Urban growth refers to the development and growth of towns and cities.

Urban growth has occurred throughout history, but in recent years the number of people living in cities has increased significantly.

Approximately half of the global population live in urban areas and this has had an impact on the size of urban areas, including the development of a number of megacities.

One reason why towns and cities grow in size is due to the large numbers of people who migrate from rural areas to urban areas. What do you think this process is called?

What is migration?

Migration refers to the movement of people from place to place (either out of or into a particular country).

The reasons why people migrate from rural to urban areas can be classified in terms of push and pull factors.

Push factors are reasons why people move away from a place. People often leave rural areas in favour of urban areas owing to a lack of jobs, services or social opportunities.

Other Examples:

• Lack of economic opportunities – there may not be many jobs or wages may be too low

• Conflict – people may be trying to escape war

• Refugees – they can no longer live in their home country, often because of war or political oppression

• Natural disasters – if a country is prone to natural disasters, people may leave in order to be in a more safe or stable country.

Pull factors are the reasons why people choose to move to a particular place. Urban areas tend to offer a wide range of jobs, services, facilities and social opportunities so they can be more attractive to people as a place to live.

Other Examples:

• Education – the opportunity to study in a different country

• Choice – people may see a better quality of life in a different country

• Family and friends – people may move to be with family/friends in a different country

• Environment – another country may have appealing natural or urban environments

• Economic opportunities – another country may offer a variety of jobs, good pay and social security

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Click the link to open the Google Slides/Docs presentation.

• Make a copy of the presentation.

• Answer the questions on each slide.

• Write your name on the first slide only.

• Copy and paste the link to your completed slide deck as a comment.

Case 2: Read the following statements. Decide whether they are examples of push factors or pull factors and explain why.

a. On average, the salaries for workers are higher in cities than in rural areas.

b. There are fewer people in rural areas.

c. The city has just opened a new underground train network.

d. Traditional industries in the countryside are in decline.

Economic Migration leading to Economic Decline

• People often leave small towns for cities where there are more job opportunities, causing population decline in the original settlement.

Loss of Industry

• Towns that relied on a single industry, like mining, may decline if that industry shuts down due to resource depletion or inefficiency.

Disasters and Crises

• Natural disasters, wars, or other crises can make areas unsafe or uninhabitable, forcing people to abandon the settlement.

Low Population Challenges

• Settlements with very few residents struggle to maintain schools, businesses, and public services, making it hard to attract new people.

Read the text below and answer the following questions.

Pripyat was a small city that provided residence and services to the people who worked in a nuclear power plant near Chernobyl. The city was fully functioning and growing as a settlement until 1986, when an explosion at the nuclear power plant released radioactive material, which had a devastating effect on the people in the surrounding area.

As well as the impact leading directly to a number of deaths, the exposure to radiation poisoning affected many people, causing different types of cancer. The radiation fallout was said to have spread to a much wider area than just Pripyat.

The city itself needed to be evacuated in order to protect the inhabitants from further contact with radioactive materials, and it became completely abandoned. Today, the radiation levels in the area are still monitored closely, and the settlement remains deserted. However, many people visit safe areas of the city for tourism purposes to see firsthand this abandoned settlement.

The story of Pripyat shows how quickly a settlement can become abandoned when disaster strikes.

1. How does Pripyat illustrate how quickly a settlement can be abandoned due to disaster?
   

2. In what ways did the disaster in Pripyat disrupt the city’s ability to provide basic services and sustain its population?
   

3. What long-term challenges do abandoned settlements like Pripyat present to surrounding areas or countries?

SOCIAL - These are changes associated with society and the lives of ordinary people.

ECONOMIC - These changes are usually financial in nature and are to do with the flow of money as well as trade and exchange.

POLITICAL - These changes are often to do with governments, who rules a particular place and different policies that are passed.

ENVIRONMENTAL - This type of change is to do with both human and natural environments and how they can have an impact on different events and processes.

CULTURAL - This type of change might be to do with people's identities and beliefs or different artistic movements.

One of the targets of these 17 global development goals is to create more 'sustainable cities and communities'.

That is, to make settlements more able to be self-reliant and efficient systems for promoting the positive well-being of their citizens.

Sustainability can be promoted in many ways and often involves more use of green technologies.

These make the imprint of the city less damaging to the environment and in theory should be more economically efficient.

The city of Frankfurt, in Germany, was recently named as the most sustainable city in the world owing to its practices that look to improve the quality of life for people living there.

The city has created a green belt within the city center- with substantial cycle tracks, and green spaces for leisure and recreation. Older industrial areas have been converted into usable spaces.

For instance, there are skateboarding parks in the old shipyard area. There are also a range of energy-saving schemes including more widespread use of renewable energy, more opportunity for cycling to reduce the use of cars, and green buildings that are designed to use less energy.

The city has given itself the target to be run 100 per cent by renewable energy sources by 2050. There is also an emphasis on environmental education to ensure the continuation of these practices in future years