Urbanisation

2 causes of urbanisation

  1. rural urban migration due to push and pull factors,

e.g, push (of rural): mechanisation of agriculture puts rural workers out of a job, whilst a pull factor of urban areas is more job opportunities. Another pull factor is the better quality healthcare services in urban areas.

  1. natural increase

What is natural increase?

Natural increase: people who migrate to cities are usually of child-bearing age and so are more likely to have children therefore the birth rate increases. Due to the better quality healthcare and services in urban areas, the death rate is lower, and so the population increases.

In developing countries:

Birth rates higher bc:

  • larger population
  • More children for work (to provide income for their family)
  • Lack of education on ‘family planning’
  • Higher infant mortality rate (So people have more kids to ensure they have a family)
  • Lack of access to contraceptives

The urbanisation pathway

E at : early

A : accelerating

M eal : mature

C ooking : counter

Early: v. low level urbanisation w initial attraction to the area; an inc in trade is seen

Accelerating: rates of economic development and urbanisation speed up. Features include:

  • mass migration
  • Industrial development
  • Inc demand for goods

Mature: pace of economic development slows, so does rate of urbanisation, money is reinvested into city and improved services.

Counter: people begin to move from urban to rural areas as the urban areas get more densely populated. The level of urbanisation begins to flatten out, with roughly two thirds of the population living in urban areas.