Sec 2 Geog 7

• What are cities?
• Cities


  Defined urban areas within a country's features that make them unique:
• Cities

  • Large population size
  • High population density
  • Built-up area
  • Range of functions
• The relationship between cities and rural areas
• Rural-urban migration


  People moving from rural areas to urban areas (towns and cities)
• Pull factors


  • More studying opportunities in urban areas
  • Many different well-paying job aspects to support the family
  • Safe
  • More amenities
• Push factors


  • Famine
  • Unsafe
  • Less amenities
• Cities rely on rural areas


  For food supply due to limited space for agriculture
• People from rural areas

  Use city amenities such as hospitals for expert and advanced medical treatment
• How cities affect their inhabitants and the environment

  • Education & Employment
  • Technological innovation
• Technological innovation
• Technological innovation in cities

  • Shading
  • Transport
  • Vegetation
  • Building facades
  • Water bodies and features
• Case study: The Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore
• Challenges people living in cities face

  • Increased environmental pollution
  • Competition for natural resources
• Water pollution


  The water quality in city water supplies is reduced as waste from household and industrial causes are being directly released or leaked in water bodies due to inadequate or broken sewage systems
• Air pollution


  The use of coal to generate electricity, high volume of vehicular traffic and emissions from factories
• Air quality index
• Who is more affected by air pollution

  • People with heart and/or lung diseases
  • Pregnant women
  • Children under 14
  • Outdoor workers
  • Elderly people
• How to protect yourself from air pollution
• Case study: Singapore's water pollution management
• Competition for natural resources

  Due to the increasing amounts of people, natural resources such as land and water are needed to build infrastructure and supply materials for industrial use, causing competition for these resources
• Case study: Cape Town, South Africa's water crisis
• How can cities be sustainably built and managed?

  • Environmental management
  • Management of hazards
  • Use of better quality building materials
  • Land use planning
  • Improve quality of life
• Environmental management


  Management of the physical environment to regulate the use of natural resources and minimise the negative environmental impact from human activities
• Environmental management strategies


  • Reducing water pollution through water treatment ponds
  • Reducing air pollution through laws
• Management of hazards


  Human-induced hazards and natural hazards can turn into disasters, damaging people and their properties. The impact from these hazards increases greatly through cities' population size, high population density and widespread built-up areas.
• Use of better quality building materials

  • Japan's earthquake-resistant buildings
  • Mori Tower in Tokyo using oil-filled shock dampeners
• Land use planning


  Making decisions on how land resources will be used for housing, recreation and transport, etc.
• Land use planning


  • New York City restricting developments along the coasts of Long Island due to risk of coastal erosion
• Improve quality of life

  • Providing safe housing
  • Providing a variety of transportation modes
• Providing safe housing


  • Singapore's public housing program
• Providing a variety of transportation modes


  • Singapore's islandwide cycling network and street redesign