Welcome to the Urban World!
Welcome to your study notes on Urbanisation. This chapter is a core part of your Contemporary Urban Environments module. Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities, and this number is growing every day! We are going to explore how cities grow, why people move to them, and how urban areas change over time.
Don't worry if some of the terms seem a bit "geography-heavy" at first—we'll break them down into bite-sized pieces with plenty of real-world examples.
Quick Review: What are we covering?
1. Defining Urbanisation and its importance.
2. Global patterns since 1945.
3. The four stages of urban movement (The "Urban Cycle").
4. Megacities vs. World Cities.
5. Why cities change: Deindustrialisation and the Service Economy.
6. How the UK has tried to fix "broken" cities since 1979.
1. What is Urbanisation?
At its simplest, urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities compared to the countryside.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Urbanisation isn't just a city getting bigger in size. It is specifically about the percentage of the total population living there. If the whole country's population grows but everyone stays in the countryside, that isn't urbanisation!
Why does it happen?
Urbanisation is usually driven by two main things:
1. Rural-to-Urban Migration: People moving from the country to the city (the "Push-Pull" factors).
2. Natural Increase: People in cities are often young and likely to have children, leading to more births than deaths.
Analogy: Think of a city like a popular New Year's Eve party. People are 'pushed' away from their quiet homes because they want excitement (jobs/services) and 'pulled' to the party because that’s where the action is. Once the party starts, it keeps growing because more people hear about it and show up!
Key Takeaway: Urbanisation is a process of change where a nation’s population shifts from being mainly rural to mainly urban.
2. Global Patterns Since 1945
The world has changed massively since the end of World War II. However, urbanisation hasn't happened at the same speed everywhere.
High-Income Countries (HICs): Countries like the UK and USA urbanised during the Industrial Revolution (1800s). Today, their urban populations are very high (often over 80%), but the rate of growth is very slow. Some cities are even shrinking!
Low-Income Countries (LICs) and Newly Emerging Economies (NEEs): Countries like Nigeria, India, and Brazil are urbanising very rapidly right now. This is where the biggest change is happening.
Did you know? In 1950, there were only two cities with more than 10 million people (New York and Tokyo). Today, there are over 30!
3. The "Urban Cycle": Four Key Processes
Cities don't just grow and stop. they go through cycles. You need to know these four terms inside out:
A. Urbanisation
The initial growth of a city as people move in for jobs in factories or services.
B. Suburbanisation
As cities become crowded and polluted, people who can afford it move to the outskirts (the suburbs).
Why? Better transport (cars/trains), more green space, and safer environments for families.
C. Counter-Urbanisation
People move completely out of the city into rural villages and commute back to work or work from home.
Memory Aid: Think of this as "Countering" the city—going against the trend of living in urban areas.
D. Urban Resurgence
This is the "comeback" of the city. After years of decline, people (often young professionals) move back into the inner city. This is often linked to gentrification (upgrading old, run-down houses into expensive ones).
Quick Mnemonic: U-S-C-R
Urban Slug Can't Run (Urbanisation, Suburbanisation, Counter-urbanisation, Resurgence).
4. Megacities and World Cities
Not all big cities are the same. We categorise the "heavyweights" into two groups:
Megacities
A city with a population of over 10 million people.
Examples: Mumbai, Lagos, Tokyo.
Focus: They are defined by their size. They often face huge challenges like slums/shanty towns and traffic congestion.
World Cities
A city that has global influence in terms of finance, trade, and culture.
Examples: London, New York, Paris.
Focus: They are defined by their power. They host major stock exchanges, TNC headquarters, and famous universities. A city can be a World City without being a Megacity (like Zurich or Frankfurt)!
Key Takeaway: Megacities are about quantity (people); World Cities are about quality (influence).
5. Economic Change: Why Cities Transform
Why do cities like Manchester or Detroit look so different today than they did 50 years ago? It's down to three major shifts:
1. Deindustrialisation: The loss of manufacturing (factories) in HICs. This happened because it became cheaper to make things in NEEs like China. This left many "rust belt" cities with empty factories and high unemployment.
2. Decentralisation: Shops and offices moving out of the Central Business District (CBD) to the suburbs or "out-of-town" retail parks where land is cheaper and parking is easier.
3. Rise of the Service Economy: Cities pivoted from "making things" to "doing things." This includes finance, IT, tourism, and creative industries. This is the backbone of the "Post-Modern Western City."
6. Urban Policy and Regeneration in Britain (Since 1979)
Since 1979, the UK government has tried different ways to fix "failing" urban areas. You can group these into three main eras:
Era 1: 1979–1990s (Top-Down / Property Led)
Urban Development Corporations (UDCs): The government gave power to private developers to rebuild areas.
Example: London Docklands. They built shiny offices (Canary Wharf) but were criticised for not helping the local poor people find jobs.
Era 2: 1990s (Partnership / Competition)
City Challenge: Cities had to "bid" (compete) for money by coming up with the best plan involving the local community and private companies.
Example: Hulme, Manchester. It was seen as fairer than UDCs because it focused on housing and social problems, not just offices.
Era 3: 2000s–Present (Holistic / Sustainable)
New Deal for Communities (NDCs): Small, local projects where the community was given the lead for 10 years to improve things like health, crime, and education.
Common Mistake: Don't assume all regeneration is good. Always consider Gentrifcation: while the area looks better, the original poor residents are often "priced out" because rents go up!
Final Summary Checklist
Check if you can explain these "Big Ideas":
- Can you define urbanisation as a percentage/proportion?
- Do you know the difference between a Megacity and a World City?
- Can you explain the Push and Pull factors that lead to rural-to-urban migration?
- Do you understand that Deindustrialisation forced cities to change their economies?
- Can you name one UK regeneration scheme (like London Docklands)?
Geography 7037 Pro Tip: In your exam, always try to mention "Natural Increase." Many students forget that cities grow from the inside (births) as well as the outside (migration)!