Changing Cities | Edexcel GCSE Geography A (1GA0)
Changing Cities
- 156 questions
- 12 subtopics
- Paper 2
- Paper 2
Changing Cities is examined in Paper 2, The Human Environment.
It covers global urbanisation trends and rates, the UK’s urban population and why urbanisation varies by region, the chosen UK city: site, situation, connectivity and structure, urbanisation, suburbanisation and migration in the chosen UK city, population change and deindustrialisation in the chosen UK city, inequality and changes in retailing in the chosen UK city, making the chosen UK city more sustainable, the chosen developing or emerging city: site, situation and structure, population growth and migration in the chosen developing or emerging city, inequality and quality of life in the chosen developing or emerging city, rapid urbanisation: challenges, and bottom-up and top-down responses and government policy and quality of life in the chosen city.
Sample questions from Changing Cities
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Global urbanisation trends and rates
Describe the pattern of urban growth in emerging countries over the past half century.
Show the answer
Very rapid growth, with millions moving into industrial cities and several reaching megacity size. -
The UK’s urban population and why urbanisation varies by region
Why did many British cities grow at estuaries and river mouths?
Show the answer
Because ports there handled trade, and the docks brought in raw materials and jobs that attracted workers. -
Urbanisation, suburbanisation and migration in the chosen UK city
Why do households counter-urbanise?
Show the answer
They want cheaper or larger homes, more space and a quieter environment, and remote working or commuting makes it practical. -
Population change and deindustrialisation in the chosen UK city
How have technological advances reduced industrial employment?
Show the answer
Machines, computers and robots now do work people once did, so the same output needs far fewer workers. -
Making the chosen UK city more sustainable
Which transport measures make urban travel more sustainable?
Show the answer
Frequent trams, buses and trains, cycle lanes, park-and-ride sites, pedestrianised streets and charges that discourage driving into the centre. -
The chosen developing or emerging city: site, situation and structure
What is the inner city like in such a city?
Show the answer
Densely packed older housing mixed with workshops and small factories, and often unplanned settlements squeezed onto any spare land. -
Inequality and quality of life in the chosen developing or emerging city
What is an informal settlement?
Show the answer
An area of housing built by residents themselves on land they have no legal right to, without planning permission or proper services. -
Rapid urbanisation: challenges, and bottom-up and top-down responses
What is a top-down approach to urban problems?
Show the answer
A large scheme decided and funded by government or an international organisation, planned centrally and delivered to the people affected.
The 12 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Global urbanisation trends and rates | What urbanisation is, its level against its rate, where it is fastest, how urban growth has differed in developed, emerging and developing countries, megacities, the push and pull factors and natural increase behind city growth, and the effects of fast and slow urban change. | 14 |
| The UK’s urban population and why urbanisation varies by region | How urbanised the UK is and where its people are concentrated, what a conurbation is, why London stands apart, and how coalfields, relief, ports and today's knowledge economy decided which regions grew. | 10 |
| The chosen UK city: site, situation, connectivity and structure | The site, situation and connectivity of a UK city, its national cultural and environmental context, its regional importance and global connections, and the land uses and buildings of its central business district, inner city, suburbs and urban-rural fringe. | 12 |
| Urbanisation, suburbanisation and migration in the chosen UK city | The order of urbanisation, suburbanisation, counter-urbanisation and re-urbanisation, what drives each, and how national and international migration reshape a city's age structure, ethnic mix, housing and services. | 14 |
| Population change and deindustrialisation in the chosen UK city | What the census records and its limits, why a city's population grows or falls, and how globalisation, de-centralisation, technology and transport drove deindustrialisation and its economic and environmental impacts. | 13 |
| Inequality and changes in retailing in the chosen UK city | How income, housing, health and education differ between districts, how deprivation is scored, and why shopping has moved from the central business district to out-of-town centres, retail parks and the internet. | 14 |
| Making the chosen UK city more sustainable | What makes a city sustainable, how recycling, local jobs, education, health, public transport, affordable and energy-efficient housing and brownfield building contribute over the long term, and what an ecological footprint is, how a city's is calculated in global hectares, how London's compares with other places and how it can be cut. | 17 |
| The chosen developing or emerging city: site, situation and structure | The site, situation, connectivity and national and regional role of a fast-growing city, its global links, and how its central business district, inner city, suburbs and fringe are laid out. | 12 |
| Population growth and migration in the chosen developing or emerging city | Natural increase and why it is high, how investment and success speed growth, the rural push and urban pull factors, international migration, and the effects on age structure, culture, housing and services. | 14 |
| Inequality and quality of life in the chosen developing or emerging city | Where the richest and poorest residents live, what an informal settlement is, why rapid growth widens the gap, and how land tenure, water, health, income and education differ between districts. | 10 |
| Rapid urbanisation: challenges, and bottom-up and top-down responses | Uneven infrastructure, water, sanitation, transport, housing, health and education pressures in a fast-growing city, under-employment and informal employment, air and water pollution, and the advantages and disadvantages of top-down and bottom-up approaches. | 16 |
| Government policy and quality of life in the chosen city | Which levels of government act, the social, economic, environmental and transport policies they use, site-and-service schemes and legal tenure, why schemes fall short, and how success is judged. | 10 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel GCSE Geography A Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,385 questions with their answers.