Urban growth rates

Reasons for variations in global urban growth rates

Reasons for variations in global urban growth rates

• The term 'urban area' refers to any highly developed built-up area, such as towns, cities, and suburbs

  • An urban area is characterised by a high density of man-made structures, including homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, bridges, roads, and other infrastructure

• Urban growth is the increase in the population size and/or physical area of a town or city

• Urban growth occurs because of:

  • Natural population increase

    • More people are born than die

    • Accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth

  • Rural-urban migration

    • Accounts for 40% of urban growth

    • Due to rural push factors along with urban pull factors

  • Economic development

    • Countries become more urban as they develop economically

• Urbanisation is the process by which an increasing percentage of a country's population comes to live in towns and cities

• More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas in search of a better quality of life

• Urbanisation growth rate varies between and within countries globally

• The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled

• Modern transport and communication has created conurbations, further adding to the growth of urban areas

• High-income countries (HICs) show the highest levels of urbanisation, with the lowest levels being in Africa and SE Asia

• Government policies – Some governments actively encourage urban growth by investing in cities and infrastructure

  • China, for example, has rapidly urbanised through deliberate government planning

  • Other countries might focus more on rural development

HICs

• Rate of urban growth: Slow or declining

  • HICs have lower rates of urbanisation, as towns and cities already exist

• Example: UK, Germany, Japan, and America

• Cause: The industrial revolution 'pulled' the population into developing urban areas at that time

  • Nowadays, many people in HICs are being 'pushed' (counter-urbanisation) away from overcrowded cities to rural settlements

  • HICs tend to have good transport and communication networks; therefore, people can live in rural areas while commuting to cities or work from home

MICs

• Rate of urban growth: Rapid 

• Example: India, Russia, Brazil and China

• Cause: These areas are becoming key trade hub cities and are seeing greater growth than others due to investment from the government and TNCs

  • Cities such as Lagos in Nigeria, Shanghai in China, Mumbai in India, Sao Paulo in Brazil and St Petersburg in Russia – none of these are the country's capital

  • Trade such as finance, electronics and manufactured goods

LICs

• Rate of urban growth: Fastest rates of urbanisation 

• Example: Sub-Saharan countries, including Rwanda and Ethiopia. Asian countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines are expected to contribute 60% to global growth by 2030

• Cause:

  • Economic development is concentrated in the big cities

  • Investment in low-cost manufacturing of textiles, garments and shoes

  • High rates of rural-to-urban migration

  • High levels of natural increase in population

Megacities

• In 1900 there were just 2 'millionaire' cities (London and Paris); by 2018 this had grown to 512

• As the growth of cities continues, the term 'megacity' is used to describe cities with more than 10 million people

  • In 1970 there were only 4

  • By 2000 there were 15

  • 2007 saw more people living in an urban environment than a rural one

  • In 2018 that rose to 33 

• Largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia – Tokyo has close to 37.3 million people

• By 2050 it is thought that more than two-thirds (7 billion) of the world population will live in urban areas

• This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history