The UK Economic Divide
The UK is one country, but not every region is equally wealthy. Some areas boom while others lag behind. Explore the two-speed economy and the ways a country can try to close the gap.
Revise this, the fun way
Play it interactively, earn XP and build a streak, free.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
A country of two speeds 🗺️
The UK is one country, but not every region is equally wealthy. The south east, and London in particular, tends to be richer and to grow faster than many other regions. This gap is often called a **two-speed economy**. This module is about that divide and the ways of trying to close it.
Words to know 🔑
Four ideas run through this topic:
What is it? 🎯
What does the two-speed economy mean?
- Some regions are wealthier and grow faster than others
- Every region grows at exactly the same speed
- Cars are limited to two speeds
- The UK has no economy at all
Where to build ⚖️
New homes and businesses can go on two kinds of land.
Match the meaning 🔗
- Two-speed economy
- Greenfield site
- Brownfield site
- Regeneration
- Some regions richer and faster-growing than others
- New, undeveloped land such as countryside
- Land in a town that was built on before
- Improving a run-down area
Closing the gap 🏗️
To reduce the divide, the government can invest in poorer regions, improve the transport links between them, move jobs and offices out of the south east, and give regions more power through devolution. Regenerating run-down areas can also bring back jobs and people.
Bridging the divide ✅
Which THREE could help bridge the economic gap between regions?
- Invest in poorer regions
- Improve transport links between regions
- Move some jobs out of the south east
- Build everything only in London
- Ignore the poorer regions completely
Costs and benefits 🔀
- A benefit of greenfield
- A cost of greenfield
- A benefit of brownfield
- A cost of brownfield
- More space and lower building cost
- Loses countryside and habitats
- Reuses land and is near services
- Often needs clearing and costs more
A plan to close the gap 🪜
An interactive activity.
Complete the idea 🧩
The UK has a _____ economy, where the south east is wealthier and grows faster than many other regions. Building on new countryside is _____ development, while reusing town land is _____ development. The government can _____ in poorer regions and improve transport to bridge the _____.
True or not? 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Hard to count 🔎
Why are UK net migration figures uncertain?
- They are hard to measure exactly
- They are always counted perfectly
- Nobody ever moves in or out
- They depend only on the weather
Grow the town 🧭
An interactive activity.
Explain it ✍️
An interactive activity.