UK Cities

• the population distribution in the UK is uneven - the relief (change in the height of land) affects where most people live
• upland regions (north of scotland) are sparesly populated because the land is difficult to farm and has few resources
• many coastal areas have attracted human settlement (especially where there are sheltered bays and river estuaries suitable for building ports)
• mineral wealth has often led to rapid population growth because this is where industries developed - many of the UK's cities developed on major coalmines
• most urban areas developed in lowland areas because they are easier to build on and the climate is milder than upland areas
• london is the UK's biggest city and has a population of 9 million people - it is a national capital and has many industries
• the central business district is usually in the middle of a city and is often surrounded by a ring road (map skills)
• the suburbs are found towards the edges of cities, they're mainly residential areas often with semi-detached houses - short, curved streets and cul-de-sacs (map skills)
• the inner city area often has a mix of land uses, mainly residential but with some business and recreational parks. lots of short parallel roads often show areas of terraced housing in the inner city (map skills)
• the rural-urban fringe is on the edge of the city, it has farmland and open spaces as well as new housing developments and large retail and business parks - shown as a mixture of white space and built up areas (map skills)