Urbanisation Patterns
For the first time in history, most people on Earth live in cities. Track how urbanisation has risen worldwide, why it is fastest in some countries, and why the degree of urbanisation differs across UK regions.
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A world of cities 🏙️
Around 2007, for the first time in history, **more than half** the world's people lived in **towns and cities**. That shift is called **urbanisation**, and it is still going on. This module tracks how urbanisation has risen worldwide, why it is fastest in some countries, and why UK regions differ.
The language of urbanisation 🔑
Four ideas run through this module:
Different countries, different speeds ⚖️
Where a country is in its development shapes **when** and **how fast** it urbanises.
Define it 🎯
What does urbanisation mean?
- A growing share of people living in towns and cities
- People moving out to the countryside
- Cities shrinking in size
- Building more farms in the countryside
Plot the rising trend 📈
An interactive activity.
What pulls people in? ✅
Select the TWO factors that PULL people towards cities.
- More jobs and higher wages
- Better schools and hospitals
- Drought ruining farm crops
- A lack of services in rural areas
The UK is not uniform 🗺️
Within the UK, the **degree of urbanisation varies by region**. Areas around London, the old industrial **North-West** and **Midlands** are highly urban, while the **South-West**, **mid-Wales** and the **Scottish Highlands** are far more rural. The reasons: past **industry** concentrated people in cities, and physical **geography** left uplands sparsely populated.
Match each type to its trend 🔗
- Developed countries
- Emerging countries
- Developing countries
- Counter-urbanisation
- Urbanised earliest, now highly urban
- Urbanising fastest right now
- A lower urban share but rising quickly
- People moving out of cities to rural areas
From countryside to city 🪜
An interactive activity.
Extend the trend 🔢
An interactive activity.
Urbanisation in words 🧩
_____ is the rising share of people living in towns and cities. It is driven by rural-to-urban _____, caused by _____ factors in the countryside and pull factors in the city. _____ countries urbanised earliest, while _____ countries are urbanising fastest today.
Spot the true statements 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Read the pattern 🧭
An interactive activity.
Why the speeds differ ✍️
An interactive activity.