Urbanisation and a major city in a lower-income country
More than half the world lives in cities, and almost all future growth is in lower and middle-income countries. This lesson explains why, and what it means on the ground.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Explain global urbanisation, opportunities and challenges in a major city, and sustainable urban living.
Key learning points
- • Why cities grow
- • Opportunities
- • Challenges
- • Urban planning that works
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 20 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 20
Visual introductionPicture this
Urbanisation and a major city in a lower-income country
More than half the world lives in cities, and almost all future growth is in lower and middle-income countries. This lesson explains why, and what it means on the ground.
In a nutshell
Explain global urbanisation, opportunities and challenges in a major city, and sustainable urban living.
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 20
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Why cities grow
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 20
Learn
Why cities grow
Two mechanisms: rural-urban migration, driven by push factors such as mechanisation, land pressure and rural poverty and pull factors such as jobs, services and perceived opportunity; and natural increase, because migrants are typically young adults, so birth rates in cities stay high.
Reset break
Part 4 of 20
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 20
Learn
Opportunities
Cities concentrate work, healthcare, education, electricity, water and transport. Even informal settlements often offer better access to services than the countryside — which is precisely why people stay.
Quick check
Part 6 of 20
Quick check
Part 7 of 20
Reset break
Part 8 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 20
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Challenges
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 20
Learn
Challenges
Squatter settlements built without services, informal employment without protection, traffic congestion, air and water pollution, and waste disposal beyond the capacity of the authorities. Explain each as a consequence of growth outpacing planning, not as a moral failing.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 20
Learn
Urban planning that works
Site-and-service schemes, self-help housing with materials and secure tenure, and improvements led by residents tend to succeed because they build on what people are already doing. Wholesale clearance and rehousing schemes frequently fail because they remove people from their work.
Reset break
Part 12 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 20
Quick check
Part 14 of 20
Explore the idea
Part 15 of 20
Worked example
Model answer: 'Explain why cities in lower-income countries are growing rapidly' (6 marks)
Rural-urban migration supplies much of the growth, as mechanisation of agriculture and pressure on farmland reduce rural incomes while cities appear to offer waged employment, healthcare and schooling. Because migrants are predominantly young adults of childbearing age, natural increase then compounds the effect: the urban birth rate stays high while improved access to clinics lowers infant mortality. Growth therefore accelerates from two directions at once, and because it outpaces the authorities' ability to provide housing and services, much of it takes the form of unplanned settlement.
Reset break
Part 16 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 20
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 18 of 20
Game · Recall cards
Which is a push factor for rural-urban migration?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 19 of 20
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Urbanisation and a major city in a lower-income country
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which is a push factor for rural-urban migration?
2. Why does natural increase raise urban populations?
3. Why do site-and-service schemes often succeed?
4. Informal settlements persist mainly because…
Lesson round-up
Part 20 of 20
Lesson round-up
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 20 · Watch & discover