Why are more people living in cities worldwide? (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Geography B): Revision Note

Specification link

This page covers section 1.1.1 of the WJEC Eduqas GCSE specification - To what extent is urbanisation a global phenomenon?

• Global-scale patterns and how these patterns vary over time and space.

• Concepts of urbanisation and re-urbanisation.

• The concept of global cities.

• The development over time and the present location and distribution of global cities.

Global scale and patterns of urbanisation

• Urbanisation is the process by which an increasing percentage of a country's population comes to live in towns and cities

• Urbanisation varies across the globe and between countries at different levels of development

• High-income countries (HICs) show the highest levels of urbanisation

• The lowest levels of urbanisation are in low-income countries (LICs) such as Africa and Southeast Asia

• Globally, more people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas

  • According to the UN, 55% of the world's population lives in urban areas

  • This is predicted to increase to 68% by 2050

• The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled due to:

  • The decline of industry in high-income countries (HICs) occurred as industries relocated to newly industrialised countries (NICs) to benefit from:

    • A cheaper workforce

    • Government incentives

    • Tax breaks and other advantages

  • This led to rapid industrial growth of NICs in Asia and Latin America and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban areas, with the hope of a better life and employment

Processes driving urbanisation

Rural–urban migration

• People move to cities due to a mix of push-pull factors

• Push factors include:

  • Unemployment

  • Lack of services

  • Low income

  • Environmental problems such as drought

• Pull factors include:

  • Better jobs

  • Education

  • Healthcare

  • Improved living conditions

• In Mumbai, many migrants move from rural Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh seeking employment in manufacturing and services

• In Sydney, international migrants arrive for high-skilled jobs and a better quality of life

Natural increase

• Young people migrate to cities, increasing the number of births

• Improved healthcare reduces death rates, contributing to rapid population growth

• This process is especially strong in NICs such as India, where over half the population is under 30 (UN Population Division, 2024)

• Rates of urbanisation are lower in HICs, as a high percentage of the population already lives in towns and cities

• In some developed countries, rates of urbanisation may start to decrease as counter-urbanisation occurs

• Government policies – Some governments actively encourage urban growth by investing in cities and infrastructure

  • China, for example, has rapidly urbanised through deliberate government planning

  • Other countries might focus more on rural development

Rates of urban growth

HICs

• Rate of urban growth: Slow or declining

  • HICs have lower rates of urbanisation, as towns and cities already exist

• Example: UK, Germany, Japan, and America

• Cause: The industrial revolution 'pulled' the population into developing urban areas at that time

  • Nowadays, many people in HICs are being 'pushed' (counter-urbanisation) away from overcrowded cities to rural settlements

  • HICs tend to have good transport and communication networks; therefore, people can live in rural areas while commuting to cities or working from home

NICs

• Rate of urban growth: Rapid 

• Example: India, Russia, Brazil and China

• Cause: These areas are becoming key trade hub cities and are seeing greater growth than others due to investment from the government and MNCs

  • Cities such as Lagos in Nigeria, Shanghai in China, Mumbai in India, Sao Paulo in Brazil and St Petersburg in Russia – none of these are the country's capital

  • Trade such as finance, electronics and manufactured goods

LICs

• Rate of urban growth: Fastest rates of urbanisation 

• Example: Sub-Saharan countries, including Rwanda and Ethiopia. Asian countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines are expected to contribute 60% to global growth by 2030

• Cause:

  • Economic development is concentrated in the big cities

  • Investment in low-cost manufacturing of textiles, garments and shoes

  • High rates of rural-to-urban migration

  • High levels of natural increase in population

The concept of global cities

• As the growth of cities continues, the term 'megacity' is used to describe cities with more than 10 million people

  • In 1970, there were only 4

  • By 2000, there were 15

  • 2007 saw more people living in an urban environment than in a rural one

  • In 2018, that rose to 33 

• The largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia – Tokyo has close to 37.3 million people

• By 2050 it is thought that more than two-thirds (7 billion) of the world population will live in urban areas

• This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history

Reasons for growth

• Four main factors:

• Economic development

  • Encourages population growth, which leads to the desirability of goods and services

  • All megacities act as service centres within the formal economic sector

  • However, megacities in LICs are also important manufacturing centres (Mumbai in India or Dhaka in Bangladesh), with thousands working in the informal economy

• Population growth

  • Young people are drawn to live in megacities with their vibrancy, fast pace and opportunities

  • There is also ‘internal growth’, where people who have moved into the cities have children, thus sustaining population growth (Mexico City, Mumbai, Pearl River Delta in China)

• Economies of scale

  • It is cheaper to provide goods and services in one place than spread across several cities

  • Financial savings for local governments in respect of infrastructure provision

  • Communication and transport are centralised, making savings in time and money

• Multiplier effect

  • As a city prospers, it acts as a beacon to people and businesses 

  • This encourages inward investment

  • This leads to yet more development and growth

  • Generating further need for skills and labour and job growth

  • This cycle multiplies the positive effects, and growth continues (San Francisco and the digital development)

Global cities

• Megacities have a powerful attraction for people and businesses with influential cores and large peripheries

• However, global cities are major urban centres that act as strategic hubs in the world's economic, financial, and cultural network

• Global cities can be any size, but they exert particular influences around the globe

  • Some cities, like Tokyo, are both global cities and megacities

• They are

  • Influential, with status and power  

  • Critical nodes in the global economy

  • Centres for culture, communications and political processes

  • Hubs of innovation

• How connected a city is to the rest of the world and the global economy determines its category

  • The top two (Alpha++) are London and New York

  • These are the financial centres of the world, each with smaller networks of global cities feeding into them

• Alpha+ cities are highly connected to the global economy

• Alpha and Alpha^- cities link major economic regions and states into the world economy

• Beta-level cities link their region or state to the world economy

• Gamma-level cities link smaller regions or states into the world economy, or to other global cities

• High-ranking examples of global cities include: 

  • North America: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston

  • Europe: London, Paris, Zurich, Berlin

  • Asia: Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing

  • Oceania: Sydney, Melbourne

• According to GaWC (opens in a new tab), as of 2024, Africa has 10 global cities:

  • Cairo, Egypt

  • Casablanca, Morocco

  • Lagos, Nigeria

  • Nairobi, Kenya

  • Tunis, Tunisia

  • Accra, Ghana

  • Kampala, Uganda

  • Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

  • Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa

    • Johannesburg is an Alpha city and Sub-Saharan Africa's leading global city

Rapid urbanisation

• Rapid growth can create serious social, economic, and environmental problems, especially in NICs and LICs

• Social challenges

  • A shortage of housing leads to informal settlements or 'slums', overcrowding, and poor sanitation

• Economic challenges

  • Unemployment or underemployment occurs because job creation cannot keep pace with population growth

• Environmental challenges

  • Air and water pollution, waste disposal issues, and the spread of informal housing in hazardous areas such as floodplains

• Example – Mumbai:

  • Dharavi slum houses nearly one million people in just 2.1 km², showing the pressure of rapid urban growth (BBC News, 2024)

• In contrast – Sydney:

  • The city faces challenges of housing affordability, urban sprawl, and transport congestion rather than slum development (NSW Government, 2024)

Urbanisation and re-urbanisation

• In HICs, urbanisation has slowed, and some cities are experiencing re-urbanisation

• Former industrial cities like Manchester and Glasgow have seen populations rise again after decades of decline

• This shows that urbanisation is an ongoing global process, but occurs at different speeds and for different reasons, depending on economic development

Urbanisation as a global phenomenon

• Urbanisation affects every continent as it is a global process

• However, the rates, causes, and consequences differ between countries

• The process began earlier in HICs but is now most rapid in NICs and LICs

• By mid-century, almost all regions will be majority urban, although Africa and parts of Asia still have large rural populations

• Therefore, urbanisation is global in reach but unequal in pace and impact