Theme 1: Key Idea 1.2 Urban and rural processes and change in the UK — Eduqas GCSE Geography B
Teaching note based on the EDUQAS specification.
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Theme 1: Key Idea 1.2 Urban and rural processes and change in the UK explained
This criterion requires an overview of five processes that have changed UK towns and cities.
Read the full explanation
Urbanisation is the growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities, often as people move from the countryside for work. Suburbanisation is the outward spread of built-up areas as people and businesses move to the edges of cities, producing suburbs. Counter-urbanisation is movement of people away from cities into smaller towns and rural areas. Re-urbanisation is the movement of people and investment back into inner-city areas, often through regeneration. Infill is the building of new homes on small unused gaps of land within an existing built-up area rather than on its edge.
Your focus
- Define the five processes of urban change in the UK.
- Distinguish between processes by the direction of movement they describe.
- Select the correct term to match a given definition or example.
Theme 1: Key Idea 1.2 Urban and rural processes and change in the UK exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies urbanisation as growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.
- Identifies suburbanisation as the outward spread of built-up areas to the edges of cities.
- Identifies counter-urbanisation as movement of people away from cities to smaller towns and rural areas.
- Identifies re-urbanisation as movement of people and investment back into inner-city areas.
- Identifies infill as building on small unused gaps of land within an existing built-up area.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Read each option and check the direction of movement it describes before choosing.
- 💡Link each term to a one-line example, such as new homes on a gap site for infill.
- 💡Eliminate options that describe the wrong direction, then confirm the remaining term matches the definition.
Common Mistakes
- Confuses counter-urbanisation with suburbanisation; counter-urbanisation moves people away from the city to rural areas, while suburbanisation spreads the city outward.
- Reverses re-urbanisation and counter-urbanisation; re-urbanisation brings people back into the inner city, not out of it.
- Treats infill as building on the edge of a town; infill fills small gaps within existing built-up areas.
- Defines urbanisation as simply city growth in size; it is the rise in the proportion of people living in urban areas.