Chapter 5 - Urbanisation

Question 1

What is a mega city?

Answer 1

A metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million

Question 2

What are push factors?

Answer 2

Reasons to leave an area

Question 3

What are pull factors?

Answer 3

Reasons to move somewhere

Question 4

What does urban mean?

Answer 4

A built up area in which people live (e.g. a town or a city)

Question 5

What does urbanisation mean?

Answer 5

A rise in the proportion of people living in urban areas

Question 6

Give an example (we have studied) of urbanisation in a LIC?

Answer 6

Lagos, Nigeria

Question 7

Give an example (we have studied) of urbanisation in a HIC?

Answer 7

Birmingham, UK

Question 8

Give an example (we have studied) of sustainable urbanisation?

Answer 8

Curitiba, Brazil

Question 9

Why is Lagos’ location perfect for trade and therefore urbanisation?

Answer 9

It is located next to the Atlantic and has several lagoons which are perfect for harbours.

Question 10

Why do people in Nigeria move to Lagos?

Answer 10

There are many job opportunities other areas in Nigeria don’t have, such as its high status cow market. Not only are there pull factors, there are push factors from the surrounding rural areas.

Question 11

Why is there a high crime rate in Lagos?

Answer 11

There is a high unemployment rate which lead to people stealing.

Question 12

What urbanised area is unique to Lagos?

Answer 12

Water slums, sand and rubbish is used to build land to expand onto the water.

Question 13

List push factors of rural Nigeria, all reasons why people move to Lagos.

Answer 13

Lack of services (Healthcare, water, housing,education)
Few jobs (only low pay low skill jobs)
Lack of social opportunities
Friends and family live in city

Question 14

What are the social pull factors of an urbanised settlement?

Answer 14

Education, friends and family live there, lots of entertainment (shops, cinemas), ease of living, quality of life (happiness, water supplies, electricity), healthcare.

Question 15

What is a formal economy?

Answer 15

Employees pay tax and are entitled to workers rights.

Question 16

What is an informal economy?

Answer 16

Employees pay no tax and aren’t entitled to workers rights.

Question 17

What 5 major growth challenges can floating communities in Lagos overcome?

Answer 17

Growing population, power supply (solar cells, renewable), water supply (rainwater), rising sea level (move with it), ovulation density (plenty of room).

Question 18

List challenges of urban growth.

Answer 18

Slums, sewage/sanitation systems, clean water, unemployment, crime, air and water pollution, waste disposal, traffic congestion, providing healthcare and education.

Question 19

Why would the government strategy of knocking down Makoko slum be pointless?

Answer 19

People are desperate so would just rebuild it anyway, people who are living there might die from the change and generally people are stubborn and would put up a fight.

Question 20

What are slums in urban areas a major issue?

Answer 20

They are overcrowded so disease spreads easily, and are unattractive, unsafe and not sanitised.

Question 21

How do urbanised areas become over crowded?

Answer 21

People migrate there quicker than houses can be built, leading to people building slums.

Question 22

Where in the UK is population density highest? What about lowest?

Answer 22

In the southern east of the UK, central England. It is lowest in Scotland because of the harsher weather conditions and rougher landscapes.

Question 23

What problems can an uneven spread of population cause?

Answer 23

More focus and money on urbanised areas, so less populated areas lack vital services and aren’t as well maintained.

Question 24

Why do areas become urbanised?

Answer 24

There are pull and push factors from every place, those with more pull factors are fitted with more houses and services to fit the demand, these areas over time therefore become more urbanised.

Question 25

Where are most large cities located in the UK?

Answer 25

Close to the coast as old settlements were built on the coast to supply water and for trade and then these old communities were built upon. However this is not always the case.

Question 26

Why have northern cities population in the UK shrunk?

Answer 26

Possibly because people have migrated to larger cities down south.

Question 27

What are the opportunities in Birmingham?

Answer 27

There is a variety of specialised and highly skilled jobs, the economy is dominated by the service sector (banks, entertainment, etc), it is the location of important transport (is a hub).

Question 28

What are the positives of migration in Birmingham?

Answer 28

More retail outlets are located there, leads to more jobs and a better economy and a multiplier effect (higher income = more money spent = better economy = more investment), more diversity is bought to area in terms of cultural links.

Question 29

What is a multiplier effect?

Answer 29

Where there is a spiral of effects one after another that loops round, they can be positive or negative.

Question 30

What are the negatives of migration for Birmingham?

Answer 30

As population increases diversity increases which can lead to race riots, this can lead to injury and higher crime rates, demand for jobs is the same and as the supply increases wages are often cut as there are many people who would still work for minimum wage, stress on schools as English isn’t everyone’s first language, stress on GPs as population increases.

Question 31

What integrated transport systems are located in Birmingham to help with problems caused by urban growth?

Answer 31

Trams, trains, pedestrianisation and ring roads (middle and inner), and a 20 year long term transport plan.

Question 32

What are social positives of urban greening?

Answer 32

Better physical and mental health, studies show greenery helps mental health, towns more attractive so more tourists and better economy.

Question 33

What are the environmental positives of urban greening?

Answer 33

Plants provide habitats and ecosystems and more wildlife, less CO2 is in the air as plants trap this so the environment improves and air quality is better

Question 34

What can be done (strategies) to make a place greener?

Answer 34

Encourage people not to pave over places but leave them as gardens, convert brownfield sites into parks, link existing green spaces by hedgerows so species can travel easily, create green walls (plants planted on metal sheets to hang on walls), create green roofs where plants are planted on flat roofs of houses or of industrial buildings.

Question 35

What is the spiral of decline/ urban deprivation? Why is it hard to break out of?

Answer 35

Urban decline, when external and internal factors causes an area to decline in population and opportunities. It is hard to break out of the loop once you are in it.

Question 36

What are the challenges of urban deprivation?

Answer 36

People are made unemployed due to deindustrialisation, skilled people move away, building aren’t maintained, economy decreases, higher crime rate, less services available (some have to be closed down due to less money input), derelict buildings.

Question 37

What is social deprivation?

Answer 37

Social deprivation is the degree to which a person or community lacks the things that are essential for a decent life.

Question 38

What are the challenges of urban growth?

Answer 38

Urban deprivation, housing inequality, education, healthcare, employment issues.

Question 39

What is housing inequality?

Answer 39

Housing inequality is the difference in quality of housing that exists within a given society.

Question 40

Why does the urban sprawl happen?

Answer 40

Areas in the CBD become over crowded so more people move to commuter settlements or to the urban fringe of the city then travel in to work.

Question 41

What does sustainable mean?

Answer 41

Making something good for right now and also not sacrifing any opportunities for the future.

Question 42

What does a sustainable city in general do?

Answer 42

Use less resources and produce less waste than an unsustainable city.

Question 43

What is the urban ecological footprint?

Answer 43

The amount of land needed to sustain the city’s population and absorb its waste.

Question 44

Why is London not a sustainable city?

Answer 44

It produces way to much waste and inputs more than it gets out, it also includes a lot of transport (50,000 trucks, waste to China) which takes up a lot of fuel possibly fossil fuels.

Question 45

What are 3 key aspects of being a sustainable city?

Answer 45

Waste recycling, water and energy conservation, green space creation.

Question 46

What transport system in Curitiba was particularly designed to be sustainable? Name some of its features.

Answer 46

The Bus Rapid Transport system, efficient/saves space as time as you pay before the bus comes, biarticulated buses give more space, bus is used by 80% people so there is a lot less pollution from cars.

Question 47

How does Curitiba manage waste?

Answer 47

It was one of the first places to recycle on a large scale, 2/3 of garbage recycled.

Question 48

Why are open spaces important to become sustainable?

Answer 48

Solves flooding problems, prevents slums, provides space for social and physical activities, more green space is good for mental health.

Question 49

What is the green exchange?

Answer 49

Low income people collect waste from crops and they are then exchanged (once sorted) for food or bus tickets, this means food isn’t wasted and more waste is recycled.