EQ1: How do population structures vary? Flashcards
What is diversity?
Diversity is differences in racial, ethnic, socio-economic, religious and professional backgrounds
What is ‘place’?
Places (like areas and locations) are parts of geographical space, where physical and human elements of a given society coexist
What factors cause a place to change?
Internal factors can cause a place to change. The people, employment, housing and services are internal factors. External factors can also cause a place to change. These are things such as government policies and globalisation (eg increase in trade and TNC investment)
How has the population of the UK recently changed? (growth trends)
- London and the SE have seen a rapid pop growth rate - as a result of the rising economic prosperity of London as a global centre of finance and business, as well as a hub of modern service industries
- The North and NE of England has been growing at a much slower rate - as a result of the decline of the manufacturing industry in its former strongholds in the midlands and the North of England. Coal mining, iron and steelmaking, shipbuilding in NE (eg Newcastle) saw a collapse
Percentage change for London and the SE vs The NE:
- London and the SE: Rapid population growth over the last 20 years (29.5% increase)
- The NE of England: Slower population growth over the last 20 years (1.7% increase)
Patterns of growth across London
- East London had the highest population change. Tower Hamlets - 34.5% change.
- London Borough of K&C had the lowest pop change with minus (-)5.8% - due to extreme house prices
- Most of the areas with the highest pop change in London were in Outer London
What is population structure?
Population structure is the composition of the population of a particular country, region or area. Significant aspects of this composition are how the population is made up in terms of different age groups and the balance between the sexes within them
Describe the population distribution in the UK
- Scotland (North of UK) has the lowest pop density of 0-1 people per hectare
- Northern Ireland and Wales have pop density of 1-2 people per hectare
- Generally as you move South, pop density increases
- There is a variety in the midlands, pop density varies from 1-2 people per hectare to 50 people per hectare
- Most populated area is London, it is the only place in the UK with a pop density of 50+ people per hectare
Reasons for the UK’s population distribution
- Lowest pop density in Scotland in the North of the UK (0-1 ppl/hectare) due to the mountainous landscape in Scotland which makes it difficult to build on
- In the NW and Midlands there are fairly high pop densities, reaching 50 ppl/hectare in cities like Liverpool and Birmingham, could be due to economic factors eg migrants looking for job opportunities and plenty of services
- The same is the case for London. On top of this London has great transport links to the rest of Europe
What is population density?
Population density is the number of people per unit area (usually per km2), which is the total population of a given area divided by its area
What factors affect the population density of urban areas?
- Physical factors - flat areas allow for housing to be built upon, population densities will be higher here
- Socio-economic status - wealthier people tend to live in expensive housing areas with semi detached and detached housing, as a result there is lower population density here… leading onto
- Dwelling type and household size - high density blocks of flats will inevitably generate high pop densities - terraced inner-city housing = higher densities
- Functions - residential vs non-residential - also manufacturing areas will be more polluted, so less people will want to live there
- Planning - greenbelts and other policies
What is the rural-urban continuum?
The rural-urban continuum is the unbroken transition from sparsely populated or unpopulated remote rural places to densely populated, intensively used urban places (towns and city centres)
How does population STRUCTURE vary between rural and urban areas?
URBAN
- more economic and social opportunities with wider range of business and industries for jobs
- leads to a younger and more ethnically diverse population
- a higher proportion of young adults (20-40 years old)
- high fertility rates as a result of young population, so higher population growth
- on the one hand, better availability of healthcare reduces mortality rates, but the stress and pace of urban living increases mortality rates
RURAL
- limited economic and social opportunities with fewer businesses and industries for jobs
- leads to older populations
- a lower proportion of young adults and a higher proportion of older adults (50+ years old)
- rural populations have lower fertility rates due to older population and higher mortality rates
- not ethnically diverse due to low rates of international migration and high rates of internal migration - low number of people migrating to rural areas due to limited opportunities
Explain the urban population density profile
- In the CBD there is a low population density because there are not many houses, there are mainly commercial buildings, offices and HQs due to extremely high rents
- In the inner city there is a very high population density due to high numbers of terraced housing and flats
- In the inner suburbs there are semi-detached houses, meaning population density falls a bit, then moving out to the outer suburbs there are lots of detached houses and restrictions are put in place to limit lots of housing developments and to protect the green areas, eg green belt
- Population density increases slightly on the urban fringe cliff as some social housing was built by the governments (estates)
What are population pyramids?
A population pyramid is a graph that shows the distribution of a population by age and gender
