Geography Unit 2, Crowded Coasts Case Study 1 - The coastal magnet

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In 1990, around 30% of the world's population lived on the coast (60% in the 60 km-wide coastal zone). By 2002 that figure had risen to around 40%. Coastal populations are growing at a rate four times the global average. Some of the world's fastest-growing megacities, such as Lagos (Nigeria) and Shanghai (China), are on the coast. An economist has recently stated:

"People are attracted to the coast because of the high density of ecosystem services, but then the concentration of population has the side effect of depleting those same services [...] It's like tourism; people are attracted to gorgeous natural settings until they become so full of people that the attraction is destroyed."

The coastal magnet