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(9.1) Patterns of urbanisation since 1945 - Coggle Diagram
(9.1) Patterns of urbanisation since 1945
urbanisation
urbanisation = process by which an increasing proportion of a country's population lives in towns & cities
urban pop has grown from 746mil (1950) -> 3.9bil (2014)
fastest growing urban areas = Asia & Africa
fastest growing urban areas are medium sized cities & cities with less than 1mil inhabitants -> many areas projected to be in urban in 2040 haven't been built yet
economic contraction led to pop losses in Buffalo & Detroit between 2000-2014
New Orleans experienced pop decline after Hurricane Katrina in 2005
megacity
= city with a pop of more than 10mil, London achieved megacity status in 2013
metacity
= conurbation with more than 20mil people
the causes of urban growth
urbanisation plays important role in human affairs
cities play important role in reducing poverty (hold much of nation's economic activity, government institutions, transport & education)
in 2015, Sao Paulo accounted for 10% of Brazil's pop but 25% of GDP
natural population growth
urban areas have relatively young age profiles
young people (15-40) lured by prospect of higher paid jobs, better education & greater social/cultural diversity
many of the migrants are in their fertile years - have children and natural increase rates are higher
natural increase rates higher in cities than rural areas
in past, professional couples with children would've moved to the suburbs, rising costs in commuting & time involved leads to them staying in the city
rural-urban migration
push factors
move people away from rural areas
in LICs these are more important
pop growth, same area of land as to provide for more people -overfarming, soil erosion, low yields
agricultural issues
high levels of local disease & inadequate healthcare
agriculture is being increasingly organised globally
natural disaster
wars & civil strife
pull factors
attract people to urban areas
employment in factories/service better paid than work in rural areas
earning money from informal sector - selling goods on street, taxis, prostitution
better quality social provisions e.g. education, healthcare, tourism
perceived better quality of life
consequences of urbanisation & urban growth
urban sprawl
spread of an urban area into surrounding countryside
linked to urbanisation & suburbanisation - usually uncontrolled & sporadic
negative impacts
requires more roads & infrastructure
causes wildlife habitat loss
causes more commuting - higher fuel consumption & congestion
increases air pollution due to more car-dependant lifestyles
loss of farmland -> less local produce & greater food miles
impacts water quality/quantity - aquifers cannot be replensished
decentralisation - businesses move upwards, leads to decline in city centres, homogenisation of cities & formation of
edge cities
(new self contained settlements beyond original city boundary)
housing shortages in LICs
high pop density in urban areas means less available housing
lead to informal housing usually on edges of cities or low value land prone to natural hazards
limited access to basic infrastructure
in 2013, UN Habitat reported that the no of people in slums was at 863mil (was 760mil in 2000)
use of term 'slum housing' has been criticised by those who see it as a political label
referred to as "homegrown neighbourhoods" in Mumbai due to their gradual development without authorities help
no of people living in slums has fallen between 2000 & 2012 which is positive in regards to the success of Millennium Development Goal 7
slum upgrading programmes
aim to improve conditions alongside NGOs & development organisations - focus on securing rights for dwellers, land tenure rights & providing basic infrastructure
in past authorities have tried to eradicate slums all together - unsuccessful & led to social unrest
shortage of affordable housing in HICs
in UK rising demand for housing in cities has led to dramatic increase in house prices & rental costs
in London average price rose by 50% between 2010 - 2015
fuelled by in-migration, gentrification & purchasing of property by wealthy foreign investors
lack or urban services & waste disposal
financial restraints in LICs leads to lack of basic services such as water & electricity
maintenance of infrastructure also limited & leads to congestion, pollution, flooding & disease
as amount of waste increases yearly, there are economic & environmental restraints on it's disposal
in Nairobi, recycling is a large part of everyday economy
car tyres cut & used for cheap sandals
washing machine doors used as kitchen bowls & the drums as storage units
glass bottles collected & returned for refilling
food waste used as fertiliser or animal feed
unemployment & underemployment
high proportion of people moving to cities are young -> pressure to create jobs
unemployment rates typically high - hard to find data as people generate income via informal sector
under-employment
= person is doing work that does not make full use of their skills or education level
transport issues
increased traffic in cities -> more congestion & pollution (damaging health & wasting billions of pounds worth of productivity)
1997 study in California showed that new traffic will fill up to 90% of any increase in road capacity in just 5 years