Growth vs Decline
Why some UK rural areas boom while others empty out: South Cambridgeshire growing on science jobs, the Outer Hebrides losing its young people, and Team Valley as a model of sustainable industry, set side by side.
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Two rural areas, two futures
The changing UK economy does not treat every rural area the same. Some grow while others shrink. South Cambridgeshire is growing fast: it sits beside Cambridge, whose science and technology firms draw in young workers, so commuters arrive and the demand for new housing rises. The Outer Hebrides, a chain of remote islands off north-west Scotland, is declining: with few jobs, young people leave for the mainland, the population ages, and crofting and fishing fade. Planners also look for sustainable answers, such as Team Valley Trading Estate, a large industrial site designed to bring modern jobs with less harm to the environment. This module sets growth and decline side by side.
Rural change words
Learn these before you contrast the two areas, and keep one growth cause and one decline cause in mind.
South Cambridgeshire against the Outer Hebrides
The clearest way to see rural change is to put a growing area and a declining area next to each other.
How to contrast two areas
Never describe one place and then the other in a separate block. Set them against each other point by point. Take a cause in the growing area and hold it beside the matching cause in the declining one, then do the same for the effects. Ask why workers arrive in one place and leave the other, and what each movement does to housing, services and jobs. A top answer reads as one comparison, not two lists.
Match the cause to what it leads to
- science and technology jobs near Cambridge
- very few jobs on the remote islands
- strong demand for homes in a growth area
- an ageing population in a decline area
- young workers move in and the population grows
- young people leave and the population falls
- new houses are built and prices rise
- schools and shops close as demand drops
Which area is this?
A place loses its young people to the mainland, its population grows older, and its village school closes for lack of pupils. Which case-study area does this describe?
- The Outer Hebrides, a declining area.
- South Cambridgeshire, a growing area.
- Team Valley Trading Estate.
- The city of Cambridge itself.
Signs of rural decline
Select the TWO changes that show a rural area is in decline.
- Young people move away to find work
- Village schools and shops close down
- Lots of new housing is built for incomers
- New science and technology jobs appear
Population increase
A growing village near Cambridge had 4000 residents ten years ago and has 6500 today. Subtract to find the increase in the number of residents.
Order how decline unfolds
Put the stages of rural decline in the Outer Hebrides in order, earliest first.
- There are very few jobs on the islands
- Young people leave to work on the mainland
- Those who remain are older and the population falls
- Schools and shops close as demand drops
Complete the facts
An area that gains people as workers move in shows population _____. An area that loses people as workers move away shows population _____. The steady loss of residents from a rural area is called _____. Team Valley Trading Estate is an example of sustainable industrial _____.
Match the change to its result
- a sustainable estate like Team Valley
- commuters moving into South Cambridgeshire
- crofting and fishing fading in the Hebrides
- a growing population near Cambridge
- modern jobs arrive with less harm to the environment
- more traffic and pressure on village roads
- traditional rural jobs disappear
- builders are needed for new homes
Spot the true rural change facts
Tap the TWO statements that are true about rural growth and decline.
- South Cambridgeshire grows on science and technology jobs
- The Outer Hebrides lose young people to the mainland
- Every UK rural area is changing in exactly the same way
- Team Valley is a declining fishing village
Compare the areas
Read each case and choose the best response, with a reason.
- A firm wants to build new homes where demand for housing is rising fast. Which area fits that need?
- A council wants to slow the loss of young people from a remote island community. Which cause should it tackle first?
- A student describes each area in a separate paragraph with no link between them. How could the answer be improved?
Contrast growth and decline
Contrast why South Cambridgeshire is growing while the Outer Hebrides are declining, and how each change affects the area.
- Explain why workers move into South Cambridgeshire
- Explain why young people leave the Outer Hebrides
- Contrast the effect on housing in the two areas
- Contrast the effect on local services in the two areas
- Finish with a judgement on which change is harder for planners to manage and why