Urbanisation + Push/Pull Factors

• Study this graph using TEA (Trend, Evidence, Anomaly)

  Trend: Total population increasing, rural population decreasing, urban population increase

  Evidence: 2010, 3.5 billion living in both urban and rural

  2020, 4 billion in urban, 3.5 billion in rural

  Anomaly: Rural population decreasing whilst others are increasing

  
• Define urbanisation

  The increase in the % or proportion of people living in towns and cities
• Why is urbanisation occurring?

  1. Natural increase: Where the number of births are higher than the number of deaths, NEEs and more developed economies, due to better health care, sanitation etc
  2. Migration: people moving from rural areas to cities, push and pull factors have led to this
• What is a push factor?

  Negative factors that cause people to leave their homes and move elsewhere
• What is a pull factor?

  Positive factors that attract people to areas
• Push factors for a rural area:

  • Farming, the main job, earns very little money: low incomes
  • Nearest schools and hospitals far away
  • Crop failures/droughts may lead to shortage of food
  • Risk of war, conflict or extreme religious activity may make a place dangerous for people to live
• Pull factors for an urban area:

  • 'Bright lights' of the city e.g. entertainment and excitement
  • Greater choice of jobs available- including secondary and tertiary jobs
  • Better infrastructure e.g. roads, railways, available
  • Better access to healthcare, less people die, life expectancy increases
  • Better access to higher quality education e.g. universities
• Describe the urban population in each line:

  • HICs were first to urbanise due to industrialisation, increased number of jobs in cities, largest proportion of people living in urban areas, recent rates been slower due to counter-urbanisation and slowing birth rates
  • NEEs have highest growth rates, e.g. India, China - half of population lives in urban areas, due to poverty rates still being high in rural areas and an increase in migration as a result of economic development
  • LICs have lower rates of urbanisation- but are urbanising and growing rapidly due to poverty and lack of resources in rural areas and natural increase