Urbanisation

Question 1

What is Urbanization?

Answer 1

It is the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas with population growth, equating to urban migration.

Question 2

How to measure urban population?

Answer 2

(Urban population)/(Total population) *100

Question 3

What is urban agglomeration?

Answer 3

It comprises the city and the suburban fringe outside of, but adjacent to, the boundaries of the city

Question 4

What is growth in urban population?

Answer 4

It is the overall population increase in & the rise in percentage of ppl living in urban areas.

Question 5

How can it be measured?

Answer 5

1. Percentage of urban population

2. Projected ave rate of change in size of urban population over a given period of time

Question 6

How does urbanization rates vary?

Answer 6

Rate is higher in LDCs than DCs because more of the population in LDCs live in rural areas

Question 7

Most urbanised regions

Answer 7

NorthAmerica (82%)
Latin America (81%)
Europe (74%)

Question 8

Least urbanised regions

Answer 8

Africa (43%)

Question 9

Most densely populated cities

Answer 9

Tokyo
Delhi
Shanghai
Sao Paulo
Mexico City

Question 10

Factors driving Urbanisation

Answer 10

Colonialism – New areas for trade/economic/political activities in rural areas.

Inward-based vs Export-oriented trade – Urban infrastructure and development facilitate trading.

Rapid economic growth – Industrialization attracts large population to urban areas (better employment and higher incomes.)

Rural flight – Due to industralization of agriculture. (Excaberbated when population decline leads to a loss of rural services, leading to a greater loss of population.)

Question 11

How unplanned urbanisation came about?

Answer 11

Past: Temporary settlements that grew organically into permanent villages/towns resulted from religious/social/economic/military initiatives rather than urban planning

Present: Resulted from rural-urban migration often due to natural disasters and lack of employment.

Organic City: Streets and housing developed in haphazard patterns that follow the contours of the land. (the city is usually overcrowded, unsanitary with inefficient and uncoordinated use of the land.)

Question 12

What is a pseudo-urbanisation?

Answer 12

A city that grows significantly in terms of population but does not have the adequate functional urban infrastructure to support it.

Question 13

What is demographic explosion?

Answer 13

A progressive concentration of poor migrants in urban cities often characterised as Slums. (overcrowding and a lack of basic services are prevalent.)

Question 14

where do pseduo-urbanization occur?

Answer 14

In third world countries (Favela-Rochinha, Brazil)

Question 15

What are the effects of pseudo-urbanization?

Answer 15

1Bn of world’s population live in slums (LDCs)

Effects : Physical overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, psychological deterioration, crime.

Question 16

What is ‘primacy’ issue?

Answer 16

It is when a single, extremely large city dominates the urban population of the country in terms of size, wealth and power. (ie. London, Tokyo, Bangkok, Jarkata, Paris)

Question 17

What is planned urbanisation?

Answer 17

Based on advance plan, prepared according to military, economic aesthetic or urban design reason.
(ie. Garden City Movement by Ebenzer Howard in 1898)

Question 18

What are the positive changes due to urbanisation?

Answer 18

1. Modernization: use of modern facilities/equipment (technology)
2. Size, density and composition of population: increased population&density, with a predominantly
   young worker-based population.
3. Economic structure: from cottage industries to large-scale heavily-mechanized manufacturing (tech)

City living creates opportunities of proximity, diversity and marketplace competition.

Question 19

What are the negative changes due to urbanisation

Answer 19

4. Impact on human and social behaviour: Increased concentration and diversity may cause stress(urban mentality) leading to self-centredness, detachment, violence, crimes and social ills.
5. Environmental damages: Air, water pollution and urban heat.

Question 20

What are the benefits of planned urbanisation?

Answer 20

Physical: Lower demand for space and rate of building obsolescence. Well-planned transportation routes

Social: Better quality of life; adequate basic services, affordable housing, lower density, less poverty, and crime.

Environmental: less pollution and damage to habitats, urban farming. self-sufficient and sustainable cities.

Economic: lower unemployment rates, higher economic growth

Question 21

What is the urban planning movement?

Answer 21

It started in the 1980s, shifting the focus of a car-centric development to concentrated pedestrian and transit-centric, walkable, mixed-use communities.

Question 22

What is suburban sprawl?

Answer 22

isolated communities with negative environmental impacts

Question 23

What is a Neo-traditional city design?

Answer 23

A modified grid pattern that organizes people/destinations into dense, vibrant communities and reduces the dependency on vehicular transportation as the primary mode of transit.

Question 24

What is urban hierarchy?

Answer 24

categorises cities by services/activities

1. Finance and business services: Banking, insurance, real estate and commercial
2. Power and infulence: Government, supranational organisations like UN and OECD, HQs of major organisation and MNCs
3. Creative and cultural industries: Performing arts, museums, galleries, print media
4. Tourism: Business and leisure tourism, restaurants, hotels, entertainment and transportation services.

Question 25

How is a city defined for urban planning purposes?

Answer 25

It is defined in terms of its geographical or functional sub-systems and their components

for ie, London is divided into Greater London and Inner London based on geographical categorisation.

Question 26

What are some examples of functional sub-systems?

Answer 26

Social: Housing, Education, Health, Religion, Recreational/Culture.

Economical: Trade&Commerce, Finance&Banking, Industry, Tourism, Construction(RE)

Infrastructure: Transport&Communications, Utilities.

Environmental: Nature Reserves, Water Catchment areas

Institutional: Executive, Judiciary, administrative. Military/Security