Geography 5.1.1 Population , Economic Activities & Settlement

Differences Between the Urban Core & Rural Areas

• Urban areas cover approximately 6% of the land area in the UK

• Urban core areas characteristics include:

  • Densely populated 

  • Home to 83% of the UK population

  • The focus for most economic activities (exceptions are primary activities: farming, forestry, mining)

  • Infrastructure hubs: train and bus stations

  • Cultural centres: museums, theatres, libraries

  • High property prices

• Rural periphery areas cover 94% of the land area in the UK

• Characteristics of the rural periphery include:

  • Lower population density

  • Ageing population

  • Economic activities tend to be primary or tourism

  • Cheaper land prices

• There are clear differences between the urban and rural areas in the UK in terms of:

  • Settlements

  • Population density

  • Age structure

  • Economic activities

UK urban and rural population

Settlements

• The urban core refers to the densely populated city areas

• The urban core is surrounded by the urban fringe which has lower density populations

• When two or more urban areas merge together a conurbation is formed 

• Conurbations in the UK include:

  • West Midlands - Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley

  • West Yorkshire - Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Halifax

• Rural areas are those areas and settlements with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

• Rural settlements include:

  • Villages 

  • Hamlets

  • Dispersed settlements

Population density

• The population density of the UK is uneven

• The average population density is 281 people per km² 

• In urban areas this increases to over 5000 people per km² in London, Brighton and Luton

• In most rural areas it decreases to fewer than 50 people per km²

UK population density (people per km²)

Age Structure

• Urban core areas have the youngest average age 

  • In major conurbations the average age is 37.8 years 

  • In most remote rural areas the average age is 45.9 years

Percentage of population in age groups - rural v urban

Economic activities

• In rural areas the main economic activities are:

  • Agriculture (farming)

  • Mining

  • Forestry

  • Fishing

• Average earnings in rural areas (£22,500) are almost £2000 lower than in urban areas (£24,300)
  

  • This does not include London where average earnings are £ 36,800

• In rural areas there are the highest number of homeworkers (22%) compared with only 13% in urban areas

  • In remote rural areas it increases to 32%

• Many people living in rural areas commute to work in the urban areas

Worked example

Study Figure 5 which shows which age groups are dominant (in the majority) in different areas of the UK

Calculate the percentage of areas dominated by 'Baby Boomers'

Answer to one decimal place

You must show your working out in the space below

(2 marks)

Answer:

• 166 out of total 391 (212+166+13 = 391) so 166/391 x 100 = 42.5%

Government policies

• There are 48 enterprise zones across England 

• Enterprise zones which offer:

  • Reduced taxes on any profits made

  • Support with start up costs

  • Infrastructure - including internet access

  • Simplified planning to allow construction of buildings

• Post-Brexit, the UK government has developed policies such as 'Build back better' and 'Levelling up':

  • These target deprived areas through investing in development projects and infrastructure

  • £50 million to transform Morecambe Bay

  • £50 million for new train links in Cornwall

EU Policies

• Although the UK has now left the EU existing policies are still having an impact in some areas

• Regional Development Fund

  • These are available across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England

  • They offer:

    • Business grants 

    • Improved broadband access in rural areas 

Transport improvements

• Both Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 are now part of the governments Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands

• Planned improvements include Northern Powerhouse Rail which planned:

  • New tracks

  • Electrification of the railway to decrease travel speeds from Manchester to Leeds - this has since been scaled back and the high speed line will go from Manchester to Marsden, West Yorkshire

• HS2 is a planned high speed railway from London to Manchester due 

  • This would reduce travel time from Birmingham to London by 30 minutes down to 52 minutes

  • The planned link from the West Midlands to Leeds has been reduced and will now only reach East Midlands Parkway in Nottingham

• In 2021 Highways England announced a £200m investment to improve roads in the south west of England including areas of South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall

• There are also plans to improve upgrade the A66 Trans-Pennine route