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EnglandGeography

Topic 3: Challenges of an urbanising world

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why are an increasing number of people living in urban areas?

Global trends and projections in urbanisation, the pattern of megacities and urban primacy, how economic change and migration drive city growth and decline, and how cities change over time in land use.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 3 (Challenges of an urbanising world) on global urbanisation, covering past and projected trends, the pattern of megacities and urban primacy, how economic change and migration drive city growth and decline, and how urban land use changes over time.
10 min answer →

Why does quality of life vary so much within one megacity in a developing or emerging country?

The case study of one megacity (Lagos): its location, context and structure, the causes of rapid growth, and the opportunities and challenges, including contrasts in quality of life.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 3 (Challenges of an urbanising world) megacity case study, using Lagos to show its location, context and structure, the causes of rapid population growth, and the opportunities and challenges, including the contrasts in quality of life between wealthy areas and slums.
11 min answer →

How can quality of life in a megacity be improved sustainably?

Top-down (city-wide government) and bottom-up (community and NGO-led) strategies for making a megacity more sustainable, including managing water, waste, transport, air quality and housing, with their advantages and disadvantages.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 3 (Challenges of an urbanising world) on improving quality of life sustainably, covering top-down city-wide government strategies and bottom-up community and NGO-led strategies for water, waste, transport, air quality and housing, with their advantages and disadvantages.
10 min answer →

How and why does land use within cities change over time?

How urban population, distribution and spatial growth change over time (urbanisation, suburbanisation, de-industrialisation, counter-urbanisation, regeneration) and the characteristics of urban land uses and the factors that influence them.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 3 (Challenges of an urbanising world) on how cities change over time, covering urbanisation, suburbanisation, de-industrialisation, counter-urbanisation and regeneration, the characteristics of commercial, industrial and residential land uses, and the factors that shape them.
10 min answer →