Key Terms: Urban Issues & Challenges (AQA GCSE Geography): Revision Note

Urban change - key terms glossary

Agglomeration – The clustering of people and activities in a location, often forming the beginning of urban development.
Brownfield site – Land previously used for industrial purposes, now available for redevelopment.
Central Business District (CBD) – The commercial and business centre of a city, often characterised by high-rise buildings.
Conurbation – A region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that have merged.
Counter-urbanisation – The movement of people from cities to rural areas, often for improved quality of life.
Deindustrialisation – The decline of industrial activity in a region or economy.
Greenbelt – A zone of countryside around a city where building is restricted to prevent urban sprawl.
Greenfield site – Land that has not been built on before, typically in rural areas.
Inner-city zone – The older, central part of a city, often with high population density and older housing.
Migration – The movement of people from one place to another, either within a country or internationally.
Push-pull factors – The conditions that drive people away from a place (push) and draw them to another (pull).
Rural-urban fringe – The boundary zone where rural and urban areas meet.
Suburbanisation – The outward growth of urban development into surrounding rural areas.
Urbanisation – The increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.
Urban regeneration – The revitalisation of urban areas that have declined.
Urban sprawl – The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.

Urban growth in LICs and NEEs - key terms glossary

Favela – An informal settlement in Brazil.
Informal employment – Work that is not regulated by the government and often lacks job security or benefits.

Informal settlement – A residential area which has developed without legal claims to the land or permission from authorities.
LIC (Low-Income Country) – A country with a low Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
Megacity – A city with a population of over 10 million people.
Multiplier effect – The economic effect where an increase in spending produces an increase in national income.
NEE (Newly Emerging Economy) – A country that is experiencing rapid economic development and industrialisation.
Natural increase – The difference between birth and death rates, leading to population growth.

Case study - Lagos, Nigeria - key terms glossary

Rural-urban migration – The movement of people from the countryside to cities in search of better opportunities.
Site and service scheme – A method of urban housing where the government provides land and services, and residents build their homes.
Top-down development – Projects or policies led by governments or large organisations with limited local input.
Favela-Bairro Project – A scheme in Rio to improve living conditions in favelas by providing services and legal rights to land.

Urban change in HICs - key terms glossary

CBD regeneration – Revitalising the central business district through redevelopment.
Commuter settlement – A residential area where many people travel to work in a nearby city.
Deprivation – A lack of resources and opportunities, which leads to a lower quality of life.
Ethnic segregation – The separation of people based on ethnicity, often seen in housing patterns.
Post-industrial economy – An economy where the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector.

Case study - London, UK - key terms glossary

Housing inequality – The disparity in quality and availability of housing across different income groups.
Urban fringe development – Expansion of towns and cities into rural areas at their edges.
Urban process timeline – The sequence of stages cities go through from agglomeration to suburbanisation and regeneration.
Urban transport strategies – Policies and schemes used to improve public transport and reduce congestion, such as congestion charges and park-and-ride.

Urban sustainability - key terms glossary

Ecological footprint – The measure of human demand on natural resources.
Green space – Areas of vegetation in urban settings that provide environmental and recreational benefits.
Park and Ride – A system where commuters park outside the city and use public transport to enter the centre.
Recycling scheme – A programme to manage waste by reusing materials.
Sustainable urban living – Living in a way that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Urban greening – The process of creating or improving green spaces in urban areas.
Waste management – Strategies to handle and dispose of waste in environmentally friendly ways.
Water conservation – The careful use and protection of water resources through measures like greywater systems and education.