Urbanisation
The Growth of Towns & Cities
What does Urbanisation Mean?
Until about 200 years ago, most people lived a rural life. They lived and worked
the land in the countryside.
However, during the Industrial Revolution many people moved off the land and
into growing towns and cities. Factories became important places of
employment, so people moved to cities in search of work.
This led to a huge growth in the size and number of towns and cities.
This growth in the size and number of cities is called Urbanisation.
Urbanisation is continuing throughout the world. New cities are growing all the
time as more and more people leave their rural lives behind and move into
cities in search of work.
In essence, a rural to urban shift is taking place.
The Growth of Dublin
•
Like all cities throughout the world, Dublin has grown over a long period of
time. We will now examine some different stages in Dublin’s growth.
The Growth of Dublin
Viking Dublin
Dublin began as a Viking settlement. Like many other Viking settlements,
Dublin was an ideal place at the mouth of a river. From here the Vikings could
trade.
The Anglo-Normans
The Normans occupied Dublin in 1169. They built stone walls around the city.
Dublin became a Medieval city with narrow streets. Poor sanitation caused
many deaths.
The 16th-18th Centuries
Dublin was extended and many new streets were added in a grid-iron pattern.
Parks like St. Stephen’s Green were made and Georgian Houses were built.
Georgian Houses
The Growth of Dublin
The 19th Century
After 1800 many of the wealthy people who lived in the Georgian houses left
Dublin. Landlords bought these tenements and rented rooms to families. There
was huge overcrowding in these tenement buildings and poverty and disease
were widespread. The Dublin docklands became an important source of work.
Dublin became a distribution centre. Goods were distributed throughout Ireland
along the canal and railway lines.
The 20th Century
Dublin grew rapidly in the 20th century. The inner city slums were cleared and
people moved out to new suburbs like Ballyfermot, Crumlin, and Finglas.
Newer suburbs were then developed around the villages of Clondalkin, Lucan
and Tallaght.
Functional Zones in Cities
• If we look at the pattern of most cities in the world, we can see that
there are a number of different zones.
• Each of these zones has a different function or use.
The following zones can be seen in most cities;
1. A Central Business District (CBD)
2. Some smaller shopping areas
3. A number of shopping centres
4. Industrial areas
5. Open space for recreation / leisure.
The Central Business District (CBD)
• The centre of every city has a CBD.
• This is where the big banks, office buildings, and department stores
are. These buildings are usually multi-storeyed buildings.
Q. Where is the CBD in Dublin?
Some Smaller Shopping Areas
• Around the outskirts of the city there will be small little village
centres where people can do their day-to-day shopping.
• These small areas allow people to access of all the services they
need without having to go into the city centre.
Q. Clondalkin village is an example of a small shopping area. Can you
think of any others?
Q. What services are available for people in Clondalkin village?
Shopping Centres
• In most of the suburbs of Dublin city there are shopping centres.
Q. Can you name any?
Blanchardstown Shopping Centre – Blanchardstown
The Square – Tallaght
Dundrum Shopping Centre – Dundrum
Liffey Valley – Clondalkin/Lucan
Industrial Areas
•
Since the Industrial Revolution, cities have been important industrial areas.
Many goods are manufactured in the factories of these cities.
•
For e.g., Detroit, Michigan is nicknamed Motor City because it is where
many American car companies built their cars.
•
Port cities often have industries such as oil refining (Rotterdam), or
chemical factories (Cork).
•
There are many industrial estates in the suburbs around the cities.
Footloose industries are attracted to these areas.
Q. Can you name any industrial estates/technology parks around Dublin?
Space for Recreation/Leisure
• All cities need space for children to play and for people to relax and
enjoy the outdoors.
• Dublin has parks like the Phoenix Park and St Stephen’s Green.
There are also many parks in the suburban areas surrounding
Dublin.
Q. Corkagh park is one example. Can you name any others?
Q. Can you think of any other areas/places that are used for leisure and
recreation?
Functional Zones in Cities
• Fig.9.2 shows some of the
main zones which can be
found in most cities around the
world.
Land Use in Cities
•
•
Land gets less valuable as you move out from the CBD.
Buildings get smaller as you move out from the CBD.
Land Use in Cities
• Land is very valuable in the city centre. It is very expensive to buy a
site to build on. Therefore most buildings in the city centre are multistorey buildings. Rents are high for retailers in the city centre, but
they have many customers and so they can afford these rents.
Q. What type of retailers set up in city centre locations?
In the suburbs there is much more land available. Most buildings are
one or two storeys high.
Q. What type of retailers set up in suburban areas?
Residential Accommodation in our Cities
•
People live in many different types of buildings.
Q. Make a list of all the different types of buildings people live in.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Apartments
Flats
Semi-Detached Houses
Detached Houses
Terraced Houses
Bungalows
Georgian Houses
Q. Where are you most likely to find each type of house, the city or the suburbs?
Commuting to work in Cities
•
Many people work in shops and offices in the city centre.
•
However, many of these people live in the suburbs surrounding the city.
•
Many more people live further away in the counties surrounding Dublin.
•
These people must travel (commute) to work each day.
•
People who travel to work are called commuters.
Q. How do these people get to work?
Q. Can you think of any problems commuting can create?
Commuting to work
The table below shows the different methods of transport used by Dublin
commuters.
Mode of Transport
Buses
Cars/Vans/trucks
Bikes
Motorbikes
Walking
Train
Percentage %
29%
46%
3%
1%
9%
12%
Q. Draw a pie chart to represent the information shown in the table.
Q. Which method of transport do most people use?
Q. What problems could this cause?
Q. What could be done to encourage more people to commute on their bikes?
M
Mode of Transport
ing
es
Tr
a in
W
a lk
ot
or
b ik
ke
s
an
s
Bi
Ca
rs/
V
Bu
se
s
Percentage of People
Urban Transport Use
50%
40%
30%
20%
Series1
10%
0%
Rush-hour Traffic
Q. What does rush-hour traffic mean?
Q. At what times does rush-hour traffic occur?
Q. Why do you think it occurs at this time?
Q. Can you think of any ways to solve this problem?
Traffic Congestion
Q. Travel time to the city centre has increased in recent years. True or False?
Q. Why do you think this is?
Solutions to Traffic Congestion
• It has been proved in cities all over the world that building more
roads does not solve the problem of traffic congestion in cities.
• The best way to solve the problem is by encouraging people to use
public transport.
•
•
Q. What is public transport?
Q. What types of public transport exist?
•
Q. What types of public transport do we have in Dublin?
Buses
• Buses can carry up to 80 people.
• If more people used buses it would take many cars off the roads
each day.
• They can get to the city centre much quicker than cars because they
can use Quality Bus Corridors (QBC’s).
• There has been a big increase in the number of QBC’s in Dublin in
recent years.
Light Rail
•
The DART is an example
of a light rail system.
•
It is a very successful
network. Many people
travel to work each day
using the DART.
•
The DART line runs
through many areas
along the coastline of
Dublin.
The Luas
•
The Luas is a Tram system.
•
This type of public transport
is very popular in many
European cities.
•
It is a fast and efficient
method of transport.
•
Dublin’s Luas has been
extremely popular with
commuters.
Q. Looking at Fig.9.8, can you
identify any problem with the
current Luas network?
Urban Problems
•
Cities can be great places to live. There are lots of activities to do.
•
Q. List some things which can be done in the city and not in rural areas.
•
However, there are many problems to be found in cities.
•
Q. Can you list some problems which may exist in cities?
•
A number of important problems exist. These are;
•
•
•
•
1. Zones of Decline
2. Unemployment
3. Crime
4. Community disruption
Urban Problems
Zones of Decline
Many places in the city centre are derelict sites. While many have been
redeveloped in recent years, there are still many run down buildings. These
buildings may be occupied by homeless people and drug addicts.
Unemployment
In the past there were many jobs available in city centres in small factories.
However, most of these factories have moved out to industrial estates in the
suburbs. Most jobs in the city centre are now skilled jobs requiring university
level education. In 2002, only 62% of children in Dublin city sat the Leaving
Certificate. Therefore many of them cannot find work in the city.
Urban Problems
Crime
Crime is a big problem in many
inner city areas. A lot of crime is
drug related.
People steal money and goods
from shops and people to pay for
their drugs.
The highest crime figures in Ireland
are in Dublin city centre.
Q. Why do you think this is?
Q. What could be done to try to
solve this problem?
Urban Problems
Community Disruption
Since the 1960’s many people born in the city centre have had to move
to the new growing suburbs such as Ballymun, Tallaght, and Clondalkin.
This has left some young people disconnected from their families who
remain in the city centre. This can leave people feeling isolated.
Improving Urban Areas
•
In many countries, governments have attempted to improve urban
areas.
•
There are two main ways to do this. They are;
1.
2.
Inner-city renewal and redevelopment.
The planning of new towns.
Urban Renewal and Redevelopment
Urban Renewal
This means knocking down old houses/flats and building new places for
people to live.
Urban Redevelopment
This means knocking down old houses/flats and buildings shops,
offices, restaurants or car parks.
Q. Can you name any place in Dublin where urban renewal has occurred?
Q. Can you name any place in Dublin where urban redevelopment has
occurred?
The Planning of New Towns
Tallaght Town
• Tallaght was chosen as a location for a new town in the 1960’s.
• It has developed into an important residential, commercial and
industrial area.
• It now has many facilities including a hospital, shopping centre, the
county library, Tallaght IT, and many industrial estates.
• It is connected to the city centre by the Luas.
• Tallaght is continuously growing and it will soon become a city in its
own right.
The Planning of New Towns
The Planning of New Towns
Adamstown
• Adamstown is the latest new town to be built in Ireland.
• It is the result of a completely new way of planning in Ireland.
• The 10,000 houses/apartments are high-density developments.
• There is a railway station giving direct access to the city centre.
• Schools, shops, and leisure facilities have been built for the people.
Urbanisation in the Developing World
•
Urbanisation is happening rapidly in many parts of the developing world.
•
People are being ‘pushed’ from rural areas and ‘pulled’ toward the cities.
•
Every year more and more people arrive to these growing cities in search of
a better life for themselves and their children.
•
However, this rapid urbanisation is causing many problems.
Q. Can you think of any problems that are occurring in cities in the developing
world?
Cities in the Developing World
•
Cities in the developing world
are different to cities in rich
countries.
•
In the CBD there are expensive
shops, restaurants, and highquality houses and apartments.
The rich people live here.
•
As you move away from the
CBD the quality of the houses
decreases.
•
At the edge of the city are the
shanty towns. This is where the
poorest people live.
Life in the Shanty Towns
•
The houses in the shanty towns are built by the people themselves. They
are usually made with pieces of wood, plastic, and metal sheeting.
•
The people are extremely poor. They have poor sanitation and little access
to medical care.
Revision Questions - Urbanisation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Define the term Urbanisation.
Define the term ‘rural to urban shift’.
List 5 functional zones found in most cities.
What is the CBD? Explain what type of buildings are in a CBD and why.
Explain how land is used as you move from the CBD to the edge of a city.
What is a commuter?
Explain in detail why commuting in the Greater Dublin Region is a problem.
What does the term ‘rush hour’ mean?
Explain what traffic congestion is. Why is traffic congestion a problem?
Explain 3 ways that the government have tried to reduce traffic congestion in
Dublin.
Define the terms ‘Urban Renewal’ and ‘Urban Redevelopment’.
Make a list of push and pull factors for urbanisation in the developing world.
What is a Shanty Town?
Describe in detail what is meant by the term ‘Social Capital’.
Sections completed this year
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Map & Settlement – 50 marks
The Atmosphere
– 60 marks
Soils
– 20 marks
Climate
– 50 marks
Population
– 60 marks
Urbanisation
– 60 marks
Total Marks
300 MARKS
Sample Exam Answers
•
Choose two Irish soil types that you have studied.
(i). List the two soil types.
(ii). Explain two ways that the two soil types are different.
Answer:
Two Irish soil types are,
a). Brown Soils
b). Podzol Soils
Two differences between them are,
Brown soils form under deciduous forests. They are fertile.
Podzol soils form under coniferous forests. They are infertile.
Sample Exam Answers
1.
Explain in detail how Altitude can affect the climate of an area.
Altitude means height above sea level. It affects climate in the following way.
The higher you go, the colder it gets. The temperature drops 7°C for every
1000m you go up. There are two reasons for this.
a). The air is thinner and can hold less heat.
b). You are more exposed to the wind. This is called the wind chill factor.
Sample Exam Answers
Explain in detail 2 reasons why the population of Navan increased
from 4,000 people in 1971 to 26,000 in 2006.
Two reasons why Navan’s population increased were;
•
In the 1970’s Navan became a resource-based settlement when lead and
zinc were discovered. The largest lead and zinc mine in Europe was
opened there. Many people moved there to avail of the new jobs in the
mine. Other businesses developed and prospered which attracted even
more people.
•
In the late 1990’s Navan developed a residential function. Many young
people who work in Dublin live in Navan. They bought houses there
because property in Dublin was too expensive. They commute to Dublin
each day to work.
Sample Exam Answers
Explain in detail why there are so few people aged 70+ years in
Ethiopia.
There are so few people aged 70+ in Ethiopia because,
It is a poor country where many people have no access to safe drinking
water. There are many people who don’t have access to the health
system and so they are often sick. Ethiopia experiences frequent food
shortages and famine. Ethiopia has been involved in a war against
Eritrea for many years. All of these reasons mean that many people die
young, and very few people in Ethiopia live until their old age.
Sample Exam Answers
What does the term ‘Social Capital’ mean? How is it affected by
commuting?
Social capital means the wealth of social connections and community
activity that take place in an area. Some communities have lots of
people who volunteer to run activities and clubs for old people and
teenagers. They have lots of clubs for various sports which the parents
help to organise and coach. They may also be involved in residents
associations, tidy towns committees, or environmental groups. These
communities would have a high level of social capital.
Social Capital is harmed by commuting because commuters spend less time in
their communities. They spend lots of time stuck in traffic, driving long
distances to work. Therefore, they are often tired when they get home and have
less time/motivation for voluntary activities.