DIVERSE PLACES

How do populations vary?

• Total numbers (rising and falling over time)

• Population structure

• Increasing in some places, whilst decreasing or remaining stable in other places

What are places transformed by?

• The physical nature of the place

• What its residents do for a living

• Connections:

  • Internal - People, employment, housing, services

  • External - Government policies, globalisation

Why does the UK have an ageing population?

• Due to an increased life expectancy and decreased death rates

  • → Due to better medical care, the development of antibiotics such as penicillin, and vaccinations

• Improved quality of life (QOL)

  • Better housing, nutrition education (public health campaigns promoting balanced diets)

• NHS

• Clean water and sanitation (100% have access to clean water, reducing water borne diseases such as cholera)

• Government policy - maternity / paternity leave → encourages higher birth rates

What is the population structure for Urban and Rural places?

URBAN AREAS

• Urban places offer more economic and social opportunities with a wider range of businesses and industries to provide jobs

• This leads to younger areas having a younger and more ethnically diverse population

• As a result, fertility rates Ane population growth are higher than rural areas

RURAL AREAS

• Rural places have more limited economic and social opportunities, as there are fewer businesses and industries to provide jobs

• Rural places tend to have older populations

• As a result, rural populations show lower fertility rates and higher mortality rates than urban areas

• The rural population is also less ethnically diverse due to the limited opportunities

What are other factors that influence population density?

• Accessibility - Places that are more accessible will have high population density e.g. if there are transport links

• Physical factors (relief, extreme climates) - Flatter, low-lying land will have higher population densities e.g. The Scottish Highlands has a sparse population density due to its relief and limited transport links

• Historical development - during the Industrial Revolution, workers will have lived in small houses close to their place of work, creating higher population densities

• Planning policies - The UK’s Green Belt policy aims to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land around major urban areas open and undeveloped

Explain the uneven increase in the UKs population

• 60s: Post-WW2 baby boom, economic growth, immigration from Caribbean, Pakistan, India

• 90s: Growth rises due to late baby boomers having children; immigration from conflict zones (Balkans, Congo, Yemen, Kosovo)

• 00s: EU enlargement 2004 = migration from Poland, Romania - economic opportunities attract migrants

• 10s: Growths continues despite 2008 recession due to immigration, Londons multicultural appeal with the Olympic Games, clustering of different ethnicities, election of Sadiq Khanc

What is a population pyramid?

Illustrates the ages and sex distribution of a population

• 3 age categories

  • Pre reproductive (0-14)

  • Reproductive (15-44)

  • Post reproductive (45+)

• The shapes show growth type (expanding = developing countries)

  • e.g Nigeria = Wide base, short life, high birth rate

  • Stable = UK, rectangular, low birth and death rates

  • Contracting= Japan, narrow base, top heavy, ageing population

What is the rural-urban continuum?

• The gradual transition from highly urban areas with high population densities (e.g. cities) to remote rural places with low densities (e.g. isolated farm, hamlet)

What two processes is population change an outcome of?

• Natural change = The balance between birth rates and death rates

• Net migration = The difference between the number of immigrants coming into the country and the number of emigrants leaving the country

What is a stakeholder?

• A group with an interest in a location

  • Who demand a specific outcome to arise as a result change taking place

  • Change to diverse places usually causes clashes between stakeholders

EXAMPLE: pre-existing populations, migrant communities, homeowners, local governments

What would the local governments priority be in changing / regenerating places?

The local governments main priority is likely to be focused on:

• Ensuring the provision (to provide) of essential public services (such as housing and education) - Done at a degree that does not put a strain on these services e.g by building more houses such as in Slough

• Ensuring that integration takes place between communities - to decrease the risk of tension building up and ‘social exclusion’ and segregation taking place → potentially building up friction between these communities

What would the pre-existing populations priority be when changing / regenerating places?

• Limiting immigration to only a handful of migrants

• Potentially even excluding certain groups from migrating to a particular area → as a result of pre-existing prejudice and fears of cultural erosion taking place

What is the result of large inflows of international migration in urban areas?

• Increase in racism

• Rise in tensions

• Segregation and misunderstanding

  • can lead to deadly riots in the long run e.g Brixton riots

What is the nationality act and what happened as a result of it?

• A law that redefined who was considered a British citizen after WW2

• Passed in 1948 and as a result, experienced large levels of mainly South-Asian migration