Geography (9635) | Urbanisation

Welcome to Urbanisation: Cities on the Move!

Hello Geographers! This chapter is all about understanding the most dynamic landscapes on Earth: our cities. Over half the world's population now lives in urban areas, making urban geography vital to understanding contemporary life. We will explore how cities grow, the physical and social challenges they face, and how we are trying to make them sustainable places for everyone.

Don't worry if some terms seem complicated; we will break them down using simple steps and real-world examples. Let's dive into the concrete jungles!

Section 1: Global Patterns and Processes of Urban Change (3.4.2.1)

Urbanisation is simply the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. This has been a massive global trend since 1945, driven by complex forces.

The Big Global Players: Megacities and World Cities

Since 1945, we have seen unprecedented urban growth. Two key types of cities dominate the global stage:

• Megacities: Urban areas with a population of over 10 million people (e.g., Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai). These grow rapidly, often driven by high rates of rural-to-urban migration.
• World Cities (or Global Cities): Cities that have a direct and significant impact on global affairs through economic, political, and cultural processes (e.g., New York, London, Paris). They are key hubs for global finance and control.

Processes Associated with Urbanisation and Growth

Urbanisation isn't just about population size; it's also about deep changes driven by different factors:

• Economic processes: The shift from primary (farming) and secondary (manufacturing) industries to tertiary (services) and quaternary (information/research) jobs.
• Social processes: Changes in lifestyle, culture, and social structure, often leading to increased diversity and new social challenges.
• Technological processes: Improvements in transport and communication that allow cities to spread out (decentralisation).
• Demographic processes: High birth rates and, critically, high rates of migration into urban centers.

Urban Change in the More Developed World (MDW)

In countries like the UK or the USA, cities have gone through several distinct stages since the Industrial Revolution.

1. Urbanisation: Initial growth as people moved from rural areas to industrial centers.
2. Suburbanisation: People and businesses move out from the congested city center to the greener, quieter edges (the suburbs).
3. Deindustrialisation & Decentralisation: Factories and services leave the city center for cheaper, more spacious land outside or overseas. This often leaves behind derelict land (brownfield sites).
4. Counter-urbanisation: A movement of people and sometimes employment away from major urban areas to smaller towns or rural areas.
5. Urban Resurgence/Regeneration: A recent trend where people (often young professionals or families) are moving back into the city centers, often after large-scale regeneration projects (e.g., converting old warehouses into luxury flats).

Urban Change in the Developing World (DW)

Urbanisation here is often much faster and less managed, leading to different characteristics:

• Rural to Urban Migration: This is the main engine of growth, driven by "push" factors (poverty, lack of services in rural areas) and "pull" factors (the promise of jobs and education in cities).
• Modern, High-Tech Core Areas: These are usually the central business districts (CBDs) that benefit from foreign investment and modern infrastructure.
• The Contrast between Formal and Informal Sectors: This is a crucial distinction:
  • Formal Sector: Jobs are official, taxed, regulated, and often provide benefits (e.g., working in a bank).
  • Informal Sector: Jobs are unofficial, untaxed, unregulated, and often high-risk (e.g., street vending, shoe shining, recycling scrap). This sector is essential for survival for many new migrants.

Section 2: Urban Forms and New Urban Landscapes (3.4.2.2)

Urban form refers to the physical structure and organisation of a city. The shape of a city is influenced by both physical and human factors.

Factors Influencing Urban Form

• Physical Factors: The original site (flat plains allow easy spread, while mountains restrict it), climate, and topography (land relief).
• Human Factors: Historical development, economic structure (industrial vs. service economy), cultural norms (e.g., housing styles), and political policies (planning laws).

New Urban Landscapes (NULs)

Modern cities, especially in the MDW, are moving away from the traditional, rigid concentric ring model. Instead, we see highly fragmented, specialised landscapes:

1. Town Centre Mixed Developments: Areas where planners blend residential, commercial, and leisure activities into one space, making it active 24/7. (e.g., redeveloped docklands areas).
2. Cultural and Heritage Quarters: Areas built around a city's history or arts, designed to attract tourists and creative industries (e.g., a historic factory site turned into galleries and cafes).
3. Fortress Developments: Highly secured residential or commercial complexes (often gated communities) designed to keep crime out, reflecting social segregation (e.g., high-security apartment blocks in Brazil).
4. Gentrified Areas: The process where wealthier people move into run-down inner-city areas, renovate the housing, and change the character of the neighbourhood. This often displaces original, lower-income residents due to rising rents.
5. Edge Cities: Large, self-contained centers of business, shopping, and entertainment that develop on the fringes of major cities, usually near key transport routes like highways (e.g., Tysons Corner near Washington D.C.).

The Concept of the Post-Modern City

The Post-Modern City concept suggests that modern urban areas are complex, fragmented, and globally connected. It often features:

• Spectacular, eclectic architecture (blending different styles).
• Focus on global consumption and culture (mega-malls, tourist sites).
• Social and ethnic diversity, but often with stark economic and social inequality.

Key Takeaway: Urban forms are increasingly fragmented. New urban landscapes reflect a focus on security (Fortress), consumption (Mixed Developments), and leisure (Cultural Quarters).

Section 3: Social and Economic Issues (3.4.2.3)

Rapid urbanisation often creates major social and economic challenges, particularly concerning equity and inclusion.

Economic Inequality

Cities are centers of wealth creation, but this wealth is rarely distributed equally.

• Cause: Unequal access to education, formal jobs, and housing.
• Result: Stark contrast between the rich and the poor, often visible in housing differences (e.g., luxury high-rises next to slums).

Social Segregation and Cultural Diversity

Social Segregation occurs when different social or ethnic groups live separately from each other. While cities are culturally diverse, segregation can lead to tension and unequal access to services.

• In MDWs: Segregation may be based on wealth (e.g., wealthy suburbs vs. poor inner city).
• In DWs: Segregation is often driven by the inability of migrants to afford formal housing, forcing them into specific informal settlements (slums).

Strategies to Manage Issues

Governments and NGOs use various strategies to tackle inequality and segregation:

• Affordable Housing Schemes: Ensuring a mix of housing types in new developments.
• Regeneration: Targeting investment in deprived areas to improve infrastructure and job prospects.
• Improved Transport: Linking segregated communities to job centers.
• Education and Training: Providing skills to help people transition from the informal to the formal economy.

Key Takeaway: Cities concentrate wealth and poverty simultaneously. Managing inequality and segregation is crucial for social cohesion (getting people to live together peacefully).

Section 4: The Urban Physical Environment and Health

The physical environment within a city is dramatically different from surrounding rural areas, leading to specific environmental challenges.

Urban Climate (3.4.2.4)

Urban forms (buildings, roads) and processes (traffic, industry) drastically change local climate and weather:

• Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect: Urban temperatures are often 1-5°C warmer than the surrounding countryside. This is because dark surfaces (asphalt, concrete) absorb solar radiation, and buildings trap heat. Waste heat from cars and air conditioners also contributes.
• Precipitation: Cities can see increased frequency and intensity of rainfall due to the UHI (hot air rises rapidly, condensing moisture).
• Wind: Buildings slow overall wind speed, but can funnel wind down streets, creating powerful local gusts (the urban canyon effect).
• Air Quality: Emissions from traffic and industry cause particulate pollution (tiny dust particles) and photochemical pollution (smog formed when sunlight reacts with pollutants).

Strategies like increasing green spaces (parks, rooftop gardens) and using light-coloured building materials are common Pollution Reduction Policies.

Urban Waste and Disposal (3.4.2.5)

Cities generate huge volumes of physical waste from industrial, commercial, and personal consumption.

• Waste Streams: The composition of waste (how much plastic, food scraps, etc.) depends heavily on the economic characteristics and lifestyles of the population. Richer cities generate more consumer waste.
• Alternative Approaches to Waste Disposal:
  • Recycling and Recovery: Turning waste into reusable materials or energy.
  • Incineration: Burning waste to reduce volume and sometimes generate energy.
  • Burial (Landfill): Placing waste in large pits. Unregulated dumping is common in DW cities.
  • Trade: Exporting waste to other countries, raising ethical and environmental concerns.

Comparison: Incineration vs. Landfill (Crucial Comparison)

Incineration (e.g., Singapore) reduces the volume of waste significantly (good for small land area) but produces air pollutants and toxic ash that must be safely disposed of. Landfill (e.g., USA, UK historically) requires large amounts of land, can pollute groundwater (leachate), and releases methane (a potent greenhouse gas).

Urban Environments, Health and Wellbeing (3.4.2.6)

Health outcomes are highly dependent on the urban environment. Generally, the urban poor suffer disproportionately.

• Spatial Patterns: Health and mortality rates are usually better in affluent city areas (better housing, access to healthcare) and worse in deprived, polluted areas.
• Environmental Links: Poor air quality (smog) increases respiratory diseases like Asthma (our named non-communicable disease). Poor water quality (contaminated supply in informal settlements) increases risk of waterborne diseases.
• Biologically Transmitted Disease (Malaria): In urban areas of the tropics, malaria transmission is linked to poor drainage, abandoned containers (creating standing water), and temperature (UHI can increase vector survival). Management involves mosquito nets, spraying, and improved drainage.

Other Contemporary Urban Environmental Issues (3.4.2.7)

These are common challenges that require integrated management:

• Atmospheric Pollution: (See UHI section above).
• Water Pollution: Sewage and industrial effluent entering rivers and groundwater.
• Urban Drainage: The large area of impermeable surfaces (concrete, roads) means rainwater cannot soak into the ground, leading to high levels of surface runoff and increased risk of flash flooding.
• Dereliction: Abandoned buildings and land (often brownfield sites) resulting from deindustrialisation. These areas can become centers for crime and pollution.

Key Takeaway: Urban environments create specific hazards (UHI, pollution, flooding) that directly impact public health and require specialised management strategies.

Section 5: Sustainable Urban Development (3.4.2.8)

As cities grow, their impact on local and global environments intensifies. The goal is to move towards developing sustainable cities.

Ecological Footprint

This measures the land and water required to provide resources for a population and absorb its waste. Major urban areas have enormous footprints that extend far beyond their city limits (they rely on food, water, and energy from hundreds or thousands of kilometers away).

Dimensions of Sustainability (The Triple Bottom Line)

A truly sustainable city must balance three key areas:

• Environmental/Natural: Reducing pollution, preserving biodiversity, managing waste efficiently.
• Social: Ensuring equity, social cohesion, access to services, and a good quality of life (liveability).
• Economic: Maintaining a healthy, diverse economy that provides jobs without compromising future resources.

Nature and Features of Sustainable Cities

A sustainable city aims for liveability—making the city a great place to live for everyone. Features include:

• Efficient public and non-motorised transport (walking/cycling).
• Local renewable energy generation.
• High-density housing near services to reduce commute times.
• Extensive green infrastructure (parks, green roofs, urban farming).

Contemporary Challenges: Developing sustainable cities requires major investment, overcoming political resistance, and changing deeply ingrained consumer habits.

Strategies for Developing More Sustainable Cities:

1. Green Infrastructure: Implementing green roofs and permeable pavements to reduce runoff and UHI.
2. Resource Efficiency: Promoting water conservation and energy-efficient building design.
3. Integrated Transport Systems: Prioritising public transport and developing car-sharing schemes.
4. Community Involvement: Engaging local populations in planning decisions to enhance social sustainability.

Section 6: Case Studies (3.4.2.9)

Remember, all the concepts above must be applied to real-world examples! You must study two contrasting urban areas (e.g., a planned city in the MDW like Curitiba, Brazil, vs. a rapidly growing DW megacity like Lagos, Nigeria).

Your case studies must illustrate and analyse:

• Patterns of economic and social wellbeing (e.g., comparing income/health across the city).
• The nature and impact of physical environmental conditions (e.g., how the climate/drainage affects people).

Focus specifically on how these factors affect environmental sustainability, the character of the area, and the experiences of the local population. Good luck!