Why do informal settlements develop in rapidly growing LIC cities?
Rural-urban migration outpaces formal housing supply; migrants build their own homes on marginal land without secure land tenure — driven by housing shortage, not by personal choice. Learn it step by step →
Urban Issues & Challenges is a core part of GCSE Geography. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.
Key concepts
UrbanisationIncreasing proportion of population living in cities; 56% globally in 2020, projected 68% by 2050.
MegacityUrban area with 10 million+ inhabitants; over 33 worldwide; mostly in NICs (Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Sao Paulo).
Push and Pull FactorsPush: rural poverty, lack of jobs, drought; pull: employment, education, healthcare, services; drives rural-urban migration.
Rio de JaneiroBrazilian megacity (13 million) with extreme inequality; wealthy beachside districts (Ipanema) and favelas like Rocinha.
Favela Bairro ProjectRio scheme upgrading favelas: paved roads, sewers, schools; improved conditions for 250,000 people.
Lagos NigeriaAfrica's largest city (15 million); rapid growth, traffic gridlock; Eko Atlantic land-reclamation project responds.
Rural-urban migrationMovement from countryside to city
Push factorNegative reason to LEAVE the countryside
Pull factorPositive reason to MOVE to the city
Natural increaseBirths minus deaths — also grows cities
Sustainable cityMeets needs without harming future generations
BedZEDZero-carbon eco-housing scheme in south London
BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)High-capacity bus system in dedicated lanes
CuritibaBrazilian city — pioneer of green urban planning
What your exam board covers
Where Urban Issues & Challenges sits in each exam board's specification. Tap a board to see what it lists.
AQAUrban issues and challengesSpec 8035
Part of: Challenges in the human environment (Paper 2)
Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:
Why do informal settlements develop in rapidly growing LIC cities?✗ People live in slums because they prefer them or are too lazy to find better housing.✓ Rural-urban migration outpaces formal housing supply; migrants build their own homes on marginal land without secure land tenure — driven by housing shortage, not by personal choice.
Why do people move from rural to urban areas in LICs?✗ Because cities in poor countries are always better than the countryside.✓ A combination of push factors (rural poverty, lack of services, agricultural change) and pull factors (perceived jobs, education, healthcare) — though reality often disappoints.
Why are urbanisation rates currently higher in LICs than HICs?✗ LICs have higher urbanisation rates because they have more cities than HICs.✓ HICs urbanised earlier and are now near saturation (80%+ urban); LICs are still in the rapid urbanisation phase, with high rural-urban migration and urban natural increase.
Practise Urban Issues & Challenges — free games
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