and will also protect the soil from further wind and rain erosion.Areas which have introduced afforestation and stone bunds have seen a 40% increase in crop production in places such as Niger.
• Stone bunds — these are created to follow the elevation of the land. The stones trap the run off rainfall and help to keep the minerals and moisture in the soil.

British Steelworks, located in Ebbw-Vale, South East Wales.

The company was globalising and there are other factories in better locations around the world the site itself is not producing new materials and is relying on imports from other countries because thematerials are cheaper to import. The steel was also cheaper to import from other industries, and Ebbw Vale's poor and landlocked location meant it was expensive due to transport costs.The company could not sell steel for a viable price, leading to the company losing millions every week. This led to a change in location.

When the factory closed in 2002, 800 jobs were lost and many people had to move away, separating families. This affected whole families and many generations of people. The company was the biggest employerin the town, and many other businesses closed because they relied on custom from employees of Corus. This led to the negative multiplier effect. Trade unions did try to fight for the jobs,but Corus said they were no longer economically viable.

Continental Teves is a company that makes parts for brakes. This company employs approximately 12,680 people worldwide in many diferent countries.

There are two types of places that the company locates in. The first type of place is in L.E.D.C.s or areas where labour is particularly cheap, such as Ebbw Vale where it has a branch in the Waun-y-Pound industrial estate.It chooses to locate in places such as these as here labour is cheap so running costs are reduced. In the case of Ebbw Vale, the company located a branch there as the site was flat and so convenient to build on, there wasplenty of skilled manual labour in the area, there was good access to main roads to reduce transport costs and grants were being given by the Welsh Assembly at the time to support businesses setting up in the area.When Continental Teves sets up a branch in one of these places, this has many positive effects on the area. For example, in the case of Ebbw Vale, a large amount of direct employment was created, peaking at 600 jobs of many sorts.This also created indirect employment for many other local people. For example, local education centres such as Coleg Gwent have been able to provide jobs for people running German courses. This has caused more people to move intothe area. Therefore, more businesses have set up such as a number of new shops at Festival Park such as a Marks and Spencer's retail outlet. Furthermore, many more jobs were created at the Anuerin Bevan Hospital and Ebbw Vale Parkwayrailway station, both of which have been built since the establishment of the Continental Teves firm as the local population increased. Also, due to the increased activity in Ebbw Vale, the A465 main road has been widened, creatingfurther jobs. This could be seen as something of a positive multiplier effect. However, continental Teves also chooses to set up branches in wealthier parts of M.E.D.C.s, such as its twelve branches in Germany. This is because in these places more qualified and highly trained labour is available, such as people with engineering degreed. These places tend to be office branches. This also benefits these areas, both creating direct employment and boosting theamount of money in these areas.

In Kenya, the economy of the country is hugely dependent on tourism. However, this tourism is having very profound effects on the environment in Kenya.

This unsustainable tourism is caused by the nature of the country. Tourists are beginning to gravitate towards Kenya due to the fact that it offers a huge variety of activities as well as stunning landscape and scenery whilst still being relatively undeveloped. There are large beaches such as the beach at Watamu and large coral reefs for divers to explore. Inland, there are safari parks such as the huge plain known as the "Massai Mara", where tourists can observe the local wildlife including cheetahs, leopards and giraffes. Other aspects of Kenya that may attract tourists are the tropical temperatures or the opportunityto visit Lake Victoria in the North.

This economic activity is having very serious affects on the environment. One of the main causes of this is that tourist sites are often very concentrated in small areas, causing heavy damage these areas. One example is the southern coastline, where almost all of the countries beaches are concentrated in a single 150 km length of coastline near Mombasa. Tourists also often cause damage to coral reefs by snapping off bits of the coralto take home, a practice which often kills the entire organism. Also, tourist boats that anchor on the coral can often damage the coral as well. Furthermore, although fishing expeditions usually do not kill thelarge fish they catch, this can often injure the fish and disrupt their natural processes. Also, turtles are often caught, an endangered species which is under threat in Kenya.
The safari tours that are offered to tourists can also have many negative effects, such as destroying vegetation and disrupting animal migration and breeding. Also, to increase the numbers of animals in a safari area, moreanimals are often introduced to attract more tourists. However, this often results in over-grazing which destroys animal habitats. Finally, litter dropped both at the coast and at Safari parks can often be ingested bywildlife, often resulting in death.

There are numerous ways of managing this negative effect on the environment. One is to make vulnerable areas of coral reef off-limits to tourists and boats to protect them from damage. Also, increased funding towards litter bins on beaches can reduce pollution caused by litter and damage caused by litter to wildlife. Another option, with regards to the safari parks is to improve roads leading to lesser-visited national parks, thus reducing the strainon the most popular sites such as the Massai Mara. Another technique used to reduce damage to national parks is to dig trenches along side paths that the tour-guides take in order to prevent them going off-track and disturbing wildlife.

There are some differing views about how climate change should be managed. For instance some people believe that Climate change is not a result of human intervention and the industrial revolution.They believe that it's a natural cycle that occurs on Earth and that we cannot affect it in any way and should therefore not bother with management. There are some who believe that it's a hoax bythe Chinese to steal American jobs. Some think that Eco energy (e.g Solar Panels, Wind farms and Hydro-Electric power) is too costly to utilise, compared to non-renewable sources such as coal and gas.However, others think that us humans caused a massive increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere and so therefore should do everything possible to manage climate change,e.g. Renewable energy sources, recyling materials, use of public transport over a car.

Attempts to manage climate change at a local scale are numerous, even our school has done it. Ways of managing climate change include installation of solar panels to decrease reliance on fossil fuelgenerated energy. There is also increased wall/roof/window insulation which keeps heat inside, reducing energy loss, which in turn, reduces your CO₂ footprint.There is also encouragement to use public transport like buses or trains, instead of relying on cars for transport over long distances, over shorter distances you could just walk.

The Katse Dam is located in Lesotho in Africa.

The issue is that South Africa(country not area of Africa), northern Africa and the Middle East lack freshwater supplies and rely on nearby countries to supply water. Lesotho is providing South Africawith water, which accounts for 75% of the country's income. The water is needed because the average American family uses 1304 litres of water every day, compared to 22 litres for the average African family.The problem is that water extraction is very expensive and LEDCs in Africa are less likely to be able to afford this.

Lesotho are for the development because it generates income for the country. However, those who were displaced by the creation of the dam were not given compensation. They were given training bu this was ineffective as many of the displace people are still in low-income jobs

However, the dam has created 20,000 jobs. Yet, this influx of people to the area has led to an increase in prostitution, AIDS and alcoholism.

Kenya, a country in the east of Africa, has recently been given aid from three main sources.

Kenya received bilateral aid from France in the form of a loan of $500 million to Kenya to build the Turkwel dam. This was given in order to provide more power to the country, increasing the rate at which Kenyacan develop. It also helps to reduce the high levels of poverty and provides the surrrounding area with a reliable source of water and electricity for nearby settlements.

Kenya was also given multilateral aid by the World Bank in the form of a $100 million loan to invest in developing their sugar refining industry. This was needed as it would boost the money in the economy, and reduce the high level of poverty, with many people unable to pay for food, education and medicine. This form of aid also helps to reduce unemployment.

Kenya received emergency aid from the charity Christian Aid. This included food supplies, malaria nets and water purification tablets and money in the wake of a devastating flood in Rift Valley. Aid was neededhere as 200 families were made homeless, several people died, numerous water-borne diseased such as cholera and typhoid spread rapidly and hospitals rapidly became full to capacity.

Hello! This is the Geography Case Study Site!

Case studies likely to come up for theme 1:
Quality of Life in Cardiff, Cardiff Bay, Cwrt-Y-Gollen.

Case studies likely to come up for theme 2:
Desertification, Amazon Rainforest.

Case studies likely to come up for theme 3:
Aid in Kenya, Ebbw-Vale Steelworks.

Remember this is just a guide and is not 100% accurate.