Topic 3: 3.5 The megacity in the chosen country is growing rapidly — Edexcel GCSE Geography B
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Topic 3: 3.5 The megacity in the chosen country is growing rapidly explained
Topic 3: 3.5 The megacity in the chosen country is growing rapidly covers 2 specification points, including A.
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Reasons for past and present trends in… and B. How population growth has affected the…. Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
a. Reasons for past and present trends in population growth (rates of natural increase, national and international migration, economic investment and growth) for the megacity.
This statement asks you to explain why a megacity's population has grown in the past and continues to grow now. Use the four named drivers as a chain. Natural increase is birth rate minus death rate, both per 1000 people per year: 30 births and 10 deaths per 1000 gives a natural increase of 20 per 1000, or 2%. National migration brings people from rural areas or other regions seeking work. International migration brings people from other countries. Economic investment and growth create jobs, which attract migrants. Explain links, such as investment creating jobs that draw migrants. Contrast an earlier phase with the present, and support each reason with evidence from your chosen megacity.
b. How population growth has affected the pattern of spatial growth and changing urban functions and land use.
This statement asks how population growth has changed the way a megacity spreads across space, what its different areas do, and how land is used. Start with spatial growth: outward expansion along transport routes, sprawl into the rural-urban fringe, or infill and rising density in the centre. Next, urban functions: new commercial districts may replace residential areas, and industry may move to the edge. Link each change to land use, such as higher-density housing, loss of farmland, or pressure on green space. Use a sketch map or annotated cross-section of your chosen megacity, comparing an earlier phase with the present. Explain how population growth drove each change, rather than only describing it.
Your focus
- State how natural increase is calculated from birth and death rates.
- Explain how national and international migration have contributed to megacity growth.
- Link economic investment and growth to changes in population over time.
Show all 6 objectives
- Describe the spatial pattern of growth in a chosen megacity.
- Explain how population growth has changed the functions of different urban areas.
- Link population-driven change to specific land-use patterns in the chosen megacity.
Topic 3: 3.5 The megacity in the chosen country is growing rapidly exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains natural increase as birth rate minus death rate, per 1000 people per year, rather than as total population.
- Links national migration to rural-urban movement for employment and services.
- Distinguishes international migration from national migration by the origin of the movers.
- Connects economic investment and growth to job creation that attracts migrants.
- Addresses both past and present trends, showing how the reasons have changed over time.
- Uses named evidence from the chosen megacity to support each reason.
- Describes the pattern of spatial growth using a named form, such as sprawl, infill or corridor development.
- Explains how changing urban functions, such as new commercial districts, follow from population growth.
- Links land-use change, such as higher-density housing or loss of farmland, to specific areas of the megacity.
- Compares an earlier phase with the present to show how the pattern has changed.
- Explains the causal effect of population growth on each change, rather than only describing the change.
- Uses named evidence or a labelled map from the chosen megacity.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Write one causal chain per driver, such as investment creates jobs, jobs attract migrants, and migrants raise population.
- 💡Check that your answer covers both past and present trends, not just one period.
- 💡Use at least one specific fact from your chosen megacity for each reason you give.
- 💡Name the form of spatial growth first, then explain the population cause behind it.
- 💡Keep urban functions and land use as separate points, then link them with a clear reason.
- 💡Include a labelled sketch or annotated diagram if it helps show the pattern, and refer to it in your writing.
Common Mistakes
- Lists the four drivers without explaining how each one caused growth; add a causal link for each driver.
- Treats natural increase as total population instead of the difference between births and deaths; restate it as birth rate minus death rate.
- Describes migration in general terms without naming where people come from and go to; specify the origin and destination.
- Describes the city's features without stating what changed; name the change and its population cause.
- Confuses urban functions with land use; state that functions are what an area does and land use is how land is used.
- Uses generic examples not linked to the chosen megacity; replace them with specific evidence from that city.