Population, Economic Activities & Settlement (Edexcel GCSE Geography: B (1GB0))

• Urban areas cover approximately 6% of the land area in the UK
• Urban core areas characteristics include:
  • Densely populated 
  • Home to 83% of the UK population
  • The focus for most economic activities (exceptions are primary activities: farming, forestry, mining)
  • Infrastructure hubs: train and bus stations
  • Cultural centres: museums, theatres, libraries
  • High property prices
• Rural periphery areas cover 94% of the land area in the UK
• Characteristics of the rural periphery include:
  • Lower population density
  • Ageing population
  • Economic activities tend to be primary or tourism
  • Cheaper land prices
• There are clear differences between the urban and rural areas in the UK in terms of:
  • Settlements
  • Population density
  • Age structure
  • Economic activities

UK urban and rural population

Settlements

• The urban core refers to the densely populated city areas
• The urban core is surrounded by the urban fringe which has lower density populations
• When two or more urban areas merge together a conurbation is formed 
• Conurbations in the UK include:
  • West Midlands - Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley
  • West Yorkshire - Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Halifax
• Rural areas are those areas and settlements with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
• Rural settlements include:
  • Villages 
  • Hamlets
  • Dispersed settlements

Population density

• The population density of the UK is uneven
• The average population density is 281 people per km² 
• In urban areas this increases to over 5000 people per km² in London, Brighton and Luton
• In most rural areas it decreases to fewer than 50 people per km²

UK population density (people per km²)

Age Structure

• Urban core areas have the youngest average age 
  • In major conurbations the average age is 37.8 years 
  • In most remote rural areas the average age is 45.9 years

Percentage of population in age groups - rural v urban

Economic activities

• In rural areas the main economic activities are:
  • Agriculture (farming)
  • Mining
  • Forestry
  • Fishing
• Average earnings in rural areas (£22,500) are almost £2000 lower than in urban areas (£24,300)
  
  • This does not include London where average earnings are £ 36,800
• In rural areas there are the highest number of homeworkers (22%) compared with only 13% in urban areas
  • In remote rural areas it increases to 32%
• Many people living in rural areas commute to work in the urban areas

Government policies

• There are 48 enterprise zones across England 
• Enterprise zones which offer:
  • Reduced taxes on any profits made
  • Support with start up costs
  • Infrastructure - including internet access
  • Simplified planning to allow construction of buildings
• Post-Brexit, the UK government has developed policies such as 'Build back better' and 'Levelling up':
  • These target deprived areas through investing in development projects and infrastructure
  • £50 million to transform Morecambe Bay
  • £50 million for new train links in Cornwall

EU Policies

• Although the UK has now left the EU existing policies are still having an impact in some areas
• Regional Development Fund
  • These are available across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England
  • They offer:
    • Business grants 
    • Improved broadband access in rural areas 

Transport improvements

• Both Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 are now part of the governments Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands
• Planned improvements include Northern Powerhouse Rail which planned:
  • New tracks
  • Electrification of the railway to decrease travel speeds from Manchester to Leeds - this has since been scaled back and the high speed line will go from Manchester to Marsden, West Yorkshire
• HS2 is a planned high speed railway from London to Manchester due 
  • This would reduce travel time from Birmingham to London by 30 minutes down to 52 minutes
  • The planned link from the West Midlands to Leeds has been reduced and will now only reach East Midlands Parkway in Nottingham
• In 2021 Highways England announced a £200m investment to improve roads in the south west of England including areas of South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
• There are also plans to improve upgrade the A66 Trans-Pennine route