Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Geography B (1GB0) · Spec 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7
One megacity
Read the notes, then try the questions. Each one is marked the moment you press Check, and shows the right answer and why.
Key ideas
- You study ONE megacity in a developing or emerging country, such as Mumbai or Lagos. A city such as London or New York does not fit.
- Explain location with real reasons tied to the city, such as a coast and harbour, or shipping routes. Airports and metro lines are results of growth, not reasons for it.
- Growth comes from migration and from natural increase, which is births being higher than deaths.
- Social opportunities include access to health care and education. Economic opportunities include jobs in ports and factories.
- Challenges include housing, water, sanitation, informal work, air pollution and congestion. Planning can reduce them.
- Top-down strategies are planned and paid for by governments. Bottom-up strategies are led by local people or NGOs.
Key terms
- Megacity
- An urban area with more than 10 million people.
- Natural increase
- When births are higher than deaths.
- Informal sector
- Jobs that are not regulated or taxed, such as street selling or recycling.
- Top-down strategy
- A scheme planned and funded by city or national government.
- Bottom-up strategy
- A scheme led by local people or community groups.
Common mistakes
- Using New York or London as the megacity. Examiners cap the answer.
- Saying a high birth rate alone makes a city grow. Births must be higher than deaths, and migration adds to growth.
- Saying top-down is bad and bottom-up is good. Each has strengths and limits.
Exam tip
Quality of life covers more than income. Include housing, services, safety, health and environment, and compare districts inside your city. The 8-mark Assess or Evaluate at the end of Section C needs a judgement, such as which type of strategy works better and why.
Free practice questions
7 questions, 18 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.
- Question 1 · Fill the gaps[2 marks]
Health care and education are ___ opportunities, while jobs in factories and ports are ___ opportunities.
Word bank: environmental · social · health care · economic
- Question 2 · Choose more than one[2 marks]
Which TWO are economic opportunities created by urban growth?
Choose 2.
- Question 3 · Matching[4 marks]
Match each planning feature to how it can improve life for the urban poor.
- Question 4 · Sort into groups[4 marks]
Place each feature in the zone of a megacity where it is most likely to be found.
Old, crowded housing with small plots
Newer housing with larger plots
Tall office blocks and head offices
New warehouses next to farmland
- Question 5 · Choose more than one[2 marks]
Which TWO are examples of bottom-up strategies for a more sustainable megacity?
Choose 2.
- Question 6 · True or false[3 marks]
Decide whether each statement about rapid growth and strategies in a megacity is true or false.
1. Rapid growth always produces the same slum problems, whatever the management.
2. Top-down strategies are planned and funded by city or national government.
3. Bottom-up schemes always work better because local people run them.
- Question 7 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which is a correctly qualified environmental problem of rapid city growth?