Changing Towns & Cities: Key Terms (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

Changing Towns & Cities: Key Terms

Urban Growth Rates

HIC (High-Income Country) – A wealthy nation with slow urban growth due to existing development.

LIC (Low-Income Country) – A poorer country with rapid urban growth due to industrialisation and rural-to-urban migration.

Megacity – A city with over 10 million people, such as Lagos or Tokyo.

Urban growth – An increase in a city’s population and/or physical size.

Urbanisation – The process of more people living in towns and cities rather than in rural areas.

Rapid Urban Growth in LICs

Natural increase – Population growth that occurs when birth rates are higher than death rates, excluding migration.

Pull factor – Something that attracts people to a new place, such as jobs or better healthcare.

Push factor – A reason for leaving an area, such as poverty, lack of services, or natural disasters.

Rural-urban migration – Movement of people from the countryside into cities, often in search of better opportunities.

Speed of industrial development – Quick expansion of cities due to new factories and services creating job opportunities.

Opportunities of Urban Living

Leisure and culture – Cities provide access to restaurants, cinemas, cultural events, and diverse entertainment options.

Multiplier effect – Economic growth that spreads outwards through job creation, increased income, and more consumer spending.

Public services – Urban areas typically have better healthcare, education, and infrastructure than rural areas.

Urban diversity – Cities often host people from many backgrounds, leading to a variety of cultures, foods, and perspectives.

Opportunities and Challenges of Rapid Urban Growth

Cycle of poverty – A pattern where poor living conditions lead to limited education and job opportunities, reinforcing poverty.

Inequality – Unequal access to services and quality of life between different urban populations.

Informal settlements – Poor-quality housing built without planning permission, often lacking services like water or electricity.

Unemployment – Rapid urbanisation can lead to too few jobs, forcing people into low-paying or informal work.

Urban pollution – Noise, air, light, and visual pollution caused by congestion, industry, and poor planning.

Housing

Brownfield site – Land previously used for industry or housing that is redeveloped for new use.

Greenfield site – Undeveloped land in rural areas used for new housing or commercial development.

Mega-slum – A large, overcrowded informal settlement, often with poor infrastructure and services.

Squatter settlement – An area where people build homes on land they do not own, usually without permission or services.

Urban Sprawl

Greenfield vs brownfield debate – Discussion around building new housing on undeveloped rural land (greenfield) versus reusing old urban land (brownfield).

Rural-urban fringe – The transition zone between the city and the countryside where urban sprawl often occurs.

Urban sprawl – The spread of urban areas into the countryside, leading to loss of green space and increased transport needs.

Strategies Used to Manage Urban Growth

Bottom-up housing scheme – Local community-led projects, often supported by NGOs, to improve existing housing and provide infrastructure like streetlights and sanitation.

Congestion charge – A fee charged to drivers for entering busy urban zones during peak times, aimed at reducing traffic and pollution.

Favela Bairro project – A community-based housing improvement programme in Brazil designed to upgrade favelas through better infrastructure and services.

Green infrastructure – Networks of green areas (e.g. parks, green roofs, rivers) in cities that help manage water flow, reduce pollution, and improve quality of life.

Park and ride – A scheme where people park on the outskirts of a city and take public transport into the city centre.

Self-help housing – When residents are given materials or microloans to build or improve their homes, often resulting in stronger community ties.

Top-down housing scheme – Government or private sector-led housing developments, often large-scale and standardised, but with little local input.

Transport management – Urban schemes that reduce congestion and pollution, such as promoting public transport, eco-travel, or road tolls.

Vision Mumbai – A top-down redevelopment plan aiming to replace slums with modern flats, criticised for disrupting communities.

Case Study: Mumbai, India

Dharavi – A large informal settlement in Mumbai with over 1 million residents, known for its high population density and informal economy.

Informal economy – Unregulated businesses such as street vendors or home-based workshops that operate outside formal legal and tax systems.

Monorail – A single-track train system, such as in Mumbai, that helps connect congested areas but can be expensive and underused.

Mumbai metro – A major rail transport project aimed at reducing congestion and pollution, with energy-efficient technology and links across the city.

Slum rehabilitation scheme – Government efforts to replace informal housing with formal flats, either through top-down redevelopment or bottom-up support.

Urban green spaces – Parks, mangroves, gardens and national parks in cities that offer recreational space and environmental benefits.