A city in an NEE: Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro: location and importance

Rio de Janeiro is on Brazil's south-east coast, on the Atlantic Ocean and the shores of , with forested mountains rising between its districts. Brazil is an .

Rio is important:

nationally: it was Brazil's capital until 1960, when the government moved to Brasília. It is a major port and centre of finance, media and the oil industry, with the head office of Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company;
internationally: a world-famous tourist city, with Copacabana beach, Sugarloaf Mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Its landscape became a in 2012, and it hosted the 2016 Olympic Games.

Causes of growth

Rio grew rapidly through the 20th century.

people came from the countryside and from poorer regions such as Brazil's north-east, pushed by drought, poverty and few jobs, and pulled by jobs in industry, services and building, and by schools and hospitals.
many of the migrants were young, so the city had many births.

Today, about 6.2 million people live in the city itself, according to Brazil's 2022 census, and many more in the towns around it.

Key terms

Social opportunities

Urban growth has created for Rio's people:

Health care: more hospitals and clinics than in rural areas, and community health teams that visit homes.
Education: more schools, colleges and universities, giving more young people the chance of qualifications.
Water supply: more homes connected to mains water than in the countryside.
Energy: more homes with a reliable electricity supply.

Some of these services are uneven: richer districts often have better services than the city's informal neighbourhoods.

Key terms

Economic opportunities

Jobs in industry and services: the port, oil and gas, shipbuilding, finance, media and government offices employ many people.
hotels, restaurants and guides employ many people, and big events, such as the 2016 Olympics, brought investment in transport.
many people work for themselves, selling food or goods, or doing building work. It gives a living to people without formal jobs, but no sick pay, pensions or job security. Across Brazil, about 40% of workers had informal jobs in 2019.

Exam tip

For each opportunity, say who benefits and how.

Key terms

Exam practice

Plan your own answer first, then open the model answers to see what each level looks like.

9 marks · about 12 minutes · +3 SPaG

To what extent has urban growth created opportunities for people in an LIC or NEE city? Use a case study.

To what extent means: Weigh up how far something is true, with evidence on both sides, then give a clear judgement.

Link it

Use the facts from:

Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Present day)

Level 1 (Basic)· 3/9 marks (band 1–3)

Rio has jobs and the Olympics were there. But lots of people live in favelas, so not everyone has opportunities.

Why this level: Simple points with little detail and an undeveloped judgement. To reach Level 2: explain the social and economic opportunities in Rio, with facts.

Level 2 (Clear)· 5/9 marks (band 4–6)

Urban growth has created opportunities in Rio de Janeiro. There are more hospitals, schools and universities than in rural areas, and more homes have mains water and electricity. Rio is a major port and a centre of oil, finance and media; Petrobras has its head office there. The 2016 Olympics brought investment in transport.

Why this level: Clear social and economic opportunities from Rio. But it doesn't consider who misses out, so "to what extent" isn't answered. To reach Level 3: weigh the opportunities against how unevenly they are shared, then judge.

Level 3 (Detailed)· 8/9 marks (band 7–9)

Urban growth has created real opportunities in Rio de Janeiro. Socially, there are more hospitals, schools and universities than in rural areas, so migrants from Brazil's north-east can get better healthcare and education, and more homes have mains water and electricity. Economically, Rio is a major port and a centre of oil, finance and media, with Petrobras's head office there, and tourism employs many people. Hosting the 2016 Olympic Games brought investment in transport. However, these opportunities are not shared equally. Across Brazil, about 40% of workers had informal jobs in 2019, without contracts or security, and Rocinha, Brazil's largest favela, had 72,021 residents in 2022. Favelas often have poorer services than richer districts, and much of the city's sewage still flows untreated into Guanabara Bay. Overall, urban growth has created many opportunities, but they are unevenly shared: richer residents benefit most, while many of the poor gain only partly.

Why this level: Detailed, accurate evidence of social and economic opportunities, weighed against inequality, with a clear judgement on "to what extent". This is Level 3.

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