Rapid urban growth rates in LICs (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

Causes of rapid urban growth rates in LICs

• The UN predicts that by 2030 over 60% of the world's population will live in an urban environment

• Urbanisation usually occurs because people move from rural to urban areas as a country develops

• HICs saw the majority of their urbanisation before 1950 due to industrialisation in many urban areas

• From the 1950s, LICs have seen rapid growth in urbanisation, particularly in South America, Asia and Africa

• By 2021, the urban population in LICs had doubled

• There are three main reasons for rapid urbanisation in LICs

  1. Rural-urban migration due to push-pull factors

  2. Speed of industrial and economic development in major towns and cities

  3. Rate of population growth as development occurs

1. Rural-urban migration

• Rural-urban migration is a major factor that drives urbanisation

  • It is the movement of people from the countryside to cities

• This migration causes the urban population to grow, often at the expense of the rural population

  • For example, in China, rural-urban migration has led to massive city growth, with people moving from farming regions to cities like Shenzhen and Beijing in search of jobs in factories or offices

  • This has left many rural areas without people to work the land for food

• Factors that cause this migration are known as push and pull

  • Push factors are the reasons people leave rural areas

  • Pull factors are the attractions of urban areas that draw people to move there

• Push-pull factors are unique to each person depending on their end goal

  • What is a pull factor for one person may not be for another

• These factors can be further classified as:

  • Social such as population growth

  • Economic – higher wages in cities

  • Environmental – a lack of resources in rural areas

  • Political, such as government policies that promote urban development

• Rural-urban migration is usually a combination of factors that cause people to migrate

  • For example: High levels of unemployment are a push factor, whereas higher wages and a better lifestyle are a pull factor

Social

• Push

  • Population growth leading to poverty

  • Poor housing and health care

  • Fewer and lower-quality schools and educational resources

  • Lack of social networks and family support

  • Lack of facilities such as shops, can 'push' young people from rural areas

• Pull

  • Cities typically have better schools, universities, and medical facilities

  • More opportunities for cultural and personal development

  • Sense of community and belonging

  • Higher levels of retail and leisure facilities, such as restaurants, theatres and gyms

Economic

• Push

  • A lack of industrial, service, and technology sectors

  • Skilled workers leaving rural areas

  • High levels of unemployment

  • Lower wage rates

• Pull

  • Better job options to earn more money

  • Brain gain in areas of economic development

  • Access to public transport and wider range of goods and services

Environmental

• Push

  • Disasters like earthquakes, floods, or droughts

  • Soil erosion causing a loss of productive land and crop failure

• Pull

  • Improved living conditions

  • Greater food security

  • Cleaner water

  • Better waste management

Political

• Push

  • Civil war

  • Lack of government support

  • Religious or cultural discrimination

• Pull

  • Higher personal safety with better infrastructure

  • Higher political freedom, democracy or human rights

  • Government policies on development

2. Speed of economic and industrial development

• Economic growth drives urbanisation

  • As a city prospers, it attracts 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

• The faster the growth of secondary and tertiary employment sectors, the faster the growth of urbanisation

  • Most new economic development is concentrated in the big cities in LICs through investment in low-cost manufacturing of textiles, garments and shoes

  • Leading to high rates of rural-to-urban migration

3. Rate of population growth

• Economic growth needs a supply of labour

• There are two ways to meet this demand:

  • Rural-urban migration is an important source of labour, as it attracts a wider pool of people into the urban region

  • Natural increase in an urban population but this is a slow way of meeting demand

Natural increase

• High levels of natural increase in population accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth

• It indicates how a population changes due to natural processes (births and deaths) without including migration

  • If birth rates are higher than death rates, then there will be a natural increase

  • If death rates are higher than birth rates, there will be a natural decrease

• Factors like birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy significantly impact natural increase