Growth of Urbanisation Over Time & Space
- Urbanisation is the process by which an increasing percentage of a country's population comes to live in towns and cities
- Urban settlements differ from rural ones in terms of:
- Way of life: faster-paced
- Size: larger
- Density of buildings and people: compact and high
- Economy and employment: finance, service, and manufacturing
- Urbanisation varies across the globe
- Developed countries show the highest levels of urbanisation
- The lowest levels of urbanisation are in Africa and Southeast Asia
- More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas
- The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled due to:
- The decline of industry in developed countries as the industries moved overseas to emerging countries (cheaper workforce, 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
- High rates of urbanisation occur in developing countries because:
- Most new economic development is concentrated in 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
Exam Tip
Natural increase does not include inward migration of people to a place, just the number of births vs. the number of deaths. E.g. On 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.
- Rates of urbanisation are lower in developed countries as a high percentage of the population already live in towns and cities
- In 1900, there were just 2 'millionaire'' cities (London and Paris), by 2018 this had grown to 512
- As the growth of cities continues, the term megacity is used to describe cities with more than 10 million people:
- In 1970, there were only 4
- By 2000, there were 15
- In 2018, that rose to 33, with the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area having close to 37.3 million people
- Due to modern transport and communication, urban areas are spreading into rural regions in what is termed rural dilution
Causes of rapid urban growth
- Natural increase
- Accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth
- Due to decreased death rates and higher birth rates
- Urban pull factors
- Higher wages
- Pace and excitement
- Improved education and healthcare
- Better job opportunities
- Public utilities: water, gas, electricity, etc.
- Government support
- Rural-urban migration
- Accounts for 40% of urban growth
- Due to rural push factors along with urban pull factors
- Rural push factors
- Limited healthcare and education
- Mechanisation of farming
- Lack of opportunities
- Lack of government support or investment
- Harsh and monotonous lifestyle
Urbanisation pathway
- The differences between developed and developing countries can be shown as a pathway over time
- Countries become more urban as they develop economically
- As they move through the stages, the pace begins to slow and begins to flatten out or decline as counter-urbanisation gains speed
Urbanisation pathway