This mini-lesson covers the OCR Urban Futures topic: why over half the world lives in cities, urbanisation and megacities, life in a developing/emerging-country city and an advanced-country city, and how cities can be more sustainable.
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go and collect ⭐ stars. Press Start when you're ready.
Urbanisation
A more urban world
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. In 2007, for the first time, more than half the world's population lived in urban areas — now over 55%.
LIDCs (low-income developing countries) are urbanising fastest today.
ACs (advanced countries) urbanised earlier and are now more stable or even shrinking in the inner city.
Key term — megacity: a city with over 10 million people. Their number has grown rapidly since 1950 and most new ones are in Asia and Africa (e.g. Tokyo, Delhi, Lagos).
Causes
Why cities grow so fast in LIDCs
Rapid urbanisation in LIDCs has two main causes:
Rural–urban migration — people move from countryside to city, driven by:
• Push factors: rural poverty, poor harvests, few jobs, drought.
• Pull factors: jobs, higher wages, better schools/healthcare in the city.
Internal (natural) growth — migrants are often young adults who then have children, so the city's population keeps rising.
Quick check
Push or pull?
?A farmer's crops fail after a drought, so his family moves to the city. What kind of factor is the drought?
Advanced countries
Urban trends in advanced countries
In ACs, cities change through three trends:
Suburbanisation — people and businesses move from the inner city to the suburbs.
Counter-urbanisation — people move out of the city altogether to rural areas or small towns.
Re-urbanisation — people move back into the city centre, often after regeneration of old industrial areas.
Located case studies
Two contrasting cities
OCR requires one AC city and one LIDC/EDC city. Widely-taught examples:
AC — London (UK): a world city and global financial centre. Challenges include housing shortages, high transport demand and inequality. Sustainable initiatives include the congestion charge, cycle hire and regeneration of brownfield sites (e.g. the former Olympic Park in Stratford).
LIDC/EDC — Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, EDC): rapid growth created large favelas (squatter settlements) such as Rocinha, with challenges of housing, sanitation and informal jobs. Initiatives include favela upgrading (Favela-Bairro) and improved transport.
Exam tip: name the city, its region/importance, its migration story, its challenges, and one initiative to make it more sustainable.
Match it
Match the term to its meaning
Tap a term on the left, then tap its correct description on the right.
Sustainable cities
Making cities more sustainable
A sustainable city meets people's needs today without harming the future. Strategies include:
Brownfield sites — building on old, previously-used urban land instead of countryside (greenfield).
Waste recycling — reducing landfill and reusing resources.
Transport improvements — public transport, cycle lanes, low-emission zones to cut congestion and pollution.
Green space and energy efficiency — parks, renewable energy, better housing.
Quick check
Brownfield or greenfield?
?Why is building new housing on a brownfield site usually more sustainable than building on a greenfield site?
Data skills
Urban growth calculation
∑A city's population grew from 8 million to 12 million in 20 years. Calculate the percentage increase in its population.