Contemporary Urban Environments

Question 1

3.1 GLOBAL PATTERNS OF URBANISATION
Define urbanisation and explain its importance in human affairs.

Answer 1

Urbanisation: the increasing percentage/proportion of people living in urban centres.
Urban centres are important for:
- the organisation of economic production (e.g. concentration of financial services (London is a finance hub))
- the exchange of ideas and creative thinking (e.g. universities)
- social and cultural centres (e.g. theatres and national stadiums)
- centres of political power and decision-making (e.g. seat of government)

Question 2

3.1 GLOBAL PATTERNS OF URBANISATION
Describe global patterns of urbanisation since 1945.

Answer 2

1945: less than 1/3 of the world’s population lived in cities or urban areas
2006: more people lived in urban areas

Question 3

3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Urbanisation.

Answer 3

urbanisation: an increase in the proportion/percentage of people living in a town or city

Question 4

3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Suburbanisation.

Answer 4

suburbanisation: the decentralisation of people, employment and services towards the edges of an urban area.
- urban sprawl is closely linked to the development of transport networks (esp. roads and the extension of the London underground)

Question 5

3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Counter-urbanisation.

Answer 5

counter-urbanisation: the population movement from large urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas
- as a result of push and pull factors

Question 6

3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Urban resurgence.

Answer 6

urban resurgence: population movement from rural back to urban areas
- associated with upwardly mobile young people/Uni students pulled to ‘24-hr city’
- this influx of youth and new wealth encourages a revival of CBD and inner city areas

Question 7

3.3 MEGACITIES AND WORLD CITIES
Explain the emergence of megacities and outline their role in global and regional economies.

Answer 7

1970: 3 megacities existed
2014: 28 megacities existed
highest growth rates in the last decade have been in the medium-sized cities rather than the megacities

FINISH

Question 8

3.4 WORLD CITIES IN GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ECONOMIES
Explain the emergence of world cities and outline their role in global and regional economies.

Question 9

3.5 URBAN GROWTH IN BENGALURU
Explain the economic, social, technological, political and demographic processes associated with urbanisation and urban growth, with reference to Bengaluru.

Answer 9

ECONOMIC
- globalised economy which relies on people and their skills rather than manufactured goods
- Bengaluru is the largest job-creating city in India + is capital of aeronautical, automotivem biotechnology, electrics and defence industries

SOCIAL
- trickle-down effects of urbanisation => growing divide between middle-class and dalits (bottom of social class system)
- more skilled labour pulled in from outside Bengaluru

Question 10

3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain Deindustrialisation.

Question 11

3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain Decentralisation.

Question 12

3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain the rise of the service economy.