Unit 3: challenges of an urbanising world

• Rural areas


  Small population density and large proportion of open, green spaces. Rural people may work in agriculture, tourism or running shops in the local village.
• Urban areas


  Towns and cities, with large population density and limited open, green spaces. Urban residents tend to work in offices, factories or running services in the city.
• More of the world's population is living in urban areas - cities are expanding and the urban population is growing.
• Countries' urban population


  • 81% of the US's population live in urban towns and cities
  • 90% of the UK's population live in urban areas
  • 68% of Turkey's population living in urban areas
  • 29% of India's population live in urban towns and cities
• Just because a country has a small proportion of people living in urban areas doesn't mean their population is small.
• Megacities


  Cities with populations over 10 million people
• Megacities can be found across the world but are especially concentrated in South Asia.
• Megacities


  • Some steadily grow so their infrastructure can cope with the population growth and there is little inequality
  • Some have rapidly expanded so not all the residents can be looked after and the infrastructure is under high pressure, leading to inequalities
• Megacities


  • Tokyo
  • Los Angeles
  • Mumbai
  • Mexico City
• World cities


  Cities that have global influence, even if their urban population isn't as large as a megacity
• Ways world cities demonstrate their influence

  • Making political decisions that can impact other areas of the world
  • Having large international airports that see many tourists, business people and migrants passing through
  • Being a hub for local and international businesses, with transnational companies wanting to have their headquarters there
• Formal work


  Workers agree to a contract with their employer, which ensures a regular wage and safe working conditions
• Formal work


  • Teachers
  • Doctors and Dentists
  • Office workers (IT, Managers, etc)
• Informal work


  Any job that is temporary, with limited regulations or self-employed
• Informal work


  • Street Sellers
  • House Help and Cleaners
  • Rag Picker
• Informal workers don't pay the correct amount of tax, if any, so the government cannot benefit from their work.
• Rural-urban migration


  Rural workers migrate to an urban city for work opportunities and a better quality of life
• Push and pull factors

  Factors that push people from their rural home and pull them towards living in an urban city
• Suburbanisation


  Residents move away from the city centre and towards the suburbs of the city

  
• Counter-urbanisation


  The opposite of urbanisation, where people want to move away from the city

  
• Deindustrialisation


  Cities can have declining economies, where businesses leave the city or become bankrupt
• Deindustrialisation can damage the quality of life and the reputation of a city.
• Central business district (CBD)


  The centre of any city, which is the location for many shops, restaurants, tourist attractions and office blocks
• Commuter villages


  Villages linked with the city, offering a quieter quality of life for those who can afford a car to commute into town
• Shanty towns


  Where the poorest families live on the very periphery of the city, often on unfavourable land