Geography A level

• What is urbanisation?


  Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas (towns and cities)
• Patterns of urbanisation


  -Since 1950 the urban population has increased from 750 million to 4.2 billion

  -55% of people now live in urban areas
• Why does urbanisation occur?

  1. Pull factors of cities - cities are more densely concentrated so there tends to be an abundance of public services as well as economic and social opportunities. This can provide a better quality and standard of living in cities.

  
  

  2. Push factor of rural areas - in the past rural areas tended to be more prone to famine, disease and lesser opportunities as most of the businesses and services were not concentrated in small areas. Due to the lack of transport connections rural areas were also quite isolated, so if there was poor job opportunities in the town then most inhabitants would probably be living in poverty, as they couldn't access jobs elsewhere.
• What is suburbanisation?


  The movement of people from inner city areas to the suburbs of towns and cities leading to the extension of the urban areas.
• Why does suburbanisation occur?

  When wealthier people move away from inner city areas for a better quality of life.

  -> Inner city areas are crowding and bustling so wealthy people want larger properties and space
• What is urban sprawl?

  Urban sprawl is the expansion of urban areas. This can be controlled and uncontrolled but usually involves building on greenfield sites.
• Issues with suburbanisation


  1. Deprivation in inner city areas - as people, especially wealthy people move out of inner city areas to the suburbs, the inner city loses economic activity and can experience a negative multiplier effect where a lack of activity causes firms to shut down and move elsewhere creating unemployment in inner city areas. These areas can become rundown and uncared for as a result.

  - It is often lower income people who remain in inner city areas and have to suffer from reduced access to services as well as employment opportunities as they are geographically immobile.

  
  

  2. Urban sprawl - Urban sprawl can often be uncontrolled which means that it destroys greenfield sites and the natural environment. Its uncontrolled nature can also mean that infrastructure that develops along with areas is inferior and can't keep up with growth.
• What is one way urban sprawl can be managed?

  Urban sprawl can be managed by the introduction of green belts which are created by local governments.
• What is a green belt and how does it prevent urban sprawl?

  What a green belt is:

  -A green belt is an area around a city or urban area where building is restricted in order to protect the natural environment.

  
  

  How it prevents urban sprawl:

  -This prevents urban sprawl as it makes it very hard for developers to develop on greenfield sites and therefore cities cannot expand outwards.

  -Often this provokes governments to revitalise inner city areas.

  
  

  Limitations to greenbelts:

  -Developers can remove an area's green belt permission and get permission to build on the land.

  -Where there is mass population growth governments may have no choice but to allow developers to build more houses

  -Once one developer gets permission to develop on an area of land it could have a snowball effect allowing many more to gain permission as it becomes harder for the government to deny them planning permission.
• What is the greenbelt surrounding London called?

  The greenbelt surrounding London is called the metropolitan green belt.

  
  

  It is the biggest greenbelt in the UK.
• What is counter-urbanisation?


  Counter-urbanisation is the movement of people away from large urban areas to smaller settlements and rural areas.
• Why does counter-urbanisation occur?

  1. Push factors of cities - Occurs as people search for a better quality of life due to negative push factors of living in cities such as overcrowding, pollution and poor quality of the built environment.

  
  

  2. Occurs from improvements in technology and infrastructure which decrease the push factors of rural areas - as transport infrastructure has improved people can still access employment and social opportunities in the city whilst living more rurally to gain the positive benefits of both. This means there are now less drawbacks to living in rural areas.
• What is urban resurgence?

  Urban resurgence is the process of people moving back into inner cities.
• Why does urban resurgence occur?

  Regeneration schemes - When the government works to rebrand and regenerate inner city areas, this boosts economic and social opportunities in the area encouraging people to move back into the area to take advantage of these opportunities.

  
  

  Other improvements to inner city areas that revitalise them and incentivise people to move there.
• Positives and negatives of urban resurgence

  Positives:

  - Prevent urban sprawl as more people move back into the inner city

  - Building on brownfield sites instead of greenfield sites is better for the environment and decreases pressure on green belts

  - Provides a better quality of life for people who live in that area, by fabricating jobs and promoting investment in the local area

  
  

  Negatives:

  - Gentrification can occur where the wealthy middle to upper class move in, and although they refurbish the area they displace the original community living there.

  This can create socio-economic divides and tension.

  - Improving inner city areas like gentrification increases house prices which prices out lower income families from the area, displacing the poverty in that area but not helping the impoverished.
• What is a megacity?

  A megacity is a city that has 10 million or more permanent residents.
• Trends of megacities


  -By 2030 there is predicted to be 43 megacities

  -Asia has half the world's megacities

  - Over 500M people live in megacities
• Characteristics of mega cities

  - 10M + people

  - Uncontrolled urban sprawl (tends to lead to inadequate infrastructure or slums / informal settlements in some areas

  - Multi-functional with varying land use ( lots of commercial, industrial and residential land use)
• How are megacities formed?

  1. Natural increase - population increases causing cities to grow

  2. Push factors of rural - poor infrastructure and social + economic opportunities drive urbanisation and people away from rural areas

  3. Pull factors of urban - concentrated workforce in cities cause lots of businesses to move into and invest in cities giving them better social and economic opportunities, this attracts people wanting to improve their quality of life.

  4. Government policies - government policies are concentrated in urban areas where they will reach the most people, this is a factor attracting people to big cities
• The role of mega cities in global and regional economies

  How megacities contribute to the regional economy:

  
  

  - Megacities are densely populated and thus contain a significant number of a country's workforce.

  - As a result businesses are concentrated here which means that megacities contribute a significant amount of GDP to its regional economy.

  - Megacities are also where business investment and government spending is concentrated as the policies and investment reach the largest concentration of people.

  - Thus this make megacities massive trade and industry hubs which makes them produce most of a country's goods and services.

  
  

  How megacities contribute to the global economy:

  
  

  - As megacities make up a significant proportion of a country's GDP they can help dictate the economic growth that occurs in a country

  - This causes them to have a great influence over the global economy because the growth and GDP of different countries can affect international trade and as a result other countries economies.
• What is a world city?

  A world city is a city that has significant global economic and political influence as they are major centres for trade and business.

  
  

  Unlike megacities they are not defined by their size instead their significance to global affairs.
• How are world cities ranked?

  The ranking system goes from alpha ++ to gamma

  
  

  Alpha ++ = London

  Alpha = Mumbai

  Beta = Zurich

  Gamma = Rome
• Characteristics of world cities

  - Political + cultural importance = shape global policies and international agreements, and are very multicultural

  - Specialise in quaternary and tertiary sectors e.g London has a huge financial sector

  - Business centre and headquarters for TNC's as they have massive global connections.

  - Global importance through trade
• The role of world cities in global and regional economies

  Role in regional economies:

  
  

  - Experiences multiplier effects - well connected on a global scale so businesses concentrate in world cities, which creates jobs and drives up incomes causing more demand for businesses, means that world cities are massive contributors to regional GDP.

  - World cities are funnels for economic growth- as they are very well connected and are transport hubs, this allows for people earn money in cities and then spend it in their local economy boosting regional economies.

  
  

  Role in global economies:

  
  

  - World cities tend to be specialised in certain sectors which allows them to produce or work really effectively

  E.G: Shenzhen specialises in technology which makes them very important globally for the manufacturing and distribution of technological goods.
• How does urbanisation impact social factors?

  Social factors affected by urbanisation:

  - Pull factors of cities cause national and international migrants to settle in cities, this makes cities a melting pot of different cultures and backgrounds and increases diversity and multiculturalism.

  - Urban areas turn into cultural hubs, representing its multicultural society through lots of art forms such as galleries or theaters which provide social opportunities

  - Urbanisation means that more people are concentrated in one area and thus can benefit from increased access to public services such as healthcare and education. This has resulting benefits to quality of life as people are more skilled and healthy and therefore can find more technical employment, allowing them to earn more.
• How does urbanisation impact economic factors?

  Economic factors affected by urbanisation:

  - Changes in employment: shift of employment from the primary sector to the tertiary sector as cities are more economically developed and therefore hosts jobs in more technical industries.

  - Experiences positive multiplier effects: as people move into the area the size of the available workforce increases, this stimulates demand for goods and services and incentivises businesses to move to the area, this creates more jobs which act as a pull factor pulling even more people to the area.

  - Economic inequalities might arise: Overpopulation and therefore inadequate infrastructure and jobs for the population can lead to many people struggling to retain a good quality of life. Many people can earn very different incomes due to the range of jobs available in cities this creates income inequality.
• How does urbanisation impact Technological factors?

  Technological factors affected by urbanisation:

  - Due to cities having lots of businesses they are often centres for technological advancement. This means that cities benefit from more innovative technology and efficient systems

  E.G: London's integrated transport system which is made very efficient through technology
• How does urbanisation impact political factors?

  Political factors affected by urbanisation:

  - Political policies are almost always concentrated in urban areas because they reach the largest concentration of people due to the high population density of cities. This means that cities are likely to benefit from better infrastructure and services leading to a higher quality of life.
• How does urbanisation impact demographic factors?

  Demographic factors affected by urbanisation:

  - Cities are ideal places for migrants so they tend to be very culturally diverse

  - Due to the working opportunities in cities as well as the very fast-paced lifestyle, cities tend to have a younger adult demographic as they move to cities for good employment opportunities. Older people also tend to move out of cities as they want a quieter, less expensive lifestyle.
• What is urban change?

  Urban change is the process whereby cities, towns and other built-up areas change, usually to meet the changing needs of their populations.

  
  

  Urban areas are dynamic which means they are always experiencing change.
• What are the main 3 types of urban change that London has experienced?

  1. Decentralisation

  2. The rise of the service economy

  3. Deindustrialisation
• What is deindustrialisation?


  Deindustrialization is the absolute or relative decline in the importance of the manufacturing sector.

  
  

  This is usually measured by an increase in unemployment.
• Why did the UK experience deindustrialisation?

  Increased international competition:

  1. Other countries (especially in Asia) started to develop and began to specialise in manufacturing certain products

  2. Developing countries were able to keep costs low due to poor working conditions and employing cheap labour

  3. This led to them being able to produce goods at a cheaper price than the UK, causing many Uk industries to decline as they couldn't compete with lower prices internationally.
• Which industries suffered most from the decline and where were they located?

  Steel:

  -China started producing very cheap steel

  -Steel industry declined causing mass unemployment in the midlands and to the north

  
  

  Coal:

  - Started to exhaust our supply of raw materials so costs rose, and other countries could mine coal more easily

  - All legal coal mines are now closed in the UK

  - Mass unemployment in the midlands and the north

  
  

  Shipyards:

  - London docklands suffered decline as it had to close due to the ships increasing in size and it being unable to accommodate this change and adapt.
• What are characteristics of de-industrialised areas?

  Characteristics:

  - High unemployment (structural unemployment): people employed in the coal or steel or shipping industry tend to have few transferable skills this meant they experienced occupational immobility and thus many were left long-term unemployed.

  - Social deprivation and urban decline - people move out of the area leaving it to become derelict, this worsens access to services such as education and healthcare.
• What is the rise of the service economy?

  The service economy is where the dominant source of GDP comes from providing services (tertiary sector) instead of providing goods (primary and secondary sector).
• Why was there an increase in the service economy (tertiary sector)?

  1. Affluence - as people get richer they have greater disposable incomes to spend on things that will improve their welfare, this increases the demand for services.

  2. Technological change - technological has enabled industries to relocate without large barriers, and has increased transport connections. This made it easier to provide services to a great range of people, increasing the industry.
• Impacts of a rise in the service economy

  1. Greater incomes - to perform tertiary jobs people need greater skills, this means they are paid higher wages for the jobs they perform in order to incentivise labour into the industry.

  2. More skilled society - the demand for more technical skills has created an incentive for people to become more educated which has created a more skillful and educated workforce, improving productivity and creating growth.
• What is decentralisation?


  Shift of shopping activity and employment away from the CBD, usually to out of town retail centres.
• What is the CBD?

  The central business district is the commercial centre of an urban area it contains shops, offices and financial institutions.