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Summary geography edexcel B challenges of an urbanising world
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Challenges of an urbanising world3.1
Rural - countryside where people live in farms and small villages
Urban – a built up area such as a town or city
Urbanisation – a rise in percentage of people living in urban areas compared to rural areas
In 2007, for the first time the number of people living in urban areas was greater than the number of
people living in the countryside.
The most urbanised areas are North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Africa and Asia are now
urbanising faster than the other global regions although they still have more people living in rural areas.
Urbanisation is a global process that has started to take place since the late 20th century and the effects are
becoming more complex.
Nearly all the growth of the global population living in urban areas will take place in emerging or
developing countries.
Urbanisation in developed countries
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the growth of urban areas resulted from the agricultural and industrial
revolutions. During this time, workers gradually moved from the countryside to work in factories in the
towns. Urbanisation is much slower in developed countries because most the people there already live-in
urban areas and the rate of natural increase of the population is low.
Urbanisation in developing/emerging countries
The growth of towns and cities has been rapid in the last 50 years. People are moving into cities faster than
houses can be built. Africa is expected to become the region with the fastest urban growth between 2020
and 2050.
Differences between urbanisation in developing and developed countries
o Most people already live-in urban areas
o Faster in developing
o Rural to urban migration
Migration – The process of people changing their place of residence
Emerging country – A country with high or medium human development
Developing country – A country with low human development
Developed country – A country with very high human development
Rural-urban migration – The movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities
Birth rate – The number of live births per 1000 population per year
Death rate – The number of deaths per 1000 population per year
Natural increase – When the birth rate higher than death rate, growing the population
Percentage growth
o Step 1- Take the number that you need to find the percentage of and divide it by 100. This will give
you 1% of the starting number.
o Step 2- Take your 1% and multiply it by the percentage that you are trying to find.
, o Step 3- Add your percentage value to your original figure to find out the growth.
GROWTH RATE = PRESENT – PAST
PAST
Major city – A city with more than 200,000 people
Mega city – A city with a population over 10 million
Primate city – The largest city in its country or region, disproportionally larger than any others in urban
hierarchy
Primate cities
A primate city is the largest city in its country or region, disproportionately larger than any other in the
urban hierarchy.
Some cities are so important within a country that they dominate its economic, financial and political
systems. Large numbers of people want to live and work in these primate cities because of the
opportunities they offer.
Today primate cities have the best infrastructure in the country. Their growth is fuelled by rural-urban
migration and industrial development. They tend to have higher rates of economic development and high
service functions e.g.: Schools, hospitals, ports and airports, and as a result of this they are economically
and politically very influential.
In developing/ emerging countries a large megacity may have links to a colonial past and may therefore
had a disproportionate amount of investment in infrastructure, e.g., Mumbai. This leads to a lack of
investment in other urban areas, in this case, in both Maharashtra state and also the rest of India. India has
been criticised for their lack in investment in more peripheral rural areas such as eastern India, which has
led to food insecurity for subsistence farmers.
World cities
A few megacities play a disproportionate role in world affairs. These are called world cities. They have
urban primacy (an influence and importance bigger than their size suggests) e.g., London – it’s not the
world largest city but it plays a large role globally.
Each of these world cities are hubs where economic activity occurs.
Decision makers – In TNC’s headquarters what to produce and sell, 80% of the worlds largest companies
have headquarters in the USA, Japan, EU etc…
Airline traffic – in 2014 Dubai was the world largest international airport but all of London’s airports added
together was larger
Political decisions – the government decisions in the UK can affect people globally
Investment – London and New York are the world largest financial centres (half the money comes through
London each year)
Economic influences:
Economic dominance – a large megacity has more services so is more likely to attract private investment
nationally and from abroad away from smaller cities. This could lead to an economic multiplier effect in the
cities region or whole country having a positive influence.
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