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
What is suburbanisation?
Move meant of people living in the inner cities to the outer edges. This has been facilitated by improvements to transport links and an increase in car ownership
Negative impacts of suburbanisation
-increasing social segregation
-less funding to the inner city
Impacts on inner city
-derelict land can be cleared [p]
-decline of inner city [n]
-communities split up [n]
-environmental quality declines [n]
Impacts on suburbs / rural urban fringe
-local tax base increases [n]
-new roads built [p]
-land prices increase [n]
-increasing number of job opportunities [p]
Example of where suburbanisation has occured
Leeds
Alwoodley, Adel
What is counter-urbanisation?
Movement of people from urban areas to smaller urban areas/rural areas leapfrogging the rural-urban fringe
Causes of suburbanisation
-earlier retirement
-better perceived quality of life
-increase in car ownership
-escape air pollution, crime, urban decline
-increasing ability to work from home
Evidence of counter-urbanisation
-increase in use if commuter railways stations
-conversion of farmland
-increased value of housing
Issues associated with counter-urbanisation
Change to rural areas
Local businesses shut down
Tension between newcomers and locals
Changes to areas- inmigration of families
What is urban resurgence?
Economic and structural regeneration of an urban area which as suffered a period of decline
Initiated by redevelopment schemes
Causes of urban resurgence
Cities reinvent themselves as centres of ‘commerce’ and culture’ eg. Leeds and Manchester
Gentrification of sites that suffered from deindustrialisation
Redevelopments of old sites
Example of a redevelopment taking place as part of urban resurgence in an urban area
Jewellery quarter in Birmingham
What is urban resurgence driven by?
Government led schemes
Major sporting events eg. 2012 Paris Olympics
Example of urban resurgence in New York
New York City highline
Positive impact of urban resurgence
Multiplier effect
Negative impacts of urban resurgence?
Pressure on urban infrastructure
Increasing inequality between rich and poor
What is the difference between a mega city and a meta city
Mega cities have a population of 10 million
Meta cities have a population of 20 million
How many mega cities were there in 1950
2 - New York and Tokyo
How many mega cities were there in 2014
28
How do mega cities dominate national and regional economies of countries?
MNC headquarters
Skilled workers
Good transport links eg. International headquarters
What is a world city?
A city that has influence over the whole world
They act as global centres for finance, trade, business,politics and culture
Examples of world cities
London
Sydney
Dubai
Rio de Janeiro
How many world cities were there in 1950
4
How do world cities have an influence over the globe?
Leaders of banking and finance
Dominate international trade and regional economies
Home to world renowned universities
Centres for culture home to large, globally influential media and communication corporations
Attract high numbers of people from other countries including migrants, business visitors students and tourists
Characteristics of world cities
Headquarters of MNCs
Centres of communications and media
Centres of new ideas, innovation,business,politics,culture
Domination of trade
High quality educational institutions
What is the hierarchy of world cities and examples
Alpha ++ -> London , New York
Alpha + -> Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong
Alpha -> Chicago, Milan, Moscow
Beta -> Lisbon, Copenhagen, Cairo
Gamma -> Zagreb, Bristol
