Causes of Urbanisation
- People have always lived in cities and towns in order to trade goods and services
- Towns and cities are essential to the development of a country's economy
- They are centres of opportunities, entertainment, education, religion, culture, political administration, industry and more
- The modern growth of cities began with the Industrial Revolution in Britain during the 19th century with the 'pull' of work to factories in growing cities from the 'push' of a harsh, rural existence
- Subsequently, urban living became linked to better literacy rates and education, improved health, and a longer life expectancy through wider access to health and social services
- Urban populations can enjoy cultural entertainment and experiences, along with opportunities to participate in political debates and policies
- During the 1960s, approximately 34% of the global population was living in some form of urban settlement
- Today, 55% of the world's population lives in urban areas and by 2050 is expected to stand at 68%
- The main factors affecting the rate of urbanisation are:
- Speed of economic development
- Economic growth drives urbanisation
- The faster the growth of secondary and tertiary employment sectors, the faster the growth of urbanisation
- Rate of population growth
- Economic growth needs a supply of labour
- This demand can be met in two ways:
- Natural increase in an urban population: A slow way of meeting demand
- Rural-urban migration: This is the more important source of labour as it attracts a wider pool of people into the urban region
- Counter urbanisation
- Where people move from an urban area into the surrounding rural region
- Natural increase
- Accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth
- Due to decreased death rates and higher birth rates
- Speed of economic development
Exam Tip
Natural increase does not include inward migration of people to a place, just the number of births vs number of deaths. E.g. In one street there were 5 new migrants, 10 births and 2 deaths. The natural increase is 8 people because the migrants chose to move there. If they then had children, then those children would be included in the natural increase rate.
Growth in LIDCs
- Urbanisation usually occurs because people move from rural to urban areas as a country develops
- Since the 1950s, EDCs and LIDCs have seen rapid growth in urbanisation, particularly in South America, Asia and Africa
- Between the 1950s and 2000, urban population living in EDCs have doubled and LIDCs by 2021, ACs saw growth slow by less than half
- There are three main reasons for urbanisation in EDCs and LIDCs:
- Mass rural-urban migration due to population growth and lack of resources in rural areas (push factors)
- The lure of the city and the opportunities it represents (pull factors), although many find informal employment and poor housing (push factors)
- Natural increase - as development occurs, health care improves; this reduces infant mortality and death rates, although birth rates tend to remain high
- Reasons for the rapid growth in rates of urbanisation in EDCs and LIDCs include:
- Most new economic development is concentrated within the big cities
- Push-pull factors lead to high rates of rural-to-urban migration
- Cities are experiencing higher levels of natural increase in population
- The decline of industry in ACs
- As industry moved overseas to emerging developing countries (EDCs) and low-income developing countries (LIDCs) to take advantage of a cheaper workforce, government incentives, tax breaks, etc.
- This led to industrial growth in emerging countries and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban areas, with the hope of a better life and employment
Push-pull factors
- There are many reasons for people to migrate to and from urban areas. These can be generally classified into push and pull factors
- The push factor is the reality of the current situation for the migrant; it is what makes the person consider moving from the place of origin
- The pull factor is the perceived outcome; it is what the migrant imagines the move will bring to the place of destination
- Push-pull factors are unique to each person depending on their end goal: What is a pull factor for one person may not be for another
- These factors can be further divided into:
- Social
- Economic
- Political
- Environmental
- High levels of unemployment are a push factor, whereas higher wages and a better lifestyle are a pull factor
- Therefore, rural-urban migration is usually a combination of factors that cause people to migrate
Examples of push-pull factors leading to migration
Exam Tip
- Remember do not just state the opposite when asked to give push-pull factors
- Poverty is a push factor, however, everywhere has certain levels of poverty, so a pull factor could be better welfare and healthcare services