Urbanisation Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
The increase in percentage of people living in urban areas
What is an urban area?
A built up area (can be a large town or city).
What is a rural area?
A built up area that is mainly countryside. It may have villages and/or small towns
What is a settlement?
A place where people lived. It can be a hamlet, village, town or city.
What is a market town?
A moderately sized settlement where a regular market is hosted.
What is a shanty town?
Another term for a slum; a poor area where the houses are simply shacks.
What is a slum?
An area of very poor housing. It’s usually overpopulated.
What is a push factor?
A reason that forces people out of a specific place. For example, lack of job opportunities.
What is a pull factor?
A reason that attracts people to go live in a specific place.
Why do people move to urban areas?
Pull factors (attract you to an urban area): Interesting activities / entertainment (concerts, clubs, cinemas and theme parks / larger selection of higher quality shops and restaurants / higher wages / better education (colleges, universities and schools) / public services / frequent transport systems.
Push factors: (force you out of rural area into urban area): Poor economic conditions in rural areas/villages and lack of employment opportunities / crop failure / few facilities / natural disasters like tsunamis.
What are the historical reasons why towns and cities grew?
About 12,000 years ago, our ancestors realised that they didn’t need to eat food straight away; they could store the seeds and eventually plant them. This meant that people could set it in one place. Moreover people began to rear animals. Therefore the populations of small sentiments continuously grew leading to the formation of cities and towns that rapidly evolved.
What will the population be like in the future in urban and rural areas?
With people continuously moving from rural areas to urban areas seeking a better living environment, the global urban population will reach 70% by 2050. This means that by that time, only 30% of people on Earth will be living in the countryside (rural areas).
What is it like to live in a slum and why do people live in them?
Poor people that move into an overcrowded urban environment from a rural one end up living in a slum. They experience a great lack of sanitation and public services such as healthcare and decent job opportunities. In addition, their living space is extremely crowded with no privacy. Not to mention, the harsh living conditions make it challenging to earn a living and the slum is likely to not have an education centre (e.g. a school or university).
What can be done to improve conditions in slums?
To improve slums, new housing plans must be designed and built. Moreover, public services that include sewage systems, rubbish collection, reliable electricity, and motor supplies as well as public schools must be established.
How can cities be made more sustainable?
There are several factors that can aid the city and becoming more sustainable Some of these include:
-Building energy-efficient homes, which are built to house people in both winter and summer with cheap costs.
-Cutting/ limiting car use by establishing other ideal transport systems with cheap ticket prices.
-Building homes closer to workplaces and public places to limit travel times.
-Growing more nature (trees, parks, green roofs and others).
-Providing entertainment and activities where young people can follow their interests.
