Urbanisation Flashcards
What has happened to the number of people living in urban areas since 1945?
Has increased dramatically
What % lived in urban areas in 1950?
30%
What % lived in urban areas in 2014?
Just over 50%
How has the urban population changed since 1945 in the developed world?
The majority of people live in cities but urban population has only increased slightly
Why hasn’t urban population increased much in the developed world?
Because in the industrial revolution lots of people moved to cities to work in mills and factories
What urbanisation is happening in the developing. world?
Most people live in rural areas, but it’s rapidly changing.
What has happened in Beijing since 1970?
The population increased from 4.4 million in 1970 to 20.4 million in 2015
What are the 4 processes that involve the movement of people in and out of urban areas?
Urbanisation, Suburbanisation, Counter-Urbanisation and Urban Resurgence
What is urbanisation?
The growth in the proportion of people living in urban areas
When does urbanisation occur?
It occurs because of migration and natural increase
Why does urbanisation happen?
People migrate to cities for easier access to schools, healthcare and more available jobs
What are most migrants?
Young adults - if they have children the population increases more
What does urbanisation cause in developing countries?
Results in shanty towns - unplanned and illegal settlements made out of available materials
What is suburbanisation?
The migration of people from city centres to the outskirts
What happens as suburbanisation increases?
City centres become overcrowded and people desire more space
Why and when do people move?
There are improvements to transport links meaning people can live further and commute, this is often when they have children or retire
What is the pattern of suburbanisation
Wealthy people move to suburbs for better quality of life leaving behind the poor and foreign immigrants leading to economic and ethnic segregation
What is counter-urbanisation?
movement of people out of the city ti the surrounding villages and rural areas
Why does counter urbanisation happen?
Improvements in transport mean people can commute and people can work from home
Why do people leave cities?
Because of high property prices and overcrowding or some just prefer rural areas
What can Counter-urbanisation lead to?
New housing estates in rural areas. House prices increase so some locals can’t afford it and changes the average age of an area
What is Urban Resurgence?
The movement of people back to the city centre
Why do people move back to the city?
Lack of jobs and people attracted by new developments
Where is urban-resurgence common
Post-industrial countries like the UK or USA
What happens to original residents when urban resurgence takes place?
May not be able be able to afford to live in the area anymore so forced to move to cheaper locations
What is a mega city?
Urban area with over 10 million people living there
How many megacities were there in 1950?
2 - New York and Tokyo
How many megacities were there in 2014?
28
How many megacities is their predicted to be in 2030
41
What fraction of megacities are in developing nations?
More than 2/3 like Lagos Nigeria
Why do megacities develop?
Because of rural-urban migration and natural increase. Migrants tend to move to large cities that are experiencing rapid economic growth
Why do megacities dominate national and regional economies?
Companies choose to build their headquarters there because there’s a high number of skilled workers and good transport links
What is a world city?
A city with political and financial influence over the world
Where are most world cities?
In the developed world - however some are in emerging economies like Duabi
What is happening the number of world cities since 1950?
They are increasing, in 1950 there were only 4 New York, Paris, London and Tokyo
What is happening to oil - rich countries?
Places like Lagos Nigeria are becoming more recognisable and increasing in importance
What has happened to world cities since 1945?
They’ve emerged as leaders of banking and finance. Many banks have headquarters in cities like New York and London
Why are world cities good for trade?
They have good transport links
What kind of people do world cities attract
Migrants, Businesses, visitors, students and tourists
Why are they centres of cultures?
Have global influential media and communication and theatres and museums
