Global Patterns of Urbanisation (AQA A Level Geography)

Importance of Urbanisation

Terminology 

• AQA uses the following terms in this unit:

  • HDE - Highly Developed Economy

  • EME - Emerging Market Economy

  • LDE - Less Developed Economy

Urban importance to people

• Cities have always had a magnetic pull and been centres of innovation, decision-making and exchange of ideas

• Even in their early days, cities surrounded themselves with walls for protection against invasion and immigration

• Anyone not living in a city felt like a second class citizen

• Cities were places people went to make their fortunes

• People living in cities have always enjoyed more freedom and possibilities for development than those living outside their boundaries

• Cities offer more job opportunities and higher incomes for people; for businesses it includes lower input costs, greater collaboration and innovation opportunities - universities, theatres and stadiums

• Cities are symbols of all human errors and corruptions – Chicago, Detroit, Rome, Paris and New York 

• Cities are a model of successful urban development for economic, social and cultural exchanges

• Cities are centres of political power and decision making - governments, courts and the UN

• Cities are a beacon of hope and freedom of a better future – New York, Mumbai, Shanghai, Mexico City, London

• In 50 years time, more than 75% of the world’s population will live in cities

However,

• Problems become more concentrated in close confines of urban areas, yet cities are poised for unlimited growth – megacities such as Mumbai, Mexico City and Tokyo

• Today there is not enough energy and water for everyone and in some places, security is only available for those who can pay - Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro

• If a city’s economic strength wanes, it will fail and this can lead to a failing state - Detroit

• Cities are threatened by scarce resources, environmental problems, new diseases, uncontrolled growth and migration

• An estimated 3 billion people will require adequate and affordable housing by 2030 - London, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro

• With a further predicted 1.6 billion people living in slums - Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, and Lagos

• By 2050, 70% of the population will be urbanites (UN 2022), making 95% of the world's total population living on 10% of the land

• In 2020 4% of the earth’s surface was occupied by cities, with 56% of the world’s population living in those cities

Patterns of Urban Growth

• Urbanisation is:

The progressive concentration of the population into urban areas over time. Caused through a combination of high natural increases of the urban population and the process of rural-urban migration

• Urbanisation varies across the globe

• HDEs show the highest levels of urbanisation, with the lowest levels being in Africa and SE Asia

• More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas -

• In 1945, less than a 1/3 of the world's population lived in urban areas

• World population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled due to:

  • The decline of industry in HDEs, as the industry moved overseas to EMEs and LDEs to take advantage of a cheaper workforce, government incentives, tax breaks, etc.

  • Which led to industrial growth in EMEs and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban areas, with the hope of a better life and employment

• High rates of urbanisation occur in HDEs because:

  • Most new economic development is concentrated in the big cities

  • Push-pull factors lead to high rates of rural-to-urban migration

  • Cities are experiencing higher levels of natural increase in population

Defining urban terms

• Urban can refer to towns and cities

• Urban – the distinctive characteristics of towns and cities; their size and density, environment and ways of life

• Rural – the character of country areas and the activities and lifestyles encountered in such areas

• Urbanisation - the process by which an increasing percentage of a country's population come to, and live in, towns and cities

• Urban growth - growth in the total population numbers and/or physical expansion of the urban area

• Development generates urbanisation

• As countries become more developed they become more urbanised

• The process of urbanisation started to accelerate over 200 years ago, as countries went through the Industrial Revolution – UK, Europe and N America and some EMEs. 

• Urbanisation is now either very slow or has stopped in some of these countries

• Urbanisation growth rate differs between countries across the globe, but also within countries

• In 2015 the majority of people worldwide lived in urban areas – the urban millennium. In future it is estimated that 93% of urban growth will be in developing nations, with 80% in Asia and Africa

Table of Global Urban Trends

• HDEs have lower rates of urbanisation as towns and cities already exist

• In 1900 there were just 2 'millionaire'' cities (London and Paris), by 2018 this had grown to 512

• Due to modern transport and communication, urban areas are sprawling into rural regions to create conurbations, further adding to the growth of urban areas

EMEs and LDEs

• Majority of the population live in rural areas

• Globalisation and development is rapidly changing the demographic

  • Focus is on secondary (rapid industrialisation) and tertiary sectors - e.g. China’s special enterprise zones

  •  Along with changes in agriculture within those countries

• Older cities are expanding, with new cities being formed

  • Beijing, China saw its urban population grow from 4.4 million in 1970 to 21.8 million in 2021

• Africa is complex, as some countries are urbanising whilst also industrialising,

• Whereas others are urbanising because of their exports of primary goods

• EMEs and LDEs experience mass rural to urban migration of mainly of young males seeking to support their families in rural areas

• However, there is the growth of informal settlements, extreme poverty, gender inequality and exposure to violence and exploitation

• Many EMEs and LDEs are over-urbanising – where the rate of urbanisation exceeds the rate of economic  development - this is leading to high unemployment and increased demand for resources, which in turn leads to high levels of tension between residents and also between residents and urban officials

Forms of Urbanisation

Urban process timeline

• Urban populations change over time

• There are four main processes that show a cycle:

  • Urbanisation

  • Suburbanisation

  • Counter-urbanisation

  • Urban regeneration or resurgence

• Urbanisation begins as settlements agglomerate:

  • People gather together in one area to sell goods and live

  • Small trading posts and villages begin to develop

  • Inward migration and natural increase adds to the growth

• Urban space is limited, and outward growth is achieved through suburbanisation:

  • People move from the urban centres to the fringes/outskirts of the city

  • This adds to the built up area, but the building densities are generally lower than in the older parts of the city

  • These new suburbs consist mostly of houses, but also include places of employment and services

  • There is a complex pattern of wealth and poverty, with wealthier middle-class people occupying particular areas of the suburbs and creating pockets of deprivation and segregation

• Urban settlements continue to prosper and grow, and people move further out to city fringes and commute to work:

  • These are called dormitory settlements because many residents only sleep there. 

  • They continue to have links with the town or city they have left

  • They still make use of urban services, shops, education, and healthcare

  • Criticised for causing rural dilution, where traditional rural activities and sense of community are weakened or lost through people living there, but keeping their urban based lifestyle 

Counter-urbanisation

• This is the movement of people from an urban area into the surrounding rural region

• Counter-urbanisation leads to new housing estates being built in rural areas, but may push house prices beyond the reach of local people, which can change the age structure of the area

• Causes include:

  • Deindustrialisation - the closure of factories and industries leads to large areas of derelict land and buildings (brownfield sites), loss of jobs, poor services and a rise in crime and social unrest - rise of 'urban blight'
    Mobility and accessibility: higher personal car ownership, increase in public transport and road development making easier access to rural areas

  • Increased wealth: making housing and travel more affordable

  • Agricultural decline (mechanisation and merger of farms): more land becomes available for housing and agricultural workers leave the area

  • Green belt: people need to go further out to get the rural life they are looking for

  • Second homes and early retirement: have increased the movement of people from the city to the countryside

  • Some people just prefer the slower and quieter pace of rural life

Re-urbanisation

• Also known as urban resurgence and is the movement of people back into cities from the surrounding areas

• Movement is the result of a number of factors:

  • Increase in jobs

  • The 'lure' of the '24 hour city' to young, upwardly mobile people

  • Regeneration of older areas, either through rebuilding or redevelopment (factories into spacious apartments)

  • Improvements in air quality 

  • Improvements in safety

  • Road access can be poor or congested and linked with a lack of accessible, cheap parking, it becomes a 'pull' factor to be nearer to work

  • Commuter costs are less - use of public transport and time spent travelling