2.4. Urban change

Question 1

What is decentralisation?

Answer 1

The movement of population and industry from the urban centre to outlying areas
The term may encompass suburbanisation and counterurbanisation

Question 2

What are some of the causes of decentralisation?

Answer 2

• competition for space combined with social-economic and environmental push factors
• pull of the outer-suburbs and rural-urban fringe offer advantages

Question 3

What are some of the impacts of decentralisation?

Answer 3

Initially, people with low income are unable to afford to move out and they get stuck in the centre.
Furthermore, if these people were working for businesses that have moved out, they will lose their jobs and income.

Question 4

What is deindustrialisation?

Answer 4

The long term decline of a country’s manufacturing and heavy industries

Question 5

What are some of the causes of deindustrialisation?

Answer 5

• reduced need for labour
• reduced demand for manufactured goods
• globalisation of manufacturing
• increased costs

Question 6

What are some of the impacts of deindustrialisation?

Answer 6

In the UK between 1951 and 1981, 2 million manufacturing jobs were lost in the inner area cities alone- led to significant socio-economic and environmental problems

Question 7

What are some of the causes of the service economy?

Answer 7

• growth in corporate HQs
• rise of the knowledge economy
• growth in research and development
• expanding consumer demand for services related to leisure and quality of life
• property development
• increase in tourism

Question 8

What problems remain for urban areas?

Answer 8

• highly paid managerial jobs have been relatively few in number
• back office jobs are low-skilled, lower paid and more likely to be part-time or temporary
• in most countries, the total growth of jobs in the service sector since the 1950s has failed to compensate for loss of manufacturing jobs
• services have tended to be pulled towards the larges cities at the top of the urban hierarchy

Question 9

How do cities develop economically as they urbanise?

Answer 9

• offer more job opportunities and jobs are often better paid
• as urban population increases, businesses such as factories and shops grow in size and become more profitable
• commercial farming overtakes subsistence farming
• decline in agricultural jobs

Question 10

How do cities develop socially as they urbanise?

Answer 10

• cities tend to have higher living standards than rural areas
• migration of people into urban areas increases mix of people from different social backgrounds
• segregation of people from different social backgrounds is common

Question 11

How do cities develop technologically as they urbanise?

Answer 11

• emergence of factories means urban areas become hotspots for technological advancements
• emergence of high-tech industries

Question 12

How do cities develop politically as they urbanise?

Answer 12

• increased inequalities between rich and poor
• a new “working class” emerges
• new political movements occur to represent the working class population
• political reform focuses on issues that affect urban life

Question 13

How do cities develop demographically as they urbanise?

Answer 13

• as cities become larger and wealthier, they attract migrants from all over the world
• increased ethical and cultural diversity
• many young people attracted by jobs and entertainment