Topic 3: 3.3 Cities change over time and this is reflected in changing land use — Edexcel GCSE Geography B
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Topic 3: 3.3 Cities change over time and this is reflected in changing land use explained
Topic 3: 3.3 Cities change over time and this is reflected in changing land use covers 2 specification points, including A.
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How urban population numbers, distribution… and B. Characteristics of different urban land…. Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
a. How urban population numbers, distribution and spatial growth change over time (urbanisation, suburbanisation, de-industrialisation, counter-urbanisation and in some cases, regeneration).
This statement asks how urban population numbers, the distribution of people within a city and the spatial growth of built-up areas change over time. Urbanisation is the rising share of people living in towns and cities. Suburbanisation is the movement of people and jobs from the centre to the outskirts. De-industrialisation is the loss of factory jobs, leaving inner-city land vacant. Counter-urbanisation is movement from cities into rural areas or small towns. Regeneration, found in only some cities, is planned investment that revitalises a declining area. Use each process to explain a specific population or spatial change.
b. Characteristics of different urban land uses (commercial, industrial, residential) and the factors that influence land-use type (accessibility, availability, cost, planning regulations).
This statement asks you to describe commercial, industrial and residential land uses and explain how accessibility, availability, cost and planning regulations influence land-use type. Commercial land, such as shops and offices, needs high accessibility and is usually central where footfall is high. Industrial land needs space, road or rail links and lower costs, so it is often on the city edge. Residential land is defined by housing and access to services and open space. Availability means suitable free land; cost means land price; planning regulations are local rules that allow or restrict uses. In MCQs, match each factor to the land use it best explains.
Your focus
- Define urbanisation, suburbanisation, de-industrialisation, counter-urbanisation and regeneration accurately.
- Identify the direction of population movement associated with each process.
- Select the process that best explains a described change in a city's population or spatial growth.
Show all 6 objectives
- Describe the locational needs of commercial, industrial and residential land uses.
- Explain what each of accessibility, availability, cost and planning regulations means in relation to land use.
- Select the factor that best explains a given land-use location in an MCQ.
Topic 3: 3.3 Cities change over time and this is reflected in changing land use exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies urbanisation as an increase in the proportion of the population living in urban areas, not simply an increase in the number of people.
- Explains suburbanisation as movement of people and jobs from the city centre to the outer edge, creating suburbs and commuter zones.
- Links de-industrialisation to the loss of manufacturing employment and the resulting vacant or derelict inner-city land.
- Distinguishes counter-urbanisation from suburbanisation by identifying movement from cities to rural or small-town areas.
- Recognises that regeneration is not universal and applies only in some cities where planned investment revitalises decline.
- Applies each process to a described pattern of population or built-up area change over time.
- Identifies commercial land as shops and offices that need high accessibility and high footfall, usually in central locations.
- Describes industrial land as needing large sites, road or rail links and lower land costs, often on the urban fringe.
- Characterises residential land by its housing type and density, with access to services and open space as key needs.
- Explains availability as the amount of suitable free land, which can limit where a use can locate.
- Explains cost as the price of land, which tends to favour industry on cheaper sites and commercial uses on high-value central sites.
- Explains planning regulations as local rules that permit or restrict particular land uses in given zones.
Examiner Tips
- 💡In MCQs, eliminate options that place a process in the wrong direction, such as rural-to-urban movement for counter-urbanisation.
- 💡Check the direction of movement and the spatial scale in each option before choosing.
- 💡Remember that 'in some cases' applies to regeneration, so reject any option that treats it as universal.
- 💡In MCQs, check each option's land use against the characteristic it claims and reject options placing a use in an unsupported location.
- 💡Separate the four factors before answering so that cost and availability are not confused.
- 💡When a stem describes features of a site, identify the factor those features most directly reflect.
Common Mistakes
- Treats suburbanisation as movement out of the country; correct it to movement within the urban area, from the centre towards the outskirts.
- Treats counter-urbanisation as the same as suburbanisation; correct it by stating that the destination is rural or small-town, beyond the city.
- Describes urbanisation as any population growth; correct it to a rising proportion of people living in towns and cities compared with rural areas.
- Presents regeneration as happening in every city; correct it by noting that it occurs only in some cases.
- Treats industrial land as always being in the city centre; correct it by noting that it tends to be on cheaper edge-of-city sites with transport access.
- Describes accessibility as distance from the city boundary; correct it to ease of reaching a site by transport routes and nearby demand.
- Lists cost and availability as the same factor; correct it by separating the price of land from the quantity of suitable free land.
- Assumes planning regulations are national rules applying identically everywhere; correct it to local zoning decisions that vary from place to place.