8.2 Urban systems and urban planningIB Environmental Systems and Societies SL: Subtopic test

1. 1
   Lagos, Nigeria, has grown from a small port town into a city of more than 15 million people. Every day people arrive from rural areas in search of work. Food, water, fuel and electricity are brought in to the city, while waste, wastewater and exhaust gases leave it. Much of the new housing has been built on the edge of the city and on low-lying land.

   (a)

   What is meant by urbanisation?

   [1 mark]

   • AThe growth in the number of cars in a city
   • BThe movement of people from city centres to the edge of the city
   • CThe shift of population from rural to urban areas
   • DThe increase in the area of land used for farming

   (b)

   Which is a pull factor that attracts rural migrants to a city such as Lagos?

   [1 mark]

   • ACrop failure in the countryside
   • BLack of schools and health services in villages
   • CGreater availability of jobs and services
   • DShortage of farmland

   (c)

   Describe, using examples from the scenario, how an urban area works as a system.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   Phoenix, Arizona, has expanded outwards across the Sonoran Desert since the 1950s. Newer districts on the edge of the city are low-density estates of detached houses with large lawns, reached by motorways. Many residents who once lived in the dense central area have moved to these districts. Desert land has been covered with roads, car parks and roofs.

   (a)

   Which statement correctly describes suburbanisation?

   [1 mark]

   • AMovement of people from rural areas to cities
   • BMovement of people from dense central areas to lower-density areas on the periphery
   • CMovement of people from cities back to farms
   • DGrowth in the number of high-rise buildings in the city centre

   (b)

   Which environmental change is most directly caused by covering desert land with roads and roofs?

   [1 mark]

   • AA reduction in surface runoff
   • BAn increase in infiltration of rainwater into the soil
   • CAn increase in surface runoff and risk of flash flooding
   • DA fall in the local air temperature

   (c)

   Explain two ways in which the expansion of a low-density suburban system can change the environment.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   United Nations estimates give the following for the world. In 1950 the world population was about 2.5 billion, of which 30% lived in urban areas. In 2020 the world population was about 7.8 billion, of which 56% lived in urban areas.

   (a)

   Calculate the urban population in 2020 and the factor by which the urban population grew between 1950 and 2020. Comment on the rural population.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Explain how rural-urban migration has contributed to the change in the proportion of people living in urban areas.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   Curitiba, Brazil, has been planned over several decades. Dedicated bus lanes (a bus rapid transit system) were introduced in the 1970s, and the city centre has pedestrian streets. Flood-prone land along rivers was turned into parks that absorb floodwater and give residents green space. A recycling scheme collects separated waste, and households can exchange recyclables for food or bus tokens. Land use is planned so that dense housing and jobs are concentrated along the main transport routes.

   (a)

   Evaluate the extent to which Curitiba has applied ecological urban planning.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Compare modern urban planning that considers sustainability with ecological urban planning.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions