Population and urbanisation, Year 11: a fast-growing city in a poorer country

They are at the age to have children, so the birth rate rises

提示Think about which stage of life comes next for people in their twenties.

为什么Migration and natural increase are linked. Young adult migrants start families in the city, so births go up. At the same time a young population has few deaths, so the gap between births and deaths widens.

regional

提示It is the smallest of the three scales.

为什么The three scales are regional, national and international. Regional importance is about the area around the city. National importance covers the whole country, such as being the capital or the main port. International importance means links with other countries, such as foreign companies and long-distance flights.

People live close together, so each clinic, school or pipe serves many more people

提示Compare how far one water main would have to run to reach a thousand homes in the two settings.

为什么This is why urban growth brings social opportunities. One hospital or water main in a dense city reaches a very large number of people. In remote rural areas the same money reaches far fewer, so services there are often thinner.

The multiplier effect

提示Its name comes from a maths operation that makes a number bigger.

为什么A new factory pays wages. Workers spend them in local shops and on local services, which then take on staff of their own. Firms and workers also pay taxes, which the city can spend on schools, clinics and roads. This is how an industrial area can stimulate wider economic development.

formal

提示Think of the kind of dress code that has the same name.

为什么Formal jobs are registered with the government. They bring steadier pay and some legal protection, and the tax helps to fund services. Growing industrial areas matter to a city in a lower income country (LIC) or newly emerging economy (NEE) because they add jobs of this kind.

People arrive faster than the city can afford to build services for them

提示Compare two speeds: one belongs to the newcomers, the other to the builders.

为什么Pipes, sewers, power lines and schools are expensive and take years to plan and build. When hundreds of thousands of people are added each year, the city authority cannot raise the money or build quickly enough. This is the root of most challenges in a fast-growing city.

Sanitation

提示It comes from the Latin word for health.

为什么Sanitation is about what happens to sewage. It is a separate challenge from supplying clean water, although the two are linked: without toilets and sewers, human waste gets into the water people drink. The World Health Organization reported that in 2022 over 1.5 billion people worldwide still lacked a basic service such as a private toilet.

Informal workers and businesses are not registered, so they pay little or no tax

提示Ask where a council gets its money from in the first place.

为什么Informal work is unregistered: no contract, no legal protection and usually no tax. It gives millions of people an income where formal jobs are scarce, and it takes skill and effort. But a city with a large informal economy collects less tax, so it has less to spend on services.

The lanes are narrow and unplanned, so lorries cannot get along them

提示Picture the width of the vehicle, then the gap between the houses.

为什么Informal settlements grow without a street plan, so homes are packed tightly with only footpaths between them. Waste that cannot be collected is dumped or burnt, which pollutes water and air and attracts pests. The same layout makes it hard for fire engines and ambulances to reach people.

Time lost in jams delays workers and deliveries, which costs businesses money

提示Imagine a van of goods stuck for two hours on the way to a shop.

为什么Vehicle numbers grow faster than roads and public transport. Workers arrive late, deliveries take longer and fuel is wasted, so every business in the city pays more. Exhaust fumes from slow traffic also harm health, which is a social cost.

A site and service scheme

提示The name lists the two things the authority provides: the ground, and what is connected to it.

为什么The authority does the parts residents cannot do alone: legal land, roads, water and drains. Families do the part they can: building, a room at a time as money allows. It differs from a self-help scheme, which improves homes where people already live.

Their work, which was close to their old homes

提示Think about the daily journey and its price.

为什么People in informal settlements usually live near where they earn: markets, workshops, building sites and better-off households. A flat far away means long, costly journeys or no income. This is why many planners now prefer to upgrade a settlement where it stands.

The people it was meant for cannot afford to benefit from it

提示Ask who actually ends up living there.

为什么To judge a scheme, ask who benefits, not just what was built. If the homes go to better-off households, the poorest are no better off and may have lost their old homes. Affordability is one of the first tests of any scheme for the urban poor.

tenure

提示The word comes from the French for "to hold".

为什么Without a legal right to the land, a family can be evicted at any time, so spending on a better house is a risk. Many upgrading schemes therefore begin by giving residents legal papers for their plot. The United Nations counts a lack of secure tenure as one of five signs of a slum household.

economic; environmental

提示Read the examples in the brackets after each gap.

为什么Sorting effects into these three groups gives an evaluation its structure. A strong answer also asks whether the gains will last and whether they reach the poorest residents. Use evidence from your own example under each heading.