1. HIC Global City – Leeds, England
1.1 Urbanisation in contrasting global cities
Current challenges
Inequality of wealth. Sydney is a city with wealthy suburbs, particularly in north Leeds (e.g. Alwoodley – 83% home ownership). Leeds also has poor suburbs where people live in poverty (e.g. Little London – 33% home ownership).
Poverty e.g. Little London, a poor inner city suburb in Leeds. Higher levels of unemployment, lots of 1970s social housing e.g. tower blocks for low income families (33% home ownership).
Transport. Traffic congestion can be a problem e.g. A647 Leeds Ring Road. Strategies:
Elland Road park & ride
Leeds cycle superhighway
A647 ‘2+ person’ lanes
Year
Population
2011
751,000
2001
715,000
Urbanisation – the growth of cities due to migration & natural increase. Urbanisation tends to be more rapid in LICs
Global city – a large city with important links to other parts of the world e.g. London, Shanghai
Re-urbanisation – increasing population in city centre areas. Linked to redevelopment of old and run down city area e.g. ‘Greenhouse’ Leeds.
HIC Global City – Leeds, England
Creating sustainable urban environments
‘Greenhouse’, Beeston, Leeds. A sustainable, multi-purpose community.
Location – Beeston, 0.5 miles south of Leeds CBD.
Examples of sustainability in ‘Greenhouse’:
Brownfield site development – re-used a derelict site.
Transport Hub – ‘Greenhouse’ has excellent public transport connections – walk to Leeds train station, local bus stops, free bike hire.
Recycling of water (e.g. rainwater) for toilet flushing, watering plants etc
Rooftop garden and green spaces
Clean energy e.g. wind turbines, solar panels, ground source heating.
Leeds, West Yorkshire, northern England.
Evidence for Leeds as a global city.
HQs of international organisations e.g. Jet2 airline, GHD hair straighteners, ASDA Walmart UK.
International & national transport. E.g. Leeds-Bradford airport, M1 & M62 motorways, international port of Hull.
Universities with international students & staff e.g. Leeds University, Leeds Beckett University.
International festivals e.g. Leeds West Indian Carnival.
>20 different languages spoken in Leeds.
Pull factors to Sydney from other parts of UK.
Excellent universities for young people e.g. Leeds University, Leeds Beckett University
More job opportunities than rural UK e.g. banking & finance, education & health e.g. LGI & St James’ Hospitals
Exciting city life. E.g. Leeds Rhinos, Yorkshire Cricket, Leeds Utd.
Pull factors to Leeds from other countries (international migration)
High standard of living in HIC global city
English speaking e.g. migrants from Ireland, Australia
Job opportunities e.g. business, finance, education
Nearby countries in Europe e.g. France, Spain, Ireland, Poland.

2. NIC Global City – Mumbai, India
Current challenges
Housing shortages and slum development
Due to Mumbai’s dramatic increase in population there is a massive housing shortage.  
Most residents put up with very poor housing. Many live in cramped, poor quality, expensive rooms, far from work.
Many residents are forced into slums – over time, they buy scrap materials to build a home.
 Water supply and waste disposal
Only better-off suburbs have private water supplies.
60% of Mumbai’s population uses communal taps. In some slums, water only runs for 30 minutes’ day.
Rapid urbanisation has also caused uncontrolled water pollution. Factories use the Mithi River to dump untreated waste. 800 Million litres of untreated sewage go into the river every day.
Dealing with air pollution traffic
Traffic congestion is legendary in India with not enough money being spent on roads. There are too few suburban train and bus networks to meet demand.
3500 people die on Mumbai’s railway each year. Most deaths are caused by passengers crossing tracks, sitting on train roofs and being electrocuted by overhead cables, or hanging from doors and windows.
Poverty and deprivation (Dharavi example)
People have to go to the toilet in the street and there are open sewers. Doctors deal with 4,000 cases a day of diphtheria and typhoid. 
Next to the open sewers are water pipes, which can crack and take in sewage. Dharavi slum is based around this water pipe built on an old rubbish tip. The people have not planned this settlement and have no legal rights to the land. There are also toxic wastes in the slum including hugely dangerous heavy metals.
Reasons for growth
38% of migrants to Mumbai come from Maharashtra state.
Maharashtra state is more rural than Mumbai and half of the population works in farming. Increased use of machinery has forced people out of work, and changes to farming have forced people with small farms to sell up to larger land owners. Small scale farmers are also vulnerable to bad harvests and poor weather. In bad years, they can end up forced to sell up and have to migrate.
Mumbai - job opportunities in service industries and the manufacturing industries with higher wages.
Schools, health care facilities and entertainment – more in Mumbai than other parts of Maharashtra state.
Improving lives
Slum clearance programmes
Bulldozing the slums and rebuilding them elsewhere (e.g. Bhendi Bazaar)
Self-help schemes
Housing – building materials are provided for local people to help improve the buildings in their community
Loans - low interest loans allow investment e.g. new machines for business
Mass transit
Using more modern trains – more ecofriendly.
Improve train services by improving ventilation on carriages and extending the length of platforms.
Small scale industry and recycling
Dharavi’s recycling
Many materials are recycled and used to construct buildings. 80% of Mumbai’s waste is recycled (local informal economy).
Resulting ways of life
Mumbai is one of the richest cities in Asia but also home to some of the world’s poorest people.
6% of India's GDP, 40 % of foreign trade, and 25% of industrial production. Its per-capita income is higher than the national average.
It is the entertainment, fashion and commercial centre of India, being the birthplace of Bollywood.
One of the world's top 10 centres of commerce in terms of global financial flow. It also has the headquarters of a number of Indian financial institutions e.g. Bombay Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of India, and numerous Indian companies such as the Tata Group.
Many foreign companies also have their branches in the South Bombay area. Mumbai is the world's 29th largest city by GDP.