Option G: Urban environments
More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban environments, with many living in mega-cities. This optional theme considers the hierarchy of cities and other urban places as sites of intense social interaction and as focal points of production, wealth generation and consumption. They exhibit diversity in patterns of wealth and deprivation, which can result in conflict. They may share common characteristics and processes irrespective of the national level of economic development.
Transport improvements have led to rapid growth and shifts in population and economic activities, producing stresses and challenges for urban planners. The theme also considers issues of sustainability, wherein cities need to be managed to minimise harmful social and environmental impacts.
Through study of this optional theme, students will develop their understanding of processes, places, power and geographical possibilities. They will additionally gain understanding of more specialised concepts including hierarchies (of settlements), systems (in relation to movements of people and the management of transport and waste flows) and sustainability.
More than 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban environments, with many living in mega-cities. This optional theme considers the hierarchy of cities and other urban places as sites of intense social interaction and as focal points of production, wealth generation and consumption. They exhibit diversity in patterns of wealth and deprivation, which can result in conflict. They may share common characteristics and processes irrespective of the national level of economic development.
Transport improvements have led to rapid growth and shifts in population and economic activities, producing stresses and challenges for urban planners. The theme also considers issues of sustainability, wherein cities need to be managed to minimise harmful social and environmental impacts.
Through study of this optional theme, students will develop their understanding of processes, places, power and geographical possibilities. They will additionally gain understanding of more specialised concepts including hierarchies (of settlements), systems (in relation to movements of people and the management of transport and waste flows) and sustainability.
1. The variety of urban environments
The characteristics and distribution of urban places, populations and economic activities
|
Characteristics of urban places, including site, function, land use, hierarchy of settlement (including megacities) and growth process (planned or spontaneous).
Factors affecting the pattern of urban economic activities (retail, commercial, industrial), including physical factors, land values, proximity to a central business district (CBD) and planning. Factors affecting the pattern of residential areas within urban areas, including physical factors, land values, ethnicity and planning. The incidence of poverty, deprivation and informal activity (housing and industry) in urban areas at varying stages of development. |
2. Changing urban systems
How economic and demographic processes
bring change over time to urban systems |
Urbanisation, natural increase and centripetal population movements, including rural–urban migration in industrialising cities, and inner city gentrification in post-industrial cities
Centrifugal population movements, including sub-urbanisation and counter-urbanisation Urban system growth including infrastructure improvements over time, such as transport, sanitation, water, waste disposal and telecommunications
The causes of urban deindustrialisation and its economic, social and demographic consequences |
3. Urban environmental and social stresses
The varying power of different stakeholders in relation to the experience of, and management of, urban stresses
|
Urban microclimate modification and management, including the urban heat island effect, and air pollution patterns and its management
Traffic congestion patterns, trends and impacts
Contested land use changes, including slum clearances, urban redevelopment and the depletion of green space
Managing the impacts of urban social deprivation, including the cycle of deprivation and geographic patterns of crime |
4. Building sustainable urban systems for the future
Future possibilities for the sustainable management of urban systems
|
Urban growth projections for 2050, including regional/continental patterns and trends of rural–urban migration and changing urban population sizes and structures
Resilient city design, including strategies to manage escalating climatic and geopolitical risks to urban areas
Eco city design, including strategies to manage the urban ecological footprint
Smart city design and the use of new technology to run city services and systems, including purpose-built settlements and retrofitting technology to older settlements |
Synthesis (Sy), Evaluation (Ev) and Skills (Sk) opportunities
How urban changes over time are affected by a place’s economic and demographic spatial interactions with other places [Sy]
Contrasts in the scale of changes and challenges facing different urban areas [Sy/Ev]
Varying perspectives of different social groups on the costs and benefits of different urban strategies, and priorities for action [Ev]
How urban patterns, movements, flows and trends/temporal changes can best be represented graphically [Sk]
Contrasts in the scale of changes and challenges facing different urban areas [Sy/Ev]
Varying perspectives of different social groups on the costs and benefits of different urban strategies, and priorities for action [Ev]
How urban patterns, movements, flows and trends/temporal changes can best be represented graphically [Sk]