GCSE Geography: Changing Cities (Birmingham & Mumbai Case Studies)

Flashcards covering urbanisation patterns, UK urban distribution, Birmingham's urban structure, industrial cycle, retail decline, and Mumbai's megacity challenges, slums, and development strategies.

What is the geographical definition of "level of urbanisation"?

The proportion of a population living in towns and cities.

What are the two primary causes of urbanisation?

Rural-to-urban migration and natural population increase.

How did the global distribution of the world's largest cities change between $1950$ and $2000$?

In $1950$, the two largest cities were located in MEDCs (London and New York); by $2000$, $22$ of the $27$ largest cities in the world were located in LEDCs.

What population threshold defines a megacity?

A city with over $10\text{ million}$ inhabitants.

According to the $2015$ dataset, which two megacities had the largest populations in the world?

Tokyo ($26.4\text{ million}$) and Mumbai ($26.1\text{ million}$).

What is an urban agglomeration (or conurbation)?

A continuously built-up area comprising more than one town or city.

In the UK settlement hierarchy, how do settlement size, spacing, and service provision correlate?

As you move up the hierarchy, settlement size increases, the distance between similar-sized settlements increases, and the number of services provided increases.

Based on $2011$ census data, what were the three largest built-up areas in the UK by population?

Greater London ($9,800,000$), Greater Manchester ($2,550,000$), and West Midlands ($2,450,000$).

How are the site and situation of Birmingham described?

Site: Built on the Birmingham plateau on a dry-point site (unlikely to flood). Situation: Located centrally in England, surrounded by the towns of Stafford, Worcester, and Warwick.

Why did Birmingham earn the title "the workshop of the world" during the 19th century?

It was the fastest-growing city spurred on by the Industrial Revolution, focusing heavily on metalwork, the jewellery quarter, and later the motor and manufacturing industries.

Which two residential areas in Birmingham represent clear anomalies to the concentric Burgess model?

Edgbaston/Harborne (high-value, expensive 19th-century housing built by industrialists close to the CBD) and Chelmsley Wood (a council housing estate built on the outer edge of the city).

What style of housing and historical origin characterise the inner-city area of Sparkhill in Birmingham?

Working-class 19th-century terraced houses built between the $1850\text{s}$ and $1890\text{s}$ with backyards, coal sheds, and outside toilets.

What three natural resource advantages enabled Birmingham to rapidly industrialise?

Deposits of iron ore, coal seams, and local streams to power mills.

What historical cartographic survey of Birmingham is shown here, and what was the city's population at the time?

A plan of Birmingham surveyed in the year $1731$, when its population was approximately $18,000$.

Which district was the first suburb of Birmingham, established when wealthy factory owners moved away from the overcrowded centre?

Edgbaston.

What two flagship urban renewal projects opened in Birmingham in $1991$ to foster business tourism?

The International Convention Centre (ICC), which generated $2,000$ jobs and £$50\text{ million}$ of spending in its first year, and the £$34\text{ million}$ Hyatt Hotel.

How did foreign competition trigger deindustrialisation in Birmingham starting in the $1970\text{s}$?

Overseas manufacturers like Nissan and VW imported cheaper cars into the UK, causing British car sales to plummet, factories to shut down, and thousands of manufacturing jobs to be lost.

Which Indian transnational company (TNC) bought Jaguar-Land Rover and invested millions into its Solihull plant?

Tata Motors.

Why was Birmingham targeted for deliberate population reduction following the Second World War?

The UK government enacted the Distribution of Industry Act $1945$ and the West Midlands Plan to limit growth in congested cities, setting Birmingham a target of $990,000$ by $1960$ and requiring $220,000$ people to leave for Development Areas.

How did Birmingham's unemployment rate in June $2023$ compare to the UK national average?

Birmingham's unemployment rate was $7.5\%$, nearly double the UK national average of $3.8\%$.

How does the "urban spiral of decline" affect traditional CBD retailing?

Footfall drops as shoppers choose out-of-town retail parks; businesses lose revenue and close; unemployment rises; vacant shops become vandalised and unsightly, further degrading public perception of the centre.

What retail and leisure facilities at Merry Hill contributed to pulling shoppers away from Birmingham's CBD?

$250$ retail stores, $10,000$ parking spaces, a cinema, and a food hall all enclosed under one roof.

What are the three essential components of the "sustainability stool"?

Social (enhancing quality of life and involving people in decisions), Economic (affordable and generating income), and Environmental (protecting habitats and preventing environmental harm).

What percentage of municipal waste was recycled in Birmingham in $2013$, and how did it compare to the UK average?

$30\%$ of waste was recycled, which fell short of the national UK average of $40\%$.

What are the key site characteristics of Mumbai?

A low-lying peninsula of drained former marshland and swamp, originally composed of seven distinct islands.

What waterway completed in $1869$ radically improved Mumbai's global maritime connectivity to Europe?

The Suez Canal, which reduced the journey from Europe to India by $7,000\text{ km}$ by avoiding the route around Africa.

What share of India's total industrial activity, sea trade, and financial capital is concentrated in Mumbai?

Mumbai generates $25\%$ of India's industrial activity, handles $40\%$ of its sea trade, and provides $70\%$ of its financial capital.

How does Waugh's model of an emerging-country city differ from the Burgess model regarding CBD and residential zones?

The CBD is situated along the coast/waterfront rather than centrally, high-income residential areas run along waterfronts and outer suburbs, and informal squatter housing occupies marginal pockets between formal zones.

What are the "Maidans" in Mumbai's urban layout?

A dedicated strip of open fields, sports grounds, and recreational facilities located directly south of the CBD.

What distinct demographic features are displayed in this $2007$ population pyramid of Mumbai?

A dominant proportion of working-age adults with a significant surplus of men over women (driven by economic migration), very few elderly dependents over $65$, and a narrower base of young dependents indicating a lower birth rate than rural India.

What percentage of rural-to-urban internal migrants in Mumbai originate from within Maharashtra state?

$70\%$.

What is the population density of Mumbai's Dharavi slum?

Over $1\text{ million}$ to $1.2\text{ million}$ people packed into a single square mile.

What are the life expectancy and sanitation ratios in the Dharavi slum?

Average life expectancy is $60$ years ($10$ years below the national average), and there is approximately one toilet per $1,450$ residents.

What quantities of untreated sewage enter Mumbai's Mithi River daily, and how much municipal waste is treated?

$800\text{ million litres}$ of untreated sewage enter the Mithi River every day, and only $30\%$ of the city's $9,400\text{ metric tonnes}$ of daily solid waste receives proper processing.

What economic activity is depicted here in the informal settlements of Mumbai?

Informal sorting and recycling of materials (such as plastics and discarded components), part of an informal sector in Dharavi that generates between $500\text{ million}$ and $650\text{ million}$ dollars (up to £$1\text{ billion}$) annually.

What was the Tata Nano, and why was its production discontinued?

Marketed as the world's cheapest car at approximately £$2,000$ to reduce two-wheeler traffic in Indian cities, it ceased production because manufacturing it cost the company money.

What fundamental contrast in urban development philosophy is illustrated in this diagram?

Top-down development, where central authorities or TNCs impose plans with the assumption that benefits will trickle down, versus bottom-up development, where experts collaborate directly with grassroots communities to give them ownership of solutions.

What are the primary advantages and major drawbacks of the Mumbai Slum Resettlement Scheme?

Advantages: Rehouses residents into modern $14$-storey flats with piped water, connected sewers, and reduced waterborne diseases. Drawbacks: Only covers residents settled before $2000$, breaks up long-standing community bonds, fragments local informal economies, and risks ancient fishing settlements.

How did SPARC's Community Toilet Project apply a bottom-up approach in Mumbai?

SPARC involved the community at every step (design, construction, and ongoing maintenance), building $211$ toilet blocks ($7,000$ toilets by $2015$) linked to main sewers, featuring separate male/female stalls and an appointed community caretaker.

What is the distinction between a greenfield site and a brownfield site?

A greenfield site is previously undeveloped land (typically rural or on the urban fringe), whereas a brownfield site has been built on previously and is cleared for redevelopment (frequently in inner-city areas).

What four demographic trends have driven increased household demand and housing shortages across the UK?

People leaving home younger, living longer, marrying later in life, and rising rates of divorce.

How did the Brundtland Report ($1987$) define sustainable development?

"Meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."