Key Terms: Urban Issues & Challenges Flashcards
All 23 cards in this deck
What is urbanisation?
The increase in the proportion (percentage) of a country's population living in urban areas.
True or false? Urbanisation and urban growth mean the same thing.
False. Urbanisation is the rising proportion of people living in urban areas; urban growth is the increase in the physical size or total population of a city.
What is a megacity, and what is the population threshold?
An urban area with a population of over 10 million people.
What are push factors in rural–urban migration?
Negative things that make people want to leave an area, e.g. drought, poor harvests, lack of jobs or services.
What are pull factors in rural–urban migration?
Positive things that attract people to an area, e.g. jobs, better healthcare, schools and higher wages in the city.
What is natural increase?
When the birth rate is higher than the death rate, so the population grows without migration.
True or false? All urban population growth in LICs and NEEs is caused by migration from the countryside.
False. Growth is caused by rural–urban migration and natural increase, as many migrants are young adults who have children.
What is a squatter settlement?
An area of poor-quality housing built illegally by residents on land they do not own, usually lacking basic services.
What is a slum?
A densely populated urban area of very poor-quality, overcrowded housing with inadequate services such as clean water and sanitation.
What is urban deprivation?
When people's standard of living in part of a city is well below that of the majority, e.g. poor housing, low income, poor health.
True or false? Deprivation and inequality mean exactly the same thing.
False. Deprivation is a standard of living below most of society; inequality is the difference in wealth, health or opportunity between groups.
What is a brownfield site?
Land that has been built on before and is now derelict or unused, available for redevelopment.
True or false? A new housing estate built on farmland at the edge of a city is an example of building on a greenfield site.
True. A greenfield site is land that has not been built on before, often on the rural–urban fringe.
What is urban greening?
Increasing and maintaining the amount of green space (parks, trees, gardens) within a city.
What is green space in an urban area?
Open, vegetated land within a city, such as parks, playing fields and gardens, used for recreation and wildlife.
What is urban sprawl?
The unplanned outward spread of a built-up area into the surrounding countryside.
What is the rural–urban fringe?
The zone at the edge of a city where urban and rural land uses meet and mix.
What is a commuter settlement?
A village or town where most working residents travel out each day to work in a nearby city.
What is urban regeneration?
The improvement and redevelopment of run-down or derelict parts of a city to bring them back into use.
What is sustainable urban living?
Living in a city in a way that meets present needs without damaging the environment or reducing resources for future generations.
What is an integrated transport system?
A transport network where different types of transport (bus, train, tram) are linked so journeys can be made easily on one ticket or timetable.
What is dereliction in an urban area?
Land or buildings that have been abandoned and left empty, damaged or run down.
What is infrastructure in an urban context?
The basic services and structures a city needs to function, e.g. roads, water supply, sewers, electricity and schools.