Changing Populations (OCR GCSE Geography)

London has over 192 museums and 857 art galleries, including 3 of the top ten museums and galleries in the world and 4 UNESCO world heritage sites: Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich, Westminster Palace and Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens

London is culturally diverse with over 300 languages spoken, which is more than any other city in the world, all living together which influences food and music 

As a city of trade, London has always had different races mixing together and many immigrants have come in waves (1960s southern Asian groups, 70s Caribbeans/Windrush generation and 1990s from Hong Kong), and more recently from eastern Europe as former communist countries joined the EU

According to the 2021 Census, London was the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales. Out of all regions, London had the smallest percentage of people who identified as white British, 46.2% of residents identified with Asian, black, mixed or ‘other’ ethnic groups, and a further 17.0% with white ethnic minorities 

Newham borough is the most ethnically diverse of all local authorities in England and Wales

Taken from: Ethnicity facts and figures UK Gov 2022

London is one of the world’s top ten most expensive cities to live in, with average house prices in the Greater London region being £709k in 2023 compared to a UK average of £288K

London's housing is unequal with most people having to rent their homes, and spending on average, two-thirds of their income on rent. The spread of housing is diverse with billionaires living next to the homeless or those on less than a living wage

Some areas such as Mayfair, Kensington and Chelsea, have very high house prices, with apartments and large housing in excess of £1 million.  Some areas, such as east/southeast London, have lower prices and lower quality houses or houses separated for multi-occupancy such as those in Hackney, Ealing, Brent and Southwark

The highest population density is in central London (10,936 people per km2), almost twice the level of London overall

London has plenty of world-class sporting venues and events, including the 2012 Olympic Games, Wimbledon, Lord’s Cricket Ground and Wembley

Many Premier League football teams are also located in London such as Arsenal and West Ham

Theatreland in the West End, where a huge number of shows can be seen or opera in Covent Garden

There are a diverse number of shops to be found in London with high streets such as Oxford St, Regent St. and Carnaby St, containing shops such as Hamley's Toys, Selfridges, Liberty's and Harrods

Westfield has two major shopping centres in London, with more than 250 shops under one roof

Food markets are found all over the city, from Covent Garden to Borough Market and Old Spitalfields Market; Smithfield Meat Market and Billingsgate Fish Market are open to all, but trading is early morning - between midnight and 8.30 am

Lagos has a mix of cultural traditions and the city is at the heart of the film industry in Africa. Called Nollywood, it produces approx. 1,500 films a year

Although ‘western’ influence (fashion and food) is becoming more common, traditional clothing, street vendors and markets are still the most popular with Lagos Museum, being built as part of the redevelopment of the Onikan area of the city as a cultural hub

The city has a growing arts scene, holds large street dance parties until dawn and events such as the Badagry Festival, Lagos Street Carnival and the One Lagos Fiesta, which gains international coverage

Lagos is home to Afrobeat and Afro hip-hop music movement and attracts musicians from all over the world 

There are more than 250 ethnic groups represented in Lagos, due to heavy migration from other parts of Nigeria and surrounding countries. Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori group of the Yoruba people

There are small minorities of American, British, East Indian, Chinese, white Zimbabwean, Greek, Syrian, Lebanese and Japanese people

There are over 500 different languages spoken in Lagos, with English, Pidgin and Yoruba being the most common

With roughly 77 people moving to Lagos every hour, housing is very limited, making renting in Lagos expensive and buying a home almost impossible

Housing is mixed in Lagos and range from skyscrapers, luxury apartments and high-rise flats within the city centre to colonial mansions and gated communities on Victoria Island to tin shacks on the outskirts. Very few can afford to buy their own homes and with no government social housing, roughly two thirds of the population live in slums, the largest being Makoko

With the shortage of housing, a new urban district, Eko Atlantic City, is being built on land reclaimed from the sea, and is protected by an 8.5km sea wall, helping to build confidence in Lagos as a 'go to' city

Football is the national sport and some of the best players in Europe are Nigerian

As an emerging city, leisure activities are limited and aimed at tourists, but they do take advantage the natural beaches and stunning scenery - some key areas are Landmark Leisure Beach, and Lekki Leisure Lake

As the population rises, so does the demand for resources. Lagos consumes half of Nigeria’s energy output

As more people become wealthier, there is greater demand for consumer goods, so more resources are used

There are shopping malls and mix of food markets and street vendors

There is a growth of commercial and industrial zones, along with an overall improvement to economic development and standard of life