So Paulo

LEDC city

Introduction
So Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally.

Geographical Location
So Paulo is located in Southeastern Brazil, in southeastern So Paulo State, The city is located on a plateau, itself a component of the vast region known as the Brazilian Highlands, with an average elevation of around 800 meters above sea level, although being at a distance of only about 70 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean.

Geographical location of So Paulo

Population Growth
The population of Sao Paulo is 11,037,593. The Sao Paulo metropolitan area has a population of 19,889,559. The population growth has resulted from the massive influx of immigrants, initially from Europe, after 1850,and more recently, since the 19th century there is a migration of people from Northeastern Brazil and other rural areas into So Paulo. However, this internal migration grew enormously in the 1930s and remained huge in the next decades. Another reason of the population growth in Brazil is the high birth rate.

However, the population growth rate in Sao Paulo has fallen considerably in the recent decades due to a combination of: Reduced rural to urban migration A lower rate of natural increase

There are a major increase of population due migration: Push factors causes migrants to come to Sao Paulo to seek for jobs. Pull factors because they seek for a better lifestyle. As the migrants are entering Sao Paulo over the years the population has grown rapidly past 17 million causing a high population density Birth rates have grown due to the migrants.

Economy
So Paulo is the 10th richest city in the world, and is expected to be the 6th richest in 2025. Its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 was R$ 282,852,338,000, equivalent to approximately 12.26% of the Brazilian GDP and 36% of all production of goods and services of the State of So Paulo. Once a city with a strong industrial character, So Paulo's economy has become increasingly based on the tertiary sector, focusing on services and businesses for the country.

Industry
Industrial development, beginning in the late 19th century has transformed So Paulo into the foremost industrial centre in Latin America. Its leading industries produce textiles, mechanical and electrical appliances, furniture, foodstuffs, and chemical and pharmaceutical products. Heavy metallurgical plant, oil refineries, chemical plants, plants manufacturing motor vehicles, transportation equipment, and farm machinery are all located nearby. Computer industries and the manufacturing of electrical appliances are on the rise, as are automobile components. The several thousand manufacturing establishments in So Paulo provide employment for more than one-tenth of the population.

Subdivisions
The city of So Paulo in Brazil is a large metropolitan city that has several levels of subdivision. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 31 subprefectures, each in turn divided into 96 districts. Locally, districts may contain one or more neighborhoods (bairros).

Subdivisions of the city of So Paulo.

Urbanization
The rapid growth of the city of Sao Paulo has been accompanied by increased social and economic segregation, with the riches living in expensive housing located near to the CBD. While the poor living mainly in hazardous and unhealthy areas of the city, in shanty settlements (favelas) and slums (cortios) at the outskirts of the metropolis, these people have no legal right to the land they occupy. Favelas are overcrowded and have a high housing density.

Favelas

Expensive housing

Formation of favelas

Housing improvements in Sao Paulo

1) Low-cost improvements: Existing homes may be improved by rebuilding the houses with cheap and easy-to-use breeze-blocks. Water supply, electricity and mains sewerage are added, and the cost of the rent of this type of housing is low.

2) Self-help schemes People are encouraged to help build their own homes. The local authority provide all the materials such as roofing tiles and breezeblocks. Then it also provides electricity, a clean water supply, tarred roads and a community centre. Self-help schemes create a community spirit and more houses can be provided as the people are building their own homes.

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_S%C3%A3o_ Paulo http://www.geocases2.co.uk/printable/Housing%20in %20Sao%20Paulo.htm http://ledc-settlement-saopaulo.blogspot.com/ http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics /urbanproblsledcs.html THE NEW WIDER WORLD DAVID WAUGH Google Images

Done by Oussama Khallil