Importance of Urbanisation
Terminology
- AQA uses the following terms in this unit:
- HDE - Highly Developed Economy
- EME - Emerging Market Economy
- LDE - Less Developed Economy
Urban importance to people
- Cities have always had a magnetic pull and been centres of innovation, decision-making and exchange of ideas
- Even in their early days, cities surrounded themselves with walls for protection against invasion and immigration
- Anyone not living in a city felt like a second class citizen
- Cities were places people went to make their fortunes
- People living in cities have always enjoyed more freedom and possibilities for development than those living outside their boundaries
- Cities offer more job opportunities and higher incomes for people; for businesses it includes lower input costs, greater collaboration and innovation opportunities - universities, theatres and stadiums
- Cities are symbols of all human errors and corruptions – Chicago, Detroit, Rome, Paris and New York
- Cities are a model of successful urban development for economic, social and cultural exchanges
- Cities are centres of political power and decision making - governments, courts and the UN
- Cities are a beacon of hope and freedom of a better future – New York, Mumbai, Shanghai, Mexico City, London
- In 50 years time, more than 75% of the world’s population will live in cities
However,
- Problems become more concentrated in close confines of urban areas, yet cities are poised for unlimited growth – megacities such as Mumbai, Mexico City and Tokyo
- Today there is not enough energy and water for everyone and in some places, security is only available for those who can pay - Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro
- If a city’s economic strength wanes, it will fail and this can lead to a failing state - Detroit
- Cities are threatened by scarce resources, environmental problems, new diseases, uncontrolled growth and migration
- An estimated 3 billion people will require adequate and affordable housing by 2030 - London, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro
- With a further predicted 1.6 billion people living in slums - Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, and Lagos
- By 2050, 70% of the population will be urbanites (UN 2022), making 95% of the world's total population living on 10% of the land
- In 2020 4% of the earth’s surface was occupied by cities, with 56% of the world’s population living in those cities
If the city is to remain the driving force behind human development, we need to reinvent it now; otherwise there is a risk that it will become the final stage of human civilisation in the twenty first century – Wolfgang Nowak 2007