3231 - Urbanisation Flashcards
What are the two main reasons for urban growth?
1) natural increase
2) rural to urban migration
(Natural increase) Why are there more births in city centres than in rural areas?
Urban areas tend to have relatively young age profiles, across the world it has been traditionally young adults (ages 15-40) that would migrate into cities, due to the prospects of higher paying jobs, better educational opportunities and greater social and cultural diversity. These young migrants are in their fertile years and therefore the rates of natural increase is greater in cities.
What happened between 2001 & 2011 that affects natural increase?
Between 2001 & 2011 the population of large cities in England and Wales more than doubled with the number of those aged 22-29 nearly tripling to make up almost half of their total population.
What is interesting about the region in London stretching from Clapham to Fulham?
This area is now known as ‘nappy valley’ due to the high proportion of young families living there.
Why are less young families not moving out of inner cities?
Although traditionally young professional couples with young children would have moved out of the city into the suburbs, due to rising costs of houses and commuting time more families are remaining in the city centre.
Reasons for rural to urban migration can be divided in two categories, name them
Push and pull factors
Name some push factors (rural to urban migration)
- population growth > the same area has to support increasing numbers of people > over farming, soil erosion and low yields
- agricultural issues > desertification due to low rainfall
- high levels of local disease and inadequate medical provision
- agriculture > increasingly organised globally and whereas land would have previously been used to produce cash crops for sale in high income countries
- natural disasters e.g flooding, tropical storms
- wars and civil strife cause people to flee their land
Name some pull factors (rural to urban migration)?
- employment pert unities in factories and service industries which is better paid than work in rural areas > increasingly high demand for unskilled labour in cities
- earning money from the informal sector e.g selling goods on the street
- better quality social provisions from basic needs such as education and healthcare to entertainment and tourism
- a better perceived quality of life in the city fee in part by images in the media
What are the consequences of urban growth?
- urban sprawl
- shortage of housing in LICs
- shortage of affordable housing in HICs
- lack of urban services and waste disposal
- unemployment and underemployment
- transport issues
What is urban sprawl?
The spread of an urban area into the surrounding countryside.
What are the first three negative impacts of urban sprawl?
- more roads and infrastructure e.g pipes and wires > less economically efficient to service low-density rural areas compared to compact urban areas with the same number of houses.
- wildlife habitat loss
- more people commenting from the suburbs to the city > more fuel consumption and traffic congestion.
What are the last four negative effects of urban sprawl?
- urban sprawl can increase air pollution as a more car-dependant lifestyle leads to increases in fossil fuel consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases
- sprawl can contributed to loss of farmland and open spaces
- impact on water quality and quantity as covering the countryside with impermeable surfaces means that rainwater is unable to soak into the ground and replenish the groundwater aquifers - and there is greater water run off and an increased flood risk
- in addition to the movement of people to the suburbs, one other important component has been the blamed for the decline of retail companies. This is referred to as decentralisation and this outward movement has been blamed for the decline of retail in some city centres and increasing homogenisation of the landscape.
