urbanisation

• Urbanisation definition


  The increase in PROPORTION of population living in an urban area
• Differences between rural and urban areas

  Urban settlements differ from rural ones in terms of:

  Way of life: faster-paced

  Size: larger

  Density of buildings and people: compact and high

  Economy and employment: finance, service, and manufacturing
• How do urbanisation levels vary across the world?

  Developed countries, like the USA, are more urbanised whereas undeveloped countries, like those in Africa and South East Asia, are less urbanised
• Factors that effect the rate of urbanisation

  Economic development, rural-migration, and natural increase
• Why are developed countries no longer urbanising?

  Developed countries, have already experienced high rates of urbanisation in the past. Therefore they already have large urban populations meaning there are smaller amounts of people in rural areas to migrate. They also have less inequality between rural and urban areas meaning there are services, jobs, high wages etc across the country, not just in cities.
• Why are developing countries experiencing rapid urbanisation

  1) new economic development is concentrated in cities, meaning more job opportunities

  2) higher rates of natural increase

  3) Inequality between rural and urban areas means people move to the city due to a variety of push and pull factors
• Why does economic growth affect urbanisation?

  Economic growth drives urbanisation as it is usually concentrated in cities. This means that as the economy grows, more labour is required to fuel it which provides job opportunities. This attracts people to move from rural areas to urban areas as there are more, higher paying jobs available in the city than in rural areas
• Rural-urban migration


  the movement of people from the rural areas to the urban areas
• Natural increase


  the growth of a population when the birth rate is higher than the death rate
• What factors influence the emergence of mega cities?

  Multiplier effect and economies of scale
• How does the multiplier effect give rise to Megacities?

  As a city begins to grow, it attracts people and businesses which encourages inward investment. This leads to yet more development and growth, generating further need for skills and labour and job growth. This cycle multiplies the positive effects and growth continues (San Francisco and the digital development)
• How do economies of scale give rise to megacities?

  Having a large economy of scale is much more effective than having multiple economic centres scattered across several cities. This is because cramming as much as possible into one city rather than many is advantageous. For example, communication and transport between businesses is cheaper and quicker. These economies of scale must have large populations due to the demand of labour to fuel the economic growth
• Megacity


  a city with more than 10 million people
• Push factors for rural-urban migration

  Lack of job opportunities

  Starvation resulting from crop failure

  Natural disasters eg. flooding or drought

  Low wages as people are paid less in primary sector jobs
• Pull factors for rural-urban migration

  Increased job opportunities

  More services available like healthcare, education and entertainment

  Higher wages as people are paid more in secondary or tertiary sector jobs
• Why does natural increase cause urbanisation?

  Those who move to cities are usually young with high fertility. This means they will have children in the city, increasing the urban population while there are fewer young people left in rural areas to have children, reducing the rural population.
• City


  Large urban settlements
• Urban growth


  An increase in urbanised land cover
• Suburbanisation


  The outward spread of the urban area
• Counter urbanisation


  The movement of people and employment from major cities to smaller cities and towns
• Greenbelt


  A ring of land around a city to limit urban sprawl
• Greenfield


  An area of land that has not been developed previously
• Brownfield


  Land that has been used, abandoned and now awaits new use
• Rural-urban fringe


  The area at the very edge of the city beside the countryside
• Commuter settlement


  A place where people live and travel elsewhere for work.
• Decentralisation


  The movement of population, shops, offices and industry away from urban centres into the suburbs and on the fringes of cities
• Concentrated resource consumption


  The consumption of resources that we cannot replenish or that cannot sustain themselves at the rate we are consuming them
• Urban sustainability


  Improving the quality of life in a city, including ecological, cultural, political, institutional, social and economic components without leaving a burden on the future generations
• Gentrification


  The revival of an urban area that has been subject to environmental and socio-economic decline
• Squatter settlement


  A collection of buildings where the people have no legal rights to the land they are built upon
• Factors encouraging the emergence of megacities

  Economic development:

  - Encourages population growth which leads to the desirability of goods and services

  Population growth:

  - Young people are drawn to live in megacities with their vibrancy, fast pace and opportunities

  Economies of scale:

  - Cheaper to provide goods and services in one place than spread across several cities

  Multiplier effect:
• Reasons for the changing distribution of distribution of megacities

  The distribution of megacities is increasing as developing countries grow and become more urbanised.
• Factors that have aided growth of the suburbs

  - The suburbs have a better quality of life

  - Less overpopulated

  - Less noise, air, visual, waste pollution

  - Cleaner

  - Cheaper housing than inner city

  - Safer, less crime
• Factors that encourage counter-urbanisation

  Mobility and accessibility: higher personal car ownership, increase in public transport and road development making easier access to rural areas

  Increased wealth: making housing and travel more affordable

  Agricultural decline (mechanisation and merger of farms): more land becomes available for housing and agricultural workers leave the area

  Green belt: people need to go further out to get the rural life they are looking for

  Second homes and early retirement: have increased the movement of people from the city to the countryside
• Why are squatter settlements a prevalent feature of urban growth in cities and developing countries

  Squatter settlements form in response to limited supplies of affordable housing and employment opportunities in cities. Squatter settlements are usually located in developing countries because housing is in short supply
• Problems which pose a threat to urban living in a developed country

  - Overpopulation: Factors such as rural-urban migration and natural increase create overpopulation leading to congestion, housing shortages, pollution and overcrowding.

  - This can lead to a low quality of life

  - Segregation: There are segregated into groups on the basis of social class type or occupation and ethnicity.

  - Can lead to discrimination from those richer to people who are poorer or those with opposing religious views or racial discrimination

  - This can even cause crime against minorities and separation in communities
• Trends of population growth from 1950-2015

  The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled due to:

  - The decline of industry in developed countries as the industries moved overseas to emerging countries (cheaper workforce, incentives, tax breaks, etc)

  - This led to industrial growth in emerging countries and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban areas with the hope of a better life and employment
• Why do high rates of urbanisation occur in developing countries?

  - Most new economic development is concentrated in the big cities

  - Push-pull factors lead to high rates of rural-to-urban migration

  - Cities are experiencing higher levels of natural increase in population
• Why is the rate of urbanisation lower in developed countries

  Rates of urbanisation are lower in developed countries as a high percentage of the population already live in towns and cities
• Causes of rapid urban growth

  - Natural increase

  - Urban pull factors

  - Rural-urban migration

  - Rural push factors