Geography of Brazil

Study Notes

Topic 2 - Brazil

Purpose of the topic: A study of physical and human geography of Brazil, focusing on the intent and impacts of the Olympics.
Lesson 1: Location and Characteristics of Brazil: Brazil is in South America, the fifth largest country globally. It has a Portuguese-speaking population and borders most other South American countries. Its landscape varies including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Most of the country is between 200m and 800m above sea level. The climate is tropical with no dry season. Temperatures average around 25°C. The Amazon River basin contains a vast tropical rainforest.
Lesson 2: Physical Geography of Brazil: Brazil's terrain includes a diverse mix of climate, vegetation, and relief. Key aspects include: the varied vegetation, the Amazon Rainforest (a stratified ecosystem with multiple layers: under-story, sub-canopy, canopy, and emergents), the North East (semi-arid caatinga, or woodland savanna), and southern vegetation (Atlantic Forest ecosystem). Relief includes highlands and variations in elevation.
Lesson 3: Brazil as an Emerging Country: Brazil's economy, measured by Gross Value Added (GVA), is categorized by primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. The primary sector extracts raw materials from the earth and the sea. The secondary sector processes and manufactures these materials, while the tertiary sector provides services. The quaternary sector, representing research, technology, and highly-qualified individuals, shows growth. Brazil is also an agricultural powerhouse, the largest beef producer.
Lesson 4: Population Change in Brazil: Population pyramids illustrate population structure (age & gender distribution). The 1980 pyramid shows a higher birth rate and higher death rate. The 2050 pyramid is expected to display a narrower base due to declining birth rates, but increased longevity. This trend implies a reduction in the size of younger generations compared to older generations.
Lesson 5: Brazilian Housing: Urban inequality is prominent, creating a gap between the rich and poor in cities such as Sao Paulo. Favelas (slums) exist with issues like overpopulation, crime, poor health and education, limited services, and lack of space.
Lesson 6: Impact of Urbanisation in Brazil: Urbanization in Brazil is a consequence of numerous push and pull factors. Push factors include lack of jobs, poor housing, land shortages, crop failure, and rural poverty. Pull factors include job opportunities in cities, better housing, healthcare, schools, access to food and water, bright lights, and cultural influences. The Hoyt Model demonstrates urban areas. There is an increasing population in urban areas, causing problems in favelas that exist within these cities.
Lesson 7: Life in Sao Paulo: Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, exemplifies both the vibrant aspects and the challenges of Brazilian urban areas. Diverse lifestyles and high density exist alongside socioeconomic challenges relating to poorer districts. People live in various conditions that are based on their socioeconomic statuses. These districts provide a variety within that single city.
Lesson 8: Top-Down Development Project: Evaluation of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games' impact on Brazilian development. This includes changes in the city, employment levels, and related cost figures. The impact, in general, was more severe on the less fortunate people in the areas that were targeted.
Lesson 9: Topic Revision and Exam Practice: This lesson focuses on exam preparation and practice with specific questions on calculating birth rates, describing urban areas based on data, and defining key terms related to Brazil.