Urbanisation Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
When an increasing proportion of a country’s population lives in towns and cities
What is the importance of urbanisation?
-links for social and economic transformations
-reduced poverty
-more opportunities
-better health care
What was the percentage of people living in urban areas in 1950?
30%
What was the percentage of people living in urban eras in 2014?
54%
What percentage of the worlds population is predicted to liv in urban areas by 2050?
66%
Why are rates of urbanisation lower in the developed world as opposed to the developing world?
In the developed world urbanisation already occurred during the Industrial Revolution
What percentage of North America is urbanised?
82%
What percentage of Africa is urbanised?
40%
What are the causes of urbanisation?
Natural increase
Rural-urban migration
Causes of urbanisation push factors
Population growth
Agricultural problems
Inadequate medical provision
Natural disasters
War
Causes of urbanisation pull factors
Employment opportunities
Perceived better quality of life
Consequences of urbanisation -
Urban sprawl
When urban areas spread out into the countryside
Destroys wildlife and habitats
Leads to decentralisation and homogenisation
Loss of farmland
Formation of edge cities
Consequences of urbanisation -
Transport issues
Insufficient means of transport
Traffic congestion
Eg. In Rio there has been a 40% increase in car ownership in the past 10 years
Health issues associated with poor air quality from vehicles
Consequences of urbanisation -
Unemployment / underemployment
People have skills for higher paid jobs however due to lack of availability they end up in jobs that don’t require the skills that they have
Many people find jobs in the informal sector eg. In Rio in favelas 1/3 of people work in the informal sector
Unemployment rates are high in Rio 20% of people in favelas are unemployed.
Consequences of urbanisation-
Lack of urban services and waste disposal
Lack of waste collection in slums
Pressure on existing services
Lack of waste collection leads to unregulated disposal which can contaminate the water supply leading to disease spreading
In some places recycling becomes prominent eg. Nairobi Kenya waster s recycled into everyday items
Consequences of urbanisation-
Shortage of housing
853 million live in slums in 2013 (UN)
Slum settlements present in many cities
Improvements to slums - between 2000-2014 the UN stated that 320 million in slums gained access to improve water