Urbanisation and Urban Change
Urbanisation and Urban Change
This domain examines urban growth, land-use patterns, urban processes and sustainability. Answers should use models critically and explain change through economic, social and political processes.
Core rules
- Urbanisation is the rising share of population living in towns and cities; urban growth is absolute increase. They can occur together but are not identical.
- Land-use models include Burgess concentric zone, Hoyt sector and Harris-Ullman multiple nuclei. They are generalizations, not universal.
- Processes include suburbanisation, counter-urbanisation, reurbanisation, gentrification, regeneration and sprawl.
- The central business district has high land values and accessibility; bid-rent explains competition and vertical development.
- Challenges include housing shortages, informal settlements, congestion, pollution and inequality. Sustainability involves transport, green space, energy, waste and governance.
Worked example
Explain why the central business district has tall buildings and high land values. Reasoning: the central business district is the most accessible point, so many activities bid for limited space; competition raises land values; firms locate there for agglomeration economies; high rents encourage vertical building. Retail and offices outbid low-density housing. The explanation must link accessibility, competition, land value and density.
Traps
Do not equate urbanisation with urban growth. Do not assume all cities follow Burgess. Do not call gentrification simply improvement without noting displacement. Do not assume congestion is only a problem in high-income countries.