A Level H1 Geography Practice Paper 4

Answer Key - A-Level Geography H1 Quiz: Resources Sustainability

Section A

1. Temporal Change: Access increased steadily from 12% in 2000 to 38% in 2020. This represents a more than threefold increase over 20 years. (3 marks)
2. Account for Change:
   • Identify trend: Increase from 45% to 82%.
   • Causal explanation: Government investment in infrastructure, "slum upgrading" programs, or NGO interventions.
   • Link: These efforts lead to the installation of mains pipes in previously unserved areas. (5 marks)
3. Sewage Lag:
   • Complexity: Sewage requires deeper, more complex underground piping and treatment plants compared to water delivery.
   • Topography: In favelas/slums, steep slopes or irregular layouts make laying sewage pipes physically difficult.
   • Cost: Higher capital expenditure per household for sewage than for water. (5 marks)
4. Physical Characteristics:
   • High density/overcrowding: Houses built very close together.
   • Makeshift materials: Use of corrugated iron, scrap wood, or plastic.
   • Steep slope location: Built on hillsides where land is cheaper/available. (6 marks)
5. Vulnerability:
   • Steep slopes + lack of vegetation $\rightarrow$ increased landslide risk.
   • Makeshift materials $\rightarrow$ structural failure during storms.
   • Lack of drainage $\rightarrow$ rapid surface runoff and flash flooding. (6 marks)
6. Definition: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, specifically balancing economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection in urban resource use. (3 marks)
7. Social Characteristics:
   • High unemployment/informal economy.
   • Lack of legal land tenure (tenure insecurity). (4 marks)
8. Relationship:
   • Rural push (crop failure, poverty) $\rightarrow$ Urban pull (jobs, services).
   • Rapid influx exceeds formal housing supply $\rightarrow$ people settle on marginal land $\rightarrow$ creation of informal settlements. (6 marks)
9. Informal Provision:
   • "Poverty premium": Poor residents often pay more per liter of water from vendors than wealthy residents pay for piped water.
   • Unreliability: Supply depends on the vendor's schedule/availability. (4 marks)
10. Soft Engineering:
    • Examples: Rainwater harvesting, permeable pavements, urban greening.
    • Effect: Reduces peak runoff, recharges groundwater, and reduces the load on formal drainage systems. (6 marks)

Section B

11. Quantitative Method: Distance measurement (GIS or tape measure) from residential blocks to the nearest green space; or counting the number of parks per square kilometer. (4 marks)
12. Qualitative Need:
    • Perception: A park may be physically close but "unusable" due to fear or poor maintenance.
    • Specific needs: Interviews reveal why the elderly find certain paths difficult (e.g., lack of benches). (6 marks)
13. Evaluation:
    • Land-use map: Useful for spatial distribution and proximity; limited because it doesn't show quality or actual usage.
    • Resident survey: Useful for subjective liveability and social needs; limited by sampling bias or honesty of respondents.
    • Synthesis: Together they provide a holistic view of "physical access" vs "perceived quality." (8 marks)
14. Representative Sampling:
    • Stratified sampling: Dividing the neighborhood into sectors and sampling proportionally from each.
    • Systematic sampling: Every $n^{th}$ house to avoid clustering. (6 marks)
15. Ethical Consideration:
    • Informed Consent: Ensuring residents know the purpose of the study and agree to participate.
    • Privacy/Anonymity: Not recording names or specific house numbers to protect identity. (5 marks)

Section C (Response Frameworks)

16. Basic Services vs Sustainability:
    • Agree: Water/sanitation are foundational for health and dignity (SDG 6).
    • Counter: Sustainability also requires economic opportunity, legal tenure, and social integration.
    • Judgment: Essential but not sufficient. (12 marks)
17. Overcrowding Strategies:
    • Case Study: (e.g., Singapore HDB or Rio Favela-Bairro).
    • Evaluation: Success in reducing density vs. failure in displacing the poor or creating "vertical slums." (12 marks)
18. Slums as Impediment:
    • Argument for: Environmental degradation, health crises, lack of tax revenue.
    • Argument against: Slums provide essential low-cost labor and affordable housing that keeps the city functioning.
    • Judgment: The lack of planning is the impediment, not the slums themselves. (12 marks)
19. Bottom-up vs Top-down:
    • Bottom-up: High community buy-in, culturally appropriate, sustainable locally.
    • Top-down: Scale, funding, speed of implementation, systemic change.
    • Synthesis: Hybrid models (co-production) are most effective. (12 marks)
20. Economic Status vs Sustainability:
    • High-income: Can afford high-tech solutions (desalination, smart grids) but may have higher consumption rates.
    • Low-income: Limited funds, but may adopt "frugal innovation" and community-sharing models.
    • Conclusion: Economic status provides the tools, but political will and governance determine the outcome. (12 marks)