Changing urban systems
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Define urbanisation.
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All Flashcards in Topic 13.2
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13.2.112 cards
Define urbanisation.
The rising **proportion** of a population living in **urban areas** (towns and cities).
Urbanisation vs urban growth?
**Urbanisation** = the rising **share** that is urban; **urban growth** = the rising **number** of people in a city.
Define a megacity.
A city with a population of **more than 10 million** people (e.g. Tokyo, Lagos, Mumbai).
What is natural increase?
**Births minus deaths** - a youthful city population grows itself even without migration.
What is rural-urban migration?
People moving from the **countryside to the city**, drawn by jobs, schools and hospitals.
Push vs pull factors?
**Push** = things driving people OUT of rural areas (drought, poverty); **pull** = things drawing them INTO cities (jobs, services).
Two processes that grow a city?
**Natural increase** (high birth rates) and **rural-urban migration** - together fastest in Africa and Asia.
Name a social cause of urban growth.
Better **schools and hospitals**, family ties, or escaping rural hardship (NOT jobs/wages, which are economic).
Why do some cities' growth slow?
**Falling birth rates**, the rural population running out, or out-migration - urbanisation nears its ceiling (e.g. Tokyo, Europe).
Why do informal settlements form?
Growth outpaces formal house-building, so migrants self-build slums (Makoko, Dharavi) lacking water and sanitation.
Name the challenges of rapid urban growth.
Housing, clean water and sanitation, jobs, transport/congestion, waste and pollution - all strained by the scale and pace of growth.
What does a top [10] urban-growth essay need?
Two+ developed challenges, a named city (Lagos, Mumbai), a weighing of the scale/pace of growth, and a clear judgement.
13.2.212 cards
Define deindustrialisation.
The **decline of manufacturing industry** in a city — factory closures, lost jobs and derelict land.
Define centrifugal movement.
People and activity moving **outwards** from the city centre — suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation.
Define centripetal movement.
People and activity moving **back towards** the centre — re-urbanisation and gentrification.
Define suburbanisation.
The outward spread of people and housing into the **edge of the city** (the suburbs).
Define counter-urbanisation.
People leaving the city for **smaller towns and the countryside**.
Define re-urbanisation.
People and investment **returning** to the inner city after a period of decline.
Define gentrification.
Wealthier residents move into a run-down inner-city area, **renovating** housing and raising land values.
Two reasons manufacturing declines in cities?
Cheaper labour/land abroad (globalisation) and **automation** (also cramped costly sites + the shift to a service economy).
Why is Detroit a deindustrialisation example?
Its **car industry collapsed** through relocation and automation, leaving mass job loss and derelict buildings.
Gentrification — winners and losers?
Winners: incoming wealthy residents, developers, the city. Losers: original low-income residents **priced out** by rising rents.
Why are deindustrialisation's benefits 'uneven'?
Regeneration and service jobs help some areas/groups, but others face **displacement** or lasting decline where no investment follows.
What does a top [10] urban-change essay need?
Both sides (gains vs costs), **named cities**, both directions of movement, and a **justified** 'uneven' judgement.
Topic 13.2 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Changing urban systems
Geography exam skills
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