Changing Urban Areas
How and why urban areas change: urbanisation and city growth, urban land use, the challenges growing cities face, regeneration, and sustainable urban living.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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Cities on the move
More than half the world now lives in towns and cities, and that share is still rising. Cities are never still: they grow, change and face new challenges. This module works through the urban theme: - Urbanisation: why cities grow and where fastest.\n- Land use: how different parts of a city are used.\n- Challenges: housing, traffic and inner-city decline.\n- Sustainable living: making cities work for people and the future. Population and migration, world development and managing the environment are covered in other modules. Here the focus is changing urban areas.
Words for changing urban areas
Five terms you need before you use them. Learn what each one means.
Match each urban zone to what is found there
- the central business district
- the inner city
- the suburbs
- an industrial estate
- the rural-urban fringe
- shops, offices and the highest land values
- older housing and areas often chosen for renewal
- newer, lower-density family housing away from the centre
- factories and warehouses grouped together
- the edge of the city meeting the countryside
Urban growth in richer against poorer countries
Cities everywhere grow, but the pace and the challenges differ between richer and poorer countries.
What is urbanisation?
Which of these best describes urbanisation?
- The growing share of people living in towns and cities
- People moving from cities back to the countryside
- The spreading of factories into the countryside
- The building of new motorways between cities
Tap the two urban challenges
Tap the TWO problems that growing cities commonly face.
- A shortage of affordable housing
- Heavy traffic congestion
- Wide open farmland
- Empty, quiet countryside
Making cities sustainable
A sustainable city meets the needs of the people living in it today without spoiling things for those who come after. That means good public transport and cycle routes to cut traffic and pollution, plenty of green space, and buildings that use less energy. It means recycling and cutting waste, and enough affordable housing so everyone has a decent home. It also means involving local people in the decisions, because a city works best when those who live in it help shape it. Both richer and poorer cities are working towards these goals in their own ways.
Pick the true facts about changing urban areas
Select the TWO statements that are true.
- Urbanisation is the growth in the share of people living in cities
- The central business district usually has the highest land values
- Informal settlements are carefully planned in advance
- Regeneration means letting an area decline further
Order how a run-down area is regenerated
Put the steps of regenerating a run-down urban area in a sensible order.
- Identify a run-down area that needs help
- Consult local people about their needs
- Plan new housing, jobs and green space
- Carry out the building and improvement work
- Review whether the area has improved
One fast-growing city
Follow how one fast-growing city in a lower-income country dealt with newcomers arriving faster than homes could be built. The pressure: thousands moved in each year seeking work, and self-built housing spread across the edge of the city without planned water or power. The response: rather than clearing it away, the authorities worked with residents, laying on clean water, drains and electricity, and helping people improve their own homes step by step. Jobs and transport: new bus routes linked the area to work, and small businesses grew up along the main roads. The outcome: the neighbourhood became safer, healthier and better connected, showing that working with a community often beats bulldozing it. Rapid city growth brings real strains, but thoughtful, people-centred responses can turn a struggling area around.
Complete the urban facts
The growing share of people living in towns and cities is _____. Improving a run-down urban area to bring it back to life is _____. An unplanned area of self-built housing is an _____ settlement. A city planned to meet needs now without harming the future is a _____ city.
Build an urban point
Choose the words that complete this statement about changing urban areas.
The urban areas run
Five questions on changing urban areas. Three lives.
Improve the city
Read each situation and choose the best response, then think about why.
- A city has a run-down inner-city area with many empty buildings. What is the best response?
- A fast-growing city has self-built housing without clean water. What helps residents most?
- A city wants to cut its traffic and pollution. What is a sustainable step?
Explain how and why urban areas change
A classmate missed these lessons. Explain how and why urban areas change using what this module has covered.
- Explain what urbanisation is and why cities grow
- Explain how land use differs across a city
- Explain two challenges that growing cities face
- Explain one way a run-down area can be regenerated
- Finish by explaining how a city can be made more sustainable