Topic title: Urban Issues and Challenges
Year group: 10
When taught: January – July
What are we learning?
• That a growing proportion of the world’s population live in urban areas; factors affecting this growth; the emergence of megacities
• A case study of a major city in a Low Income Country or Newly Emerging Economy (we have chosen Rio de Janeiro in Brazil) to show how urban change creates both challenges and opportunities
• How urban planning in Rio de Janeiro can improve people’s quality of life
• A case study of a major city in the UK (we have chosen Bristol) to show how urban change creates social, economic and environmental challenges and opportunities
• About an urban regeneration project in Bristol – redevelopment of Harbourside and Wapping Wharf
• About sustainable management of urban areas, including: water and energy conservation, waste recycling, transport strategies and creating green space.
Why is this important to know?
• We live in a world which is predominantly urban, and urban areas have a huge influence on our economy, society and environment, and therefore radically affect the quality of life of all people living within or outside of those urban areas.
• It is important for our students to know how actions that they and others take can affect society and the local, national and global environment.
• This topic also has very useful links to careers, such as careers in urban planning, transport planning, water supply, energy supply, waste management, crime prevention, local government, health and education services and environmental management.
Where does this link into our past and future learning?
• This links to prior learning on the GCSE topic of “The Challenge of Resource Management” (studied in September to January of Year 10), where the focus is on the supply and consumption of resources, including food, energy and water.
• This links to future learning of the GCSE topic “Changing Economic World” (studied in Year 11), where the focus is on causes and effects of uneven development, on the local, national and global scale. There are also many links between the Urban UK case study of Bristol and the ‘Changing Economic World’ case study of the UK Economy – for example how deindustrialisation and globalisation have affected cities and people’s lives.
How will we be assessed on this topic?
• This topic will be assessed within the End of Year 10 exam and the Year 11 March mock exam, using questions from past GCSE papers to check knowledge and understanding. This is to increase familiarisation with GCSE style questions and to refine exam technique to successfully apply knowledge and understanding to the questions.
What makes a strong piece of work in this topic? What are teachers hoping to see?
• Correct use and spelling of key terms such as urbanisation, inequalities, regeneration.
• Understanding of the words “opportunities” & “challenges” and the words “economic”, “social” and “environmental” – which appear over and over again in questions on this topic.
• Accurate use of a range of maps and graphs to extract relevant information with effective use of GASMan (General, Specific, Anomaly) to describe trends on maps and graphs.
• Use of specific named examples – Rio de Janeiro (and Favala Bairro project) and Bristol (and Harbourside and Wapping Wharf) to support points.
• Use of BLT (because, leads to, therefore) to explain points, causations and linkages in good detail.
What key words are there in this topic? (See key words sheets on Staff Share and Satchel)
• Megacities • Inequalities
• Urbanisation • Integrated Transport Systems
• Migration • Social deprivation
• Natural increase • Social opportunities
• Rural-urban fringe • Squatter settlement
• Brownfield site • Sustainable urban living
• Greenfield site • Traffic congestion
• Dereliction • Urban greening
• Pollution • Urban regeneration
• Sanitation • Urban sprawl
• Economic opportunities • Waste recycling
What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?
• Read broadsheet newspapers or websites such as BBC or Guardian to look for current articles on urban issues (e.g. low emissions zones; urban regeneration; housing issues etc.)
• Watch documentaries such as Andrew Marr’s “Megacities”
• Regularly re-read, review and learn your work (concepts and case studies). Use the specification to help make revision notes for each section.
• Complete past exam questions on this unit. These can be found at AQA
What wider reading can be done on this topic?
BBC Bitesize – Management of recent urban change in a developing world city – Improving the favelas
BBC Bitesize – Challenges and opportunities for urban areas – Case study – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Internet Geography – Case Study – Rio de Janeiro
Guiness Homes – Bristol Harbourside Regeneration: Past, Present and Future
BBC News – Bristol: Revised plans for Wapping Wharf development
Supporting document/links: Found on Satchel – My Drive – GCSE – Geography:
• Urban Issues and Challenges knowledge organiser
• Key Terms sheet
