Geography · Human geography
Urbanisation
Growing cities and their impact.
What is urbanisation?
Urbanisation means more people moving from the countryside to live in towns and cities. This process makes cities grow bigger and bigger. It happens when people look for jobs, education and better services. Today, over half the world's population lives in urban areas.
Why do cities grow?
People move to cities for push and pull factors. Push factors drive people away from rural areas, like poor farmland or few jobs. Pull factors attract people to cities, like hospitals, schools and employment opportunities. Natural increase also grows cities when birth rates exceed death rates.
Impacts on the environment
Growing cities put pressure on natural resources like water and energy. Air pollution increases from factories and traffic. Green spaces disappear as builders construct homes and roads. Urban sprawl means cities spread outwards, covering farmland and countryside. Waste management becomes a major challenge.
Social and economic impacts
Cities offer many benefits: better healthcare, education and job variety. However, rapid urbanisation creates problems too. Overcrowding leads to traffic congestion and housing shortages. Some people live in informal settlements or slums with poor sanitation. The gap between rich and poor can widen.
Managing urban growth
Cities need careful planning to grow sustainably. Governments invest in public transport to reduce car use. Building upwards in high-rise apartments saves space. Creating parks and green roofs improves air quality. Recycling schemes help manage waste. Smart planning makes cities better places to live.
Worked examples
1. Mumbai's population grew from 3 million in 1950 to over 20 million today. Identify one push factor and one pull factor that might explain this growth.
- Push factor: Poor farming conditions in rural areas forced people to leave the countryside.
- Pull factor: Mumbai offers many factory jobs and access to schools and hospitals.
- Both factors working together caused rapid urbanisation in Mumbai over seventy years.
2. A city builds a new metro rail system. Explain how this helps manage the impacts of urbanisation.
- The metro reduces traffic congestion by moving people underground instead of on roads.
- Fewer cars mean less air pollution and cleaner air for city residents.
- Public transport is cheaper than owning a car, helping lower-income families travel to work.
3. In 1800, only 3% of the world lived in cities. By 2020, 56% lived in urban areas. Calculate the percentage increase.
- Subtract the starting percentage from the ending percentage: 56% minus 3% equals 53%.
- The percentage of people living in cities increased by 53 percentage points.
- This shows dramatic urbanisation over the past two centuries globally.
Try it yourself
A rapidly growing city has problems with waste collection and air pollution. Suggest two ways planners could reduce these impacts.
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