Urbanisation

Question 1

what is urbanisation?

Answer 1

this is an increase in the proportion of a country’s population that lives in towns or cities

Question 2

what is urban growth?

Answer 2

an increase in the number of urban dwellers

Question 3

when does urbanisation occur?

Answer 3

because of migration (rural to urban) and natural increase

people also migrate to cities for easier access to schools and healthcare or more jobs

Question 4

what is suburbanisation?

Answer 4

this is migration of people from city centres to the outskirts of cities

Question 5

when does suburbanisation occur?

Answer 5

as urbanisation increases, city centres become overcrowded

there is also improvements to transport links so people can live further away and commute to work

Question 6

what is counter-urbanisation?

Answer 6

this is the movement of people out of the city into surrounding villages and rural areas

Question 7

when does counter-urbanisation occur?

Answer 7

people leave cities because of high property prices and overcrowding
improvements in transport means people can commute to work

Question 8

what is urban resurgence?

Answer 8

the movement of people back to the city centre

Question 9

when does urban resurgence occur?

Answer 9

because of lack of jobs in rural or surburban areas and because of new housing
it is common in post-industrial countries e.g. the US and the UK

Question 10

what causes urban growth to occur?

Answer 10

people moving to larger cities because of economic and social transformations such as better jobs, healthcare and education

Question 11

what is a megacity?

Answer 11

a city with a population of over 10 million people

Question 12

what causes a megacity to develop?

Answer 12

they develop because of rural-urban migration and natural increase

Question 13

what is a metacity?

Answer 13

a city with a population of over 20 million people

Question 14

what is a world city?

Answer 14

a world city that has a political and financial influence over the whole world (london and sydney), and is a centre for world finance and business

Question 15

what are the features of a world city?

Answer 15

hq’s of tnc’s are mostly located here
they usually dominate international trade and regional economies in their area
have good international transport links
attract high numbers of people - tourists, migrants, students and business people