1.

6 Urban settlements

Key terms
Urban land use: a simplified model of the land use (such as industry, housing, and
commercial activity) that may be found in towns and cities.
Bid rent: a model which states that land value and rent decrease as distance from
the central business district increases.
Concentric model (Burgess): a model of urban land where different activities occur
at different distances from the urban centre. The result is a sequence of concentric
circles or rings.
Central business district (CBD): the CBD of a town or city is where most of the
commercial activity is found.
Sector model (Hoyt): a model of urban land use in which the various land use
zones are shaped like wedges radiating from the central business district.
Suburb: outer part of an urban area. Suburbs generally consist of residential
housing and shops of a low order (newsagent, small supermarket). Often, suburbs
are the most recent growth of an urban area. Their growth may result in urban
sprawl.
Gentrification: the movement of higher social or economic groups into an area
after it has been renovated and restored. This may result in the out-migration of the
people who previously occupied the area. It most commonly occurs in the inner city.
Urban renewal: an urban area where existing buildings are either demolished and
rebuilt or renovated.
Greenfield site: an area of agricultural land or some other undeveloped site that is
a potential location for commercial development or industrial projects but has not
yet been developed. Such sites are normally on the edge of town and have good
transport links.
Rural-urban fringe: the boundary area of a town or city, where new building is
changing land use from rural to urban. It is often a zone of planning conflict.
Urban sprawl: outward spread of built-up areas caused by their expansion.
Unchecked urban sprawl may join cities into conurbations.
Hypermarket: a very large self-service store selling a wide range of household and
other goods, usually on the outskirts of a town or city.
Out-of-town location: a location found on the edge of town (often a greenfield
site) where land prices are lower, land is available for development, and accessibility
to private cars is high.
Deprivation: a condition in which a population group suffers from a poor quality of
economic, social and environmental conditions.
Inner city: the area that surrounds the central business district of a town or city. In
many cities this is one of the older industrial areas and may suffer from decay and
neglect, leading to social problems. Inner cities are characterised by poor-quality
terraced housing with old manufacturing industry nearby.

Cambridge IGCSE Geography 2nd edition © Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 2014
 1.6 Urban settlements

Topic summary
● Urban settlements contain a variety of different land uses.
● Most of the retail and services occur in the central business district (CBD).
● The rural-urban fringe is the area at the edge of an urban area.
● Most of the residential areas are in the suburbs.
● Urban sprawl refers to the uncontrolled growth of urban areas at their edges.
● There are many problems in urban areas – these include pollution, inequality,
housing issues, traffic congestion and conflicts over land use changes.

Learn your case studies

Gentrification and relocation in Cape Town, South Africa
State:
 1 In which city Woodstock and Blikkiesdorp are located.
 2 In which country they are found.
 3 Which one is an inner city area.
 4 Industries found in Woodstock in the 1870s.
 5 When urban renewal began in Woodstock.
 6 An example of a changed land use in Woodstock.
 7 The meaning of the name Blikkiesdorp.
 8 When Blikkiesdorp was built.
 9 The number of people living in Blikkiesdorp.
10 The official name of Blikkiesdorp.
Barra da Tijuca, an ‘edge city’ in Brazil
State:
 1 The location of Barra da Tijuca.
 2 When Rio de Janeiro will host the Olympic Games.
 3 Barra de Tijuca’s population in 1960 and 1999.
 4 What is meant by an ‘edge town’.
 5 The distance of Barra da Tijuca from Rio de Janeiro’s city centre (by
motorway).
 6 Where the 2016 Olympic park will be built.
 7 The name given to the Athletes’ Village.
 8 The problems in Jacarepaugua.
 9 One neighbourhood in Jacarepaugua.
10 The number of new apartment blocks planned for the Athletes’ Village.
Urban sprawl in Sydney
State:
 1 What is meant by ‘urban sprawl’.
 2 The proportion of Australia’s population living in large and/or rapidly growing
urban areas along the coast.
 3 The proportion of the national population living in Sydney.
 4 The length of the Sydney-Canberra Corridor.
 5 The number of people living there.
 6 The proportion of the national total this represents.
 7 Where the main pressure areas are.
 8 Why more people are able to work from home in the Sydney-Canberra
Corridor.
 9 How Wollondilly has changed in terms of its function.
10 Why Goulburn has stagnated over time.

Cambridge IGCSE Geography 2nd edition © Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 2014
 1.6 Urban settlements

Land use and problems in New York

State:
 1 How large New York City is in area.
 2 The name of the dominant commercial area.
 3 The proportion of the city’s land area occupied by commercial land use.
 4 The proportion of the city’s land area occupied by industrial land use.
 5 The proportion of the city’s land area occupied by residential land use.
 6 By how much New York’s population has fallen in the last decade.
 7 By how much New York’s white population has fallen since 1950.
 8 The proportion of New York’s population living in poverty.
 9 An example of an inner city area.
10 An example of a wealthy county on the edge of New York.
Urban decline in Detroit
State:
 1 When Detroit had the largest per capita income in the USA.
 2 The number of buildings and parcels of land vacant in Detroit in 2013.
 3 Detroit’s population in 1900.
 4 Detroit’s population in 1950.
 5 Detroit’s population in 2013.
 6 The years when there were race riots in Detroit.
 7 The proportion of Detroit’s population who are Afro-American.
 8 The proportion of the city’s street lights working in 2013.
 9 The proportion of the city’s ambulances that were working in 2013.
10 The three main causes of Detroit’s economic troubles.
Problems in Seoul
State:
 1 Seoul’s population in 1960.
 2 Seoul’s population in 2005.
 3 Why less than 45 per cent of Seoul is unsuitable for housing.
 4 The proportion of housing flats account for.
 5 The average population density in Seoul.
 6 The number of cars in Seoul in 1994.
 7 The name of the restored river in Seoul.
 8 The amount of Seoul’s waste that was previously discharged into the Hangang
River.
 9 How much sewage Seoul can treat each day.
10 The country Seoul is located in.

Cambridge IGCSE Geography 2nd edition © Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 2014