Population distribution and density

People are unevenly distributed around the world. The difference in distribution
is measured by comparing population density - the number of people per
square kilometre (km²).
Population density is determined more by environmental factors which make an
area more or less attractive to settlers than by economic development.

Population patterns

A street in Cairo

The way in which people are spread across a given area is known as population
distribution. Geographers study population distribution patterns at different scales:
local, regional, national, and global.
Patterns of population distribution tend to be uneven. For example, in the UK there are
more people living in the southeast of England than in Wales.

Population density
Population density is the average number of people per square kilometre. It is a way of
measuring population distribution and shows whether an area is sparsely or densely
populated. Population density is calculated using the following formula:
Population density = total population ÷ total land area in km²

Population density
The map shows patterns of population density on a global scale. Note that:
 Areas of high and low population density are unevenly spread across the world.
 The majority of places with high population densities are found in thenorthern
hemisphere.
Map of the world showing population density

The population density of a country is has very little to do with its level of economic
development. For example, both Bangladesh and Japan are very densely populated, but
Bangladesh is a LEDC and Japan is a MEDC.

Factors affecting population density

Environmental and human factors affect the spread of people across the world.

The Brahmaputra river in India

Factors attracting settlement

1. Temperate climate, eg the UK.
2. Low-lying flat fertile land, eg the Bangladesh Delta.
3. Good supplies of natural resources, eg building resources.
 The Sahara Desert

Factors discouraging settlement

1. Extreme climates, eg Sahara Desert.
2. Mountainous or highland areas, eg the Scottish Highlands.
3. Dense vegetation, eg the Amazon Rainforest.

Socio-economic factors
Factors such as the availability of jobs and comparatively high wages can contribute to
high population density through migration. For example, from 2004 the UK has seen an
influx of migrants from countries that have recently joined the EU, such as Poland.

Political factors
Civil war, eg in the Darfur region of Sudan, can contribute to lower population densities
as people become refugees and leave an area.

Population change and structure

Population numbers change over time, influenced by births, deaths and
migration into or out of the area. Global population levels, having grown slowly
for most of human history, are now rising.
Population pyramids show the structure of a population by comparing relative
numbers of people in different age groups. Population structures differ
markedly between LEDCs and MEDCs.
Demographic transition models show population change over time - and also
show marked differences between LEDCs and MEDCs.

Global population growth

At present the world's population is growing quickly, though this has not always been the
case.
 Until the 1800s the world's population grew slowly for thousands of years.
 In 1820 the world's population reached one billion.
 In the early 1970s, the world's population reached three billion.
 In 1999, less than 30 years later, the population doubled to six billion.
 The global rate of population growth is now one billion every 15 years.
The graph shows this pattern of accelerating growth:
 World population growth 500BC - 2025

Causes and rates of change

The three main causes of population change are:
 Births - usually measured using the birth rate (number of live births per 1000 of the
population).
 Deaths - usually measured using the death rate (number of deaths per 1000 of the
population) .
 Migration - the movement of people in and out of an area.

Rate of change

Births and deaths are natural causes of population change. The difference between the
birth rate and the death rate of a country or place is called the natural increase. The
natural increase is calculated by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate.
natural increase = birth rate - death rate
The rate of natural increase is given as a percentage, calculated by dividing the natural
increase by 10.
For example if the birth rate is 14 per 1000 population, and the death rate is 8 per 1000
population, then the growth rate = 14 - 8 = 6
That is 6/1000, which is equal to 0.6%.

Patterns of population growth

Rates of population growth vary across the world. Although the world's total population
is rising rapidly, not all countries are experiencing this growth. In the UK, for example,
population growth is slowing, while in Germany the population has started to
decline. MEDCs have low population growth rates, with low death rates and low birth
rates.
Population will decline if death rate is greater than birth rate.
LEDCs have high population growth rates. Both birth rates and death rates in LEDCs
tend to be high. However, improving healthcare leads to death rates falling - while birth
rates remain high.
Population will increase if death rate is less than birth rate.
The table shows data in selected LEDC and MEDC countries. The figures are per 1000 of
the population per year.

MEDCs

Country Birth Death Natural Population growth rate

rates rates increase (%)

UK 11 10 1 0.1

Canada 11 7 4 0.4

Bulgaria 9 14 -5 -0.5

LEDCs

Country Birth Death Natural Population growth rate

rates rates increase (%)

South 25 15 10 1
Africa

Botswana 31 22 9 0.9

Zimbabwe 29 20 9 0.9

In Bulgaria, the birth rate is 9/1000 and death rate is /1000. As birth rate is less than the
14

death rate, Bulgaria has a declining population.

In South Africa, the birth rate is 25/1000 and death rate is 15/1000. South Africa has
an increasing population with a population growth rate of 1%.

The demographic transition model

The demographic transition model shows population change over time. It studies how
birth rate and death rate affect the total population of a country. It is divided into five
stages:
1. Total population is low but it is balanced due to high birth rates and high death
rates.
2. Total population rises as death rates fall due to improvements in health care and
sanitation. Birth rates remain high.
 3. Total population is still rising rapidly. The gap between birth and death rates narrows
due to the availability of contraception and fewer children being needed to work -
due to the mechanisation of farming. The natural increase is high.
4. Total population is high, but it is balanced by a low birth rate and a low death rate.
Birth control is widely available and there is a desire for smaller families.
5. Total population is high but going into decline due to an ageing population. There is
a continued desire for smaller families, with people opting to have children later in
life.
As a country passes through the demographic transition model, the total population
rises. Most LEDCs are at stage 2 or 3 (with a growing population and a high natural
increase). Most MEDCs are now at stage 4 of the model and some such as Germany
have entered stage 5.

The demographic transition model

As populations move through the stages of the model, the gap between birth rate and
death rate first widens, then narrows. In stage 1 the two rates are balanced. In stage 2
they diverge, as the death rate falls relative to the birth rate. In stage 3
they converge again, as the birth rate falls relative to the death rate. Finally in stage 4
the death and birth rates are balanced again but at a much lower level.

Limitations of the model

The demographic transition model has two limitations:

1. The model was developed after studying the experiences of countries in Western
Europe and North America. Conditions might be different for LEDCs in different parts
of the world.
2. The original model doesn't take into account the fact that some countries now have
a declining population and a 5th stage. Most texts will now show this stage as it is
relevant to an increasing number of MEDCs in the 21st century.
Population structure and population pyramids
 Population structure means the 'make up' or composition of a population. Looking
at the population structure of a place shows how the population is divided up
between males and females of different age groups.
 Population structure is usually shown using a population pyramid. A population
pyramid can be drawn up for any area, from a whole continent or country to an
individual town, city or village.
 The following graphs show the population pyramids of an MEDC (the UK) and an
LEDC (Mozambique), for 2000 and in 2025 using projected figures. The left side
of each pyramid shows the number of men in each age group, the right side
shows the number of women in each age group.

Population pyramid for the UK 2000

Notice how in the UK 2000 pyramid there is a bulge in the area of the 30-34 and 35-
39 age groups, with the numbers thereafter reducing fairly steadily as the ages
increase. This matches stage 4 of the demographic transition model.
Projected population pyramid for the UK 2025

Compare this to the 2025 pyramid, which would be stage 5 in the model. Here the
bulge extends much further, covering the age groups 30-64, with the numbers
beginning to reduce significantly only after 64.
Now compare the UK population pyramids with those for Mozambique:
Population pyramid for Mozambique 2000

In this graph, notice that in 2000 the 0-4 age group contained the largest number of
people, with the numbers thereafter declining steadily as the ages increase. The
graph matches stage 1 in the model.

3.
4. Projected population pyramid for Mozambique 2025
 In the second graph, the largest group in Mozambique in 2025 is still the 0-4 age
group, but there are nearly as many people in the 5-29 age groups. Now the
population pyramid matches stage 2.

Analysing population pyramids

Key things to know about population pyramids:
 The shape of a population pyramid can tell us a lot about an area's population.
 It gives us information about birth and death rates as well as life expectancy.
 A population pyramid tells us how many dependants there are. There are two groups of
dependants; young dependants (aged below 15) and elderly dependants (aged over 65).
 Dependants rely upon the economically active for economic support.
 Many LEDCs have a high number of young dependants, whilst many MEDCs have a
growing number of elderly dependants.

How do pyramids change over time?

 A population pyramid that is very triangular (eg Mozambique in 2000) shows a

population with a high number of young dependants and a low life expectancy.
 A population pyramid that has fairly straight sides (more like a barrel) shows a
population with a falling birth rate and a rising life expectancy.
 Over time, as a country develops, the shape changes from triangular to barrel-like.
 Places with an ageing population and a very low birth rate would have a structure that
looks like an upside-down pyramid.

Migration
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. The reasons for
migration can be economic, social, political or environmental. There are
usually push factors and pull factors at work.
Migration impacts on both the place left behind, and on the place where
migrants settle.

What is migration?

Illegal immigrants on the American/Mexican border

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another.

 Internal migration is when people migrate within the same country or region - for
example, moving from London to Plymouth.
 International migration is when people migrate from one country to another - for
example, moving from Mexico to the USA.
 There two key migration terms are:
 Emigration - when someone leaves a country.
 Immigration - when someone enters a country.

Why do people migrate?

People migrate for many different reasons. These reasons can be classified as economic,
social, political or environmental:
 Economic migration - moving to find work or follow a particular career path.
 Social migration - moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to
family or friends.
 Political migration - moving to escape political persecution or war.
 Environmental causes of migration include natural disasters such as flooding.
Some people choose to migrate, eg someone who moves to another country to enhance
their career opportunities. Some people are forced to migrate, eg someone who moves
due to war or famine.
A refugee is someone who has left their home and does not have a new home to go to.
Often refugees do not carry many possessions with them and do not have a clear idea of
where they may finally settle.

Push and pull factors

Push factors are the reasons why people leave an area. They include:
 Lack of services
 Lack of safety
 High crime
 Crop failure
 Drought
 Flooding
 Poverty
 war
Pull factors are the reasons why people move to a particular area. They include:
 Higher employment
 More wealth
 Better services
 Good climate
 Safer, less crime
 Political stability
 More fertile land
 Lower risk from natural hazards
Migration usually happens as a result of a combination of these push and pull factors.
Migration push and pull factors

Impacts of migration – economic migrants

Migration has an impact on the place that has been left behind as well as on the place
that is being migrated to. These impacts can be both positive and negative. The table
shows how migration from Turkey to Germany affects the two countries.
 Migration between Turkey and Germany

Negative impact Postive impact

Germany Some of the migrants can't speak German and there Germany has gained a source of cheap
has been racial tension. labour.

Turkey Turkey has lost some of its workforce. Migrants send money home to their
families in Turkey.

Economic migrants – values and attitudes

Different groups of people have different interests. In the case of economic migrants,
look at the views of:
 The migrant – How do they feel about their new life? How do they feel about leaving
their family behind? How do they feel about people in their destination country who may
be hostile towards them?
 The migrant's family left behind – How do they feel about it? Do they see it as a
positive move? Will they be better or worse off?
 The government in the host country – What is their policy on migrants? Are they
good or bad for the economy? Are they good or bad for society?
 Other workers in the host country – How do they feel about the economic migrants?
What type of jobs are they taking? Is there competition for jobs?

The impacts of migration – refugees

 The Darfur region
 Many refugees from Darfur have migrated to neighbouring Chad because of the
civil war. Many have also stayed in Sudan, but live in refugee camps.

Refugees in Darfur
 Refugees are living in cramped and unsanitary conditions, and many have lost
family members in the conflict or from disease. Water is scarce and most people
rely on aid agencies for food, shelter and medicine. However, the aid efforts are
being hampered by the Sudanese government and refugees are dying of disease,
starvation and malnutrition. Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world,
and the refugees from Sudan are putting a strain on already scarce resources.

Managing population change

LEDCs and MEDCs face different problems when attempting to manage
population change. LEDCs have to manage rapid population growth. MEDCs have
to manage slow or negative growth and an ageing population.
The recent history of population management policies in China illustrates the
population change management problems of LEDCs and MEDCs.
 Population growth in LEDCs
Most LEDCs are experiencing rapid population growth. Most LEDCs are in stage 2 or 3 of
the demographic transition model. This means that they have falling death rates, due to
improving health care, while birth rates remain high.

Causes of population growth in LEDCs

 Limited access to family planning services and education about contraception.
Contraception and other methods of family planning may not be culturally or religiously
acceptable.
 Children are a valuable source of labour and income for a family. They can work on the
land from a young age and as they get older they can earn money in other jobs.
 Children can help to care for younger children and elderly family members.
 High rates of infant mortality (infant deaths) mean that women need to have many
children in order to ensure that some survive through to adulthood.
 It may be traditional or culturally important to have a large family.
LEDCs have a high population-growth rate which means that they have many young
dependants. Governments in LEDCs and international bodies and charities are working to
reduce birth rates and slow down rates of population growth.

Case study: China

Cyclists in Beijing, China

In the late 1970s, the Chinese government introduced a number of measures to reduce
the country's birth rate and slow the population growth rate. The most important of the
new measures was a one-child policy, which decreed that couples in China could only
have one child.
 In 1950 the rate of population change in China was 1.9% each year. If this doesn't
sound high, consider that a growth rate of only 3% will cause the population of a country
to double in less than 24 years!
 Previous Chinese governments had encouraged people to have a lot of children to
increase the country's workforce. But by the 1970s the government realised that current
rates of population growth would soon become unsustainable.

The one-child policy

 The one-child policy, established in 1979, meant that each couple was allowed just one
child.
 Benefits, including access to education, childcare and health care, were offered to
families that followed this rule.
 Those who had more than one child didn't receive these benefits and were fined.
 The one-child policy was keenly resisted in rural areas, where it was traditional to have
large families. The one-child policy has been enforced strictly in urban areas, but remote
rural areas have been harder to control.
 Many people claim that some women, who became pregnant after they had already had
a child, were forced to have an abortion and many women were forcibly sterilised. There
appears to be evidence to back up these claims.

Impact of the policy

 The birth rate in China has fallen since 1979, and the rate of population growth is now
0.7%. However there have been negative impacts too.
 Due to a traditional preference for boys, large numbers of female babies have ended up
homeless or in orphanages, and in some cases killed. In 2000, it was reported that 90%
of foetuses aborted in China were female.
 As a result, the gender balance of the Chinese population has become distorted. Today it
is thought that men outnumber women by more than 60 million.

Long-term implications
China's one-child policy has been somewhat relaxed in recent years. Couples can now
apply to have a second child if their first child is a girl, or if both parents are themselves
only-children.
While China's population is now rising more slowly, it still has a very large total
population (1.3 billion in 2008) and China faces new problems:
 The falling birth rate is leading to a rise in the relative number of elderly people.
 There are fewer people of working age to support the growing number of elderly
dependants. In the future China could have an ageing population.

Population change in MEDCs

Most MEDCs are experiencing slow rates of population growth and some are experiencing
population decline.
Most MEDCs are in stage 4 of the demographic transition model - the population is high,
but not growing. Some countries have a declining population and could be said to be
entering stage 5. This means that the birth rate in their country has fallen below the
death rate. Most MEDCs have a very low rate of natural increase.
The average life expectancy in MEDCs is rising. This is due to:
 Improvements in health care and medicine.
 Increased leisure and recreation time.
 Improved knowledge about the importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise.
 Improved living standards and quality of life.
Birth rates in MEDCs are falling as people choose to have smaller families later in life.
Contraception is easily available and well understood.

An ageing population
 As people live longer, the structure of a population changes.
 Many MEDCs are now experiencing a significant increase in the number of elderly people
as a proportion of the population.
 As birth rates fall and people have smaller families, the number of young dependants is
falling and the number of elderly dependants is rising.
 In the near future this will mean that there are fewer economically active people to
support the elderly population.
 To try to balance out an ageing population, some countries adopt a pro-natalist policy -
that is, they encourage people to have more children by offering them benefits, such as
access to childcare and maternity leave.

Coping with an ageing population in the UK

What are the issues?
 There are decreasing numbers of economically active people in the population and more
elderly dependents.

What can be done about it?

 People are encouraged to save for their retirement in pensions and investments.
 The retirement age is increasing.
 Facilities such as nursing homes and care workers will be needed, perhaps in preference
to schools and nurseries, as the population gets older.
 Economically active skilled and unskilled migrants could be encouraged.

Settlement characteristics
Settlements come in different sizes, types and locations. You can learn about
the history and function of a settlement by studying its shape and size, its
placement in the landscape, and its situation in relation to surrounding
features.
If you group and classify settlements according to their size and shape, the
result is a settlement hierarchy.

What is a settlement

Sign at Southampton Docks

A settlement is a place where people live. A settlement may be as small as a single

house in a remote area or as a large as a mega city(a city with over 10 million
residents).
A settlement may be permanent or temporary. An example of a temporary settlement
is a refugee camp. However, a temporary settlement may become permanent over
time. This has happened to many refugee camps that have been built in conflict zones.
The reason a settlement was developed or built can be thought of as its function. For
example, the settlement of Southampton is a port.

Settlement site and situation

The piece of land upon which a settlement is built is the settlement site.
 There are many reasons why a site might be chosen for the development of a settlement
and some factors will be more important than others. How many features can you spot
in the map of Southampton below?

Some common site factors include:

 Wet point sites – these have good water supply. Many settlements grew around wet
point sites, eg villages in the South Downs.
 Dry point sites – these are away from the risk of flooding, eg Ely in Cambridgeshire.
 Defensive sites – often found on higher ground so that enemies could be seen from a
distance, eg Corfe Castle, Dorset, or in the loop of a meander, eg Durham.
 Aspect – settlements are often found on the sunny side of a deep valley. This is common
in settlements in the Alps.
 Shelter – from cold prevailing winds and rain.
 Gap towns – Lincoln is found in a gap between two areas of higher ground.
 Resources – important for industry, eg villages such as Aberfan in the Welsh valleys
close to coal reserves.
 Bridging point – settlements with 'ford' in their name often grew around a fording point
or bridging point, eg Watford is found on the River Colne.
 Trading centres – often settlements grow where natural route ways and rivers meet,
which helps the development of roads, railways and canals.
 The importance of many of these functions diminishes as technological advances enable
people to overcome difficulties.
The situation of a settlement is its position in relation to the surrounding human and
physical features, many of which will have an impact on the settlement's type, size and
function.
With modern settlements remember that decisions about location and situation have
been made by planners, but that their priorities may differ from those that determined
the location of a historical settlement like Southampton. For example, a modern
settlement does not need to be close to a river because drinking water is now piped to
our homes and waterways are no longer important for transport.

Settlement functions
Most large settlements in MEDCs are multifunctional and perform a range of functions
such as retail, education and industry.
When settlements first started to grow, most had only one distinct function, and others
developed as the settlement grew.
Examples of functions:
 Port – the original function of cities such as Liverpool and Southampton. Both are still
ports, but this function has diminished in importance and they are now multifunctional.
 Market town – Watford was originally a market town, and although it still holds a regular
market, it is now a thriving multifunctional centre.
 Resort – Southport was a popular Victorian seaside resort, although it now has many
functions and is a commuter settlement for Liverpool.
 Natural resources in the area enabled Sheffield to develop as an important centre in the
iron and steel industry. Although steel is still produced, its prominence has declined and
Sheffield is a thriving multifunctional city.

 Settlement hierarchies
 If we group and classify a number of settlements according to their size and
shape the result is settlement hierarchy
 
 Pyramid showing relationship between population and services
 As you move up the hierarchy, the size of the settlement and the distance
between similar sized settlements increases. As you can see from the diagram
below, there are more cities than conurbations, more towns than cities and more
villages than towns.
 The number of services that a settlement provides increases with settlement
size.
 Small settlements will only provide low order services such as a post offices,
doctors and newsagents. Large towns, cities and conurbations will provide low
and high order services such as leisure centres, chain stores and hospitals.
 Larger settlements and conurbations have a much larger sphere of influence
than smaller ones. This means they attract people from a wider area because of
the facilities they offer. Cities such as London have a global sphere of influence,
whereas a small hamlet or village may only have a sphere of influence of a couple
of kilometres.
 Services such as department stores selling high order goods have a higher
threshold than those selling low order goods such as newsagents. This means
they need a higher number of people to support them and make them profitable,
therefore they will only be found in larger settlements. It also means that there
are fewer big department stores than small newsagents.
 The range of a service or product is the maximum distance people are prepared
to travel to purchase it. The range of a newspaper is much lower than an item of
furniture for example.
Urban models in MEDCs
It is possible in many cities to identify zones with a particular type of land use -
eg a residential zone. Often these zones have developed due to a combination
of economic and social factors. In some cases planners may have tried to
separate out some land uses, eg an airport is separated from a large housing
estate.
 The Burgess and Hoyt model
Geographers have put together models of land use to show how a 'typical' city is laid
out. One of the most famous of these is the Burgess or concentric zone model.
This model is based on the idea that land values are highest in the centre of a town or
city. This is because competition is high in the central parts of the settlement. This leads
to high-rise, high-density buildings being found near thecCBD, with low-density, sparse
developments on the edge of the town or city

The Burgess model

However, there are limits to the Burgess model:

 The model is now quite old and was developed before the advent of mass car ownership.
 New working and housing trends have emerged since the model was developed. Many
people now choose to live and work outside the city on the urban fringe - a phenomenon
that is not reflected in the Burgess model.
 Every city is different. There is no such thing as a typical city.
Another urban model is The Hoyt model. This is based on the circles on the Burgess
model, but adds sectors of similar land uses concentrated in parts of the city. Notice how
some zones, eg the factories/industry zone, radiate out from the CBD. This is probably
following the line of a main road or a railway.
 The Hoyt model

Central business district

The land in urban areas is used for many different purposes:
 Leisure and recreation may include open land, eg parks or built facilities such as
sports centres
 Residential - the building of houses and flats.
 Transport - road and rail networks, stations and airports.
 Business and commerce - the building of offices, shops and banks.
 Industry - factories, warehouses and small production centres.
The Central Business District (CBD) in the city centre is where most business and
commerce is located.
The following features easily identify the CBD:

Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham

 High/multi-storey buildings.
 Expensive land values.
 Department stores or specialist shops, like jewellers.
 Shopping malls and pedestrian precincts.
 Cultural/historical buildings, museums and castles.
 Offices, finance, banks, administration, town hall (business sector).
 Bus and railway stations (transport centres).
 Multi-storey car parks.
 The CBD is located in the centre because it is:
 A central location for road/railways to converge.
 The most accessible location for workers.
 Accessible to most people for shops and businesses.
To help you remember how to identify a CBD, think of a city you know. In your exam
give named examples for the features listed above.

The inner city

Terraced houses in Brighton, East Sussex

The inner city is also known as the 'twilight zone'. It is typically found next to the CBD
and has mainly terraced houses in a grid like pattern. These were originally built to
house factory workers who worked in the inner city factories. Many of these factories
have now closed down.
Unemployment and other socio-economic problems have led to periods of unrest in
many inner city areas, eg Toxteth in Liverpool. Many inner city areas declined in the late
20th century and have undergone a period of regeneration in recent years, for example
Watford Arches Retail Park, which is located on a former industrial site. Run down
terraced housing is often bought by investors and improved to appeal to young
professionals who need access to the CBD. This is called gentrification.

The suburbs

Semi-detached house in Standish, Lancashire

Suburban houses are usually larger than inner city terraces and most have a garden.
Typically, they are detached or semi detached and the roads around them are arranged
in cul de sacs and wide avenues. Land prices are generally cheaper than in the CBD and
inner city, although the desirability of housing can make some areas expensive.
Many suburbs were built in the UK in the 1930s and have a distinctive style of housing,
as shown in the picture to the right. More modern housing estates were built in the late
20th century as towns and cities have continued to grow.
Facilities such as schools, places of worship and parks are often present, and many are
served by a local supermarket.
Suburban areas are often home to commuters who need access to the CBD along main
roads and railways, and they are also within easy reach of the countryside.

The urban rural fringe

Allotments in Ripon, North Yorkshire

This is found at the edge of a town or city and is where town meets country. It is
common for this area to have a mixture of land uses such as some housing, golf courses,
allotments, business parks and airports.
The mixture of land use often causes conflict as different groups have different need and
interests. For example, building Terminal 5 at Heathrow on the outskirts of London was a
source of controversy. The need for another runway continues to cause conflicts of
interest.

Urban models in LEDCs

LEDCs have similar land-use needs to MEDCs, but the pattern of land use in
urban areas is different.

Land use in LEDCs

Although every LEDC city has its own characteristics, models can be used to illustrate a
'typical' LEDC city.
Model of LEDC city

Both MEDC and LEDC cities have a CBD - often the oldest part of the city.
In LEDCs the poorest housing is found on the edge of the city - in contrast to MEDC
cities whose suburban fringe is very often a place of high quality housing. The areas of
poor quality housing found on the edge of cities in LEDCs are calledsquatter
settlements or shanty towns.
Land use in Sao Paulo, Brazil
The below pictures show two very different areas of Sao Paulo in Brazil - the CBD and an
outerlying shanty town.

Sao Paulo - the city centre

Sao Paulo - shanty town

The CBD and high-class sector

 The CBD in an LEDC looks very similar to a CBD in an MEDC. However, there is likely to
be a more dramatic difference between the height of the buildings in the CBD and the
height of the buildings in other zones.
The CBD contains facilities such as department stores, hotels, offices, schools, theatres
and cinemas.
High-class housing can be found around the edge of the CBD and in a spine radiating out
towards the edge of the urban area. This is likely to be a main transport route and a
desirable street, possibly a former colonial area. People living here will need easy access
to the CBD. Transport networks in LEDCs are not as well developed as MEDCs so the
journey to work is a major consideration when deciding where to live.
The high class housing will be a mixture of old colonial houses and large apartments,
both of which will have space for servants.

Shanty towns
The fact that cities in LEDCs are growing rapidly means that conditions can be poor.
There are often great inequalities within LEDC urban areas and they are even more
pronounced in LEDCs.
Some of the worst conditions are found in the shanty towns on the edge of the city, near
the CBD or along main transport routes. They tend to be unplanned and are often illegal.
Houses are self-built using basic materials and shanty towns have few services.
Shanty town residents face many problems on a daily basis. Khyalitsha in South
Africa is a shanty town located near the city of Cape Town. Shanty towns are also
known as townships in South Africa. Khyalitsha has a population of over 1.8 million
people and is one of the largest townships in South Africa.

The Alexandra township in Johannesburg, South Africa

Problems:
 Overcrowding - the settlement has a high population density.
 Fires - fires can spread quickly.
 Overpopulation - the area does not have enough resources to support the growing
population.
 Competition for jobs - jobs are in short supply.
 Disease - poor sanitation and limited health care can lead to the spread of disease.
 Lack of space - the newest and poorest arrivals may be forced to live on the worst
quality land.
 Infrastructure - services are poor, public transport is limited and connections to the
electricity supply can be limited and sometimes dangerous.
Improving shanty towns

Soweto township in Johannesburg, South Africa

Over time the conditions in shanty towns may improve. In many LEDCs, local
communities, charities and government departments are working together to improve
conditions in squatter settlements.
Improving conditions in a squatter settlements can lead to improvements in the
residents' quality of life.

Approaches to improvement

Site and These give people the chance to rent or buy a piece of land. The land
service is connected to the city by transport links and has access to essential
schemes services (eg water). People build their own homes using money from a
low-interest loan.

Self-help These give people the tools and training to improve their homes. Low-
schemes interest loans may be used to help people fund these changes. People
may be given legal ownership of the land.

Rural Improving the quality of life and creating greater opportunities in rural
investment areas may prevent people from migrating to urban areas. Investment
in rural areas may therefore help to improve conditions in the city as
well.

Urbanisation in MEDCs
Urbanisation can cause problems such as transport congestion, lack of
sufficient housing, over-rapid growth and environmental degradation. Many
cities display particularly sharp inequalities in housing provision, health and
employment.
Some people try to escape these problems by moving away from the city - a
process called counter-urbanisation. Long term, however, the solution must be
to make cities more sustainable.

Causes of urbanisation
 Urbanisation means an increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas
compared to rural areas. An urban area is a built-up area such as a town or city.
A rural area is an area of countryside.
As a country industrialises, the number of people living in urban areas tends to increase.
The UK and many other MEDCs urbanised during the 18th and 19th centuries. People
migrated from rural areas (due to the mechanisation in farming) to urban areas where
there was employment in the new factories. The area of cities known as the inner city
developed during this time as rows of terraced housing were built for workers.

Santiago, Chile

Today the UK is a mostly urban society, with 90% of the population living in towns or
cities.
On a global scale, urbanisation is taking place rapidly, particularly in LEDCs
Although the UK is an urban society, more and more people are choosing to live on the
edge of urban areas - with many relocating to the countryside. This is called counter-
urbanisation.

Problems of urbanisation in the CBD – traffic congestion

Traffic jam on the M6 motorway

As more people move to the edge of towns and cities, traffic congestion may get worse.
Many people will drive their cars into the city centre to get to work.
It is compounded by people being brought into city on large roads or motorways. These
roads then link up with smaller, older, narrower roads in the city centre. This causes a
bottleneck and congestion.
Some cities have tried to manage this problem by introducing traffic management
schemes. These schemes may include:
 Park and ride schemes.
 Cycle lanes.
 Congestion charging schemes, such as those in Durham and London.
 Car-pooling, as used in the USA, to encourage people to share cars.
 Low Emission Zones, as in London.
Local councils have also tried to make the roads in urban areas safer by
introducing traffic calming, pedestrian zones, vehicle-exclusion zones and permit-only
parking schemes.

Reducing congestion in cities

The introduction of Park and Ride schemes. People

park in car parks on the edge of a settlement and
catch regular buses into the centre.

Park and Ride scheme operating in Plymouth

Pedestrianised areas are designated as pedestrian

only zones.

Pedestrian shopping streets, Liverpool

Permit holder parking - certain parts of the city,

particularly near the centre, are designated as permit
parking only. This means that people must have a
permit to park in that area. This reduces the number
of people driving into towns and cities as parking
opportunities are restricted.

Permit holder parking in Westminster

 Vehicle exclusion zones - certain types of vehicles
are excluded from certain parts of a city, eg large
vehicles may not be allowed to enter narrow roads or
residential areas.

Vehicle exclusion sign

Car pooling - people are encouraged to share cars.

This has been used in a lot in the USA.

Taxi cabs on a New York street

Traffic calming - roads narrowing and speed bumps

make traffic move slower around narrower streets.
Narrow roads may restrict the type of vehicle that
can enter certain parts of the city.

Speed bump in a residential area in London

Problems of urbanisation in the inner city – inequalities

Inequalities exist in all urban areas. Inequality means extreme differences between
poverty and wealth, as well as in people's well-being and access to things like jobs,
housing, and education. Inequalities may occur in:
 Housing provision
 Access to services
 Access to open land
 Safety and security
Often people who live in inner-city areas experience a poor quality of life. This is because
the inner-city is typically a zone with older housing and declining industry. The diagram
below compares the quality of life for someone living in an outer London borough with
that of someone who lives in an inner London borough.
Graph showing quality of life in Outer London

Graph showing quality of life in Inner London

Unemployment and incidents of long-term illness are higher in the inner-city boroughs,
while households are more likely to have central heating and multiple cars in the outer-
city borough.
Governments and planners often step in to help redevelop run-down inner-city areas.
Inner-city redevelopments, such as those in London's Docklands or Manchester's Salford
Quays, may improve the physical environment of the area and improve the quality of
housing. However, it can also create even greater inequalities because the local
residents may not be able to afford to live there anymore. Often the old industrial jobs
are replaced by skilled jobs and new people move to the area.

Problems of urbanisation in the urban rural fringe – housing demand

 'For Sale' signs outside a house

Social and demographic changes are leading to a greater demand for housing. People
are living longer, and choosing to marry later, and in recent years there has been a rise
in the number of single-parent families. Added to this, the UK is experiencing
immigration from other countries, eg from Poland which has recently joined the EU. The
result is an ever-larger number of smaller households, all requiring accommodation.
However, building new, affordable homes in urban areas is difficult. Land values are very
high and land is in short supply:
 Some developers are building on sites that have been built on before in the UK's inner
cities. These are called brownfield sites. This has happened in many of the UK’s inner
cities.
 Other developers are building homes on the edge of the city on greenfield sites in the
urban rural fringe. Land here is cheaper but greenfield development can cause conflict
with local people and create environmental problems.

Sustainable cities
Many people are working towards trying to make cities more sustainable. A sustainable
city offers a good quality of life to current residents but doesn't reduce the opportunities
for future residents to enjoy.

Key features of a sustainable city

 Resources and services in the city are accessible to all.

 Public transport is seen as a viable alternative to cars.
 Public transport is safe and reliable.
 Walking and cycling is safe.
 Areas of open space are safe, accessible and enjoyable.
 Wherever possible, renewable resources are used instead of non-renewableresources.
 Waste is seen as a resource and is recycled wherever possible.
 New homes are energy efficient.
 There is access to affordable housing.
 Community links are strong and communities work together to deal with issues such as
crime and security.
 Cultural and social amenities are accessible to all.
 Inward investment is made to the CBD.
A sustainable city will grow at a sustainable rate and use resources in a sustainable way.
Think of the town or city you live in, or nearby.
 Could it be more sustainable?
 Do people walk, cycle or use public transport rather than cars?
 Are there enough safe open spaces, services and cultural amenities for everyone?
 Is there enough investment in the city centre?
 Is there a strong sense of community?
 Is waste recycled?
 Is there affordable housing for everyone?
 Are homes energy-efficient?
 Do they use renewable energy?