Population Change in Urban Areas (SL IB Geography)

• More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas
• Urbanisation varies across the globe and is the increase in the percentage of a population living in urban areas
• Urban settlements differ from rural ones in terms of:
  • Way of life: faster-paced
  • Size: larger
  • Density of buildings and people: compact and high
  • Economy and employment: finance, service, and manufacturing 
• HICs show the highest levels of urbanisation, with the lowest levels in Africa and Southeast Asia
• The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled due to:
  • The decline of industry in developed countries, as the industry moved overseas to emerging countries (cheaper workforce, incentives, tax breaks, etc)
  • This led to industrial growth in emerging countries and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban areas, with the hope of a better life and employment
• High rates of urbanisation occur in LICs because:
  • Most new economic development is concentrated in the big cities
  • Push-pull factors lead to high rates of rural-to-urban migration
  • Cities are experiencing higher levels of natural increase

Urbanisation pathway

• The differences between HICs and LICs can be shown in a pathway over time
• Countries become more urban as they develop economically
• As they move through the stages, the pace begins to slow and begins to flatten out or decline as counter-urbanisation gains speed

A diagram to show the urbanisation pathway

Urbanisation pathway

• Natural increase is the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths
  • It accounts for approximately 60% of urban growth
• This is the result of decreased death rates and higher birth rates
  • Death rates are lower because:
    • The population has a younger average age than in rural areas
    • Healthcare tends to be better in urban areas
  • The more youthful population leads to higher birth rates because more people are of childbearing age

Centripetal movements 

• Centripetal movement refers to the movement of people towards the urban centre, including:
  • Rural-urban migration
  • Urban redevelopment
  • Re-urbanisation

Rural-urban migration

• Rural-urban migration is one type of movement into the city
• The causes of rural-urban migration are push and pull factors
• The pull factors are those things which attract people to the cities from rural areas, including:
  • Better housing
  • Improved sanitation
  • Jobs
  • Better services
• The push factors are those things which are causing people to leave rural areas, including:
  • A lack of jobs
  • Poor housing
  • Lack of sanitation
  • Fewer services
  • Lack of infrastructure

Urban redevelopment (gentrification)

• Redevelopment transforms areas of a city from low-value to high-value
• This is also known as gentrification
• It is usually the result of middle-class (higher-income) residents moving into an area to redevelop the buildings
• This process attracts more people with higher incomes as well as businesses 
• Urban redevelopment changes the population structure of the area
• Urban redevelopment also has disadvantages, including:
  • The poorer existing population being forced out due to rising house prices

Re-urbanisation

• The movement of people back into the cities from the surrounding area
• Movement is the result of several factors, including:
  • Increase in jobs
  • Regeneration of older areas either through rebuilding or redevelopment (factories into spacious apartments)
  • Improvements in air quality 
  • Improvements in safety