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Global Variations in the Rate & Characteristics
Of Present day Urbanisation
Variations in rate:
 Faster in LEDCs
 Slower in MEDCs
There has also been the recent development of megacities.
There are 5 types of modern day urban change.
 Old industrial cities have lost their population due to industrial decline e.g. Sheffield.
 Old industrial cities find new employment so maintain the population e.g. Boston.
 Post-industrial cities are rapidly growing around new technologies e.g. Houston.
 Rapidly growing cities in NICs e.g. Seoul.
 Rapidly growing cities in LEDCs due to rural-urban migration e.g. Mexico City.
UK
Generally urbanisation is only increasing very slowly or is decreasing in the UK.
Counter-urbanisation: People are abandoning the cities as they like the rural areas. However, people still continue to live the
urban lifestyle. Better transport & communication means that people move from inner cities to small
towns & villages causing them to grow.
Population is dispersed over a large area – Dispersal cities
Re-urbanisation: In some areas cities have started growing again due to city centre redevelopment e.g. Birmingham,
Newcastle. People are attracted back to the cities.
Urbanisation in LEDCs
Urbanisation is very rapid in LEDCs.
Reasons:
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Rapid population growth – Lower death rates.
Greater pressure in rural areas due to number of people so they
move to cities.
Modernisation of Agriculture – Fewer jobs
People move to the cities but there is no industrial revolution to
support them.
Industrial Competition – MEDCs seek new markets in LEDCs. This means traditional businesses
are forced out of business.
Improved communication – People are more aware of urban areas.
Effects of rapid urbanisation
 Cities lack the economic growth to support the growing population.
 There may be over-urbanisation e.g. Calcutta.
 Problems of primacy – Largest City dominates the country e.g. Mexico City.
 Growth of squatter/spontaneous settlements – Authorities can’t provide enough services for
everyone.
 Unemployment – Not enough jobs for the influx of people.
 People forced to work in the informal sector – People are underemployed as they only have
temporary jobs at particular times of the year.
 50% of city dwellers live in sub-standard housing with very few professionally built housing for
the working class.
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Mexico
People are pulled to Mexico City, a primate city.
Puebla is a poor, rural region of Mexico where jobs are mainly in agriculture & farming – maize &
beans. There are many push factors, which force people out of Puebla:
 The only place to find work is Mexico City.
 Poor literacy rate – 50%
 Lack of proper housing.
 Lack of clean water & medical care.
 The rural population is growing rapidly.
People therefore move to Mexico City but are forced to live in spontaneous settlements on the edge of
the city. Rapid urbanisation means that there are not enough houses and there are big problems with
waste disposal. The infrastructure of the city is falling apart.
There is a poor location of industry a long way from most people and so there are transport problems.
There is also a large inequality between rich and poor with separations between them.
Therefore, urbanisation is very rapid in Mexico due to problems in rural areas and the fact that Mexico
City is a primate city.
Calcutta
Calcutta is situated on flat, swampy ground on the Ganges delta and is India’s largest city with a
population of 13-16 million. The land is only 10m above sea level & so there is the constant threat of
flooding.
Housing:
Many families live on the pavement. These are bustees (a collection of houses made from nonpermanent materials). These can have a population density of 150,000 per km squared. These houses
usually contain 1 small room but are usually kept fairly clean. However there is no clean water supply
in the bustees. Sewage tends to contaminate the water causing cholera & typhoid. Rubbish is dumped
in the streets.
Transport is overcrowded & there are very few services. Employment is in the informal sector with
many jobs just a few hours a week on a very small income.
The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority has been set-up to make bustees more inhabitable
with taps, drains, paving, sanitation etc. However, progress has been slow due to a lack of money, high
birth rates & migration.
Rio
There are half a million homeless street dwellers in Rio with 2 mlln in favelas in poor quality housing.
Often attempts are made to remove the houses but they are just rebuilt. The favelas also attract crime,
violence & drugs. Rio has huge problems with traffic congestion with severe pollution problems. Most
of the time an industrial haze hangs over the city & the water is polluted with sewage.
Urbanisation in Communist Countries, Russia
Urbanisation in communist countries is different to MEDCs, as there are strict controls by the
government. Towns are planned and rural-urban migration is strictly controlled. A propiska (visa) is
needed to migrate.
The government wants to control the size & layout of cities. The physical extent of the cities was
controlled by greenbelt and forest belt to prevent urban sprawl. New cities are built near to industry to
develop new resources e.g. E Russia.
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In the USSR TPCs (Territorial Production Complexes.) were created. Workers were housed in flats
with all the services they needed.
Since the fall of communism there has been a rapid increase in urbanisation with a lot of people
moving to Moscow. However, the greenbelt scheme remains.
Reasons For differences in Global Urbanisation
The main difference is the development of the country as urbanisation is faster in LEDCs than MEDCs.
Birth rate > death rate due to increased healthcare and so the population in LEDCs is growing rapidly.
Industry in LEDCs:
 Job security
 Pensions, get more money – better paid.
 Possible Housing – Good standard of living.
 TNC investment attracts people to cities e.g. car industry in Mexico.
Industry in MEDCs:
 Closure of secondary industry – Corby. Therefore loss of jobs & leave cities. Ripple effect
causes spiral of decline – dead heart in city centres.
 Increase in footloose tertiary industry so locate to country for better life. This is helped by the
development of technology – Internet, motorways, air-flights, faxes etc.
Government Impact:
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Grants – encourage TNCs to build factories.
Housing Policy- Bangladesh bulldozers squatter settlements so discourages migration.
Migration Policy – Communism – prevents internal migration
Development Policy
Trade Policy – Embargo, tariffs, subsidies e.g. NAFTA affects urbanisation in Mexico.
Greenbelt controls urbanisation in MEDCs – prevents urban sprawl.
Perceived Quality of Life:
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Better communication in MEDC lead to counter-urbanisation – working from home
Environmental controls stricter in MEDC
Better conditions in rural areas – less pollution/ stress
Rural-urban fringe - suburbanisation
People in LEDCs attracted by the bid lights of cities, as think will give them a better life.
People better off in MEDC – want convenience, space and can afford luxury low-density
housing