Urban Growth (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Geography)

Revision Note

Jacque Cartwright

Expertise

Geography Content Creator

Reasons for Rapid Urban Growth

Urbanisation

  • More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas

  • Urbanisation varies across the globe and is the increase in the percentage of a population living in urban areas

  • 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 

  • MEDCs show the highest levels of urbanisation, with the lowest levels in Africa and SE Asia

  • 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 industry 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 LEDCs 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 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. 

Factors affecting the rate of urbanisation

  • 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 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

  • Rates of urbanisation are lower in MEDCs as a higher 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 mega city 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 Tokyo having close to 37.3 million people

  • Due to modern transport and communication, urban areas are sprawling into rural regions to create conurbations, further adding to the growth of urban areas

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

    • Natural hazards

    • Poor basic services - health, water, education

  • Rural push factors

    • Limited healthcare and education

    • Mechanisation of farming

    • Lack of opportunities

    • Lack of government support or investment 

    • Harsh and monotonous lifestyle 

    • Unreliable food supplies/famine

  • Rural reclassification

    • Due to urban sprawl, some rural regions are being reclassified as urban

    • Rural villages becoming dormitory settlements 

Urbanisation pathway

  • The differences between LEDCs and MEDCs 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-1

Urbanisation Pathway

Urban process timeline

urban-process-timeline-edexcel-igcse-geography

Urban Process Timeline

  • Urban settlements first appear as a result of agglomeration:

    • People gather together in one area to sell goods and live

    • Small trading posts and villages began to develop

  • As towns grow, they expand outwards through a process known as suburbanisation:

    • This adds to the built-up area, but the building densities are generally lower than in the older parts of the town

    • The new suburbs are made up of mostly houses but also include places of employment and services

  • Urban settlements continue to prosper and grow, and people move out of the town or city altogether and commute to work:

    • These are called dormitory settlements because many residents only sleep there. 

    • They continue to have links with the town or city they have left

    • They still make use of urban services, shops, education, and healthcare

Counter-urbanisation

  • This is the movement of people from an urban area into the surrounding rural region

  • Causes include:

    • Mobility and accessibility - higher personal car ownership, increase in public transport and road development making easier access to rural areas

    • Increased wealth - making housing and travel more affordable

    • Agricultural decline (mechanisation and merger of farms) creates the availability of more land for housing, forcing agricultural workers to leave the area

    • Green belt - people need to go further out to get the rural life they are looking for

    • Second homes and early retirement - have increased the movement of people from the city to the countryside

Urban regeneration and re-imagining

  • Urban regeneration and urban re-imaging are different

  • Urban regeneration is the investment of capital in the revival of old, urban areas by either improving what is there or clearing it away and rebuilding

    • Over time, older parts of urban areas would begin to suffer a decline

    • Factories would move elsewhere, resulting in job loss

    • Quality of life and housing become poorer, people move away

    • Urban blight sets in

    • The area needs to be 'brought back to life' = urban regeneration

  • Urban re-imaging is changing the image and reputation of an urban area and the way people view it

    • Focusing on a new identity/function

    • Changing the quality and appearance of the built-up area

    • Good opportunity for brownfield site development

    • London Docklands was completely redeveloped and regenerated

    • London Docklands had new industries, more executive services, homes, entertainment, and leisure, making it the new 'cool' place to be

  • Together urban regeneration and urban re-imaging = rebranding

  • These processes add to the continued growth of urban regions

Megacities

  • These are urban regions with over 10 million residents   

  • In 2007, more people lived in an urban environment than a rural one

  • By 2050 it is thought that more than two-thirds (7 billion) of the world population will live in urban areas

  • This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history

  • Largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia

Reasons for growth

  • Four main factors:

  • Economic development

    • Encourages population growth which leads to the desirability of goods and services

    • All megacities act as service centres within the formal economic sector

    • However, megacities in LEDCs are also important manufacturing centres (Mumbai in India or Dhaka in Bangladesh) with thousands working in the informal economy

  • Population growth

    • Young people are drawn to live in megacities with their vibrancy, fast pace and opportunities

    • There is also ‘internal growth’ where people who have moved into the cities have children, so sustaining population growth (Mexico City, Mumbai, Pearl River Delta in China)

  • Economies of scale

    • Cheaper to provide goods and services in one place than spread across several cities

    • Financial savings for local governments in respect of infrastructure provision

    • Communication and transport are centralised, making savings in time and money

  • Multiplier effect

    • As a city prospers, it acts as a beacon to people and businesses 

    • This encourages inward investment

    • This leads to yet more development and growth

    • Generating further need for skills and labour and job growth

    • This cycle multiplies the positive effects and growth continues (San Francisco and the digital development)

World cities

  • Megacities have a powerful attraction for people and businesses 

  • They are influential cores with large peripheries

  • World or global cities can be any size but exert particular influences around the globe

  • They are considered prestigious, with status and power  

  • They are critical hubs in the global economy

  • The three top (alpha) world cities are London, New York, and Tokyo 

  • These are the financial centres of the world, each with smaller networks of world cities feeding into them

  • There are only four world cities in the Southern Hemisphere:  

    • Sydney

    • Rio de Janeiro

    • Sao Paulo

    • Buenos Aires

world-city-network-1

Worked Example

Identify the meaning of the term counter-urbanisation

[1 mark] 

 

A

Increasing proportion of people living in urban areas

 

B

Population movement from one country to another

 

C

Increasing population growth on the edge of urban areas

 

D

Population movement from urban areas to the countryside


Answer:

  • D - population movement from urban areas to the countryside

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Jacque Cartwright

Author: Jacque Cartwright

Jacque graduated from the Open University with a BSc in Environmental Science and Geography before doing her PGCE with the University of St David’s, Swansea. Teaching is her passion and has taught across a wide range of specifications – GCSE/IGCSE and IB but particularly loves teaching the A-level Geography. For the last 5 years Jacque has been teaching online for international schools, and she knows what is needed to pass those pesky geography exams.