HSC Geography · People, Patterns and Processes · 7.2
Patterns of Settlement
From scattered villages to a majority-urban planet of mega-cities — where people live, and why · NESA Syllabus 2022
Where we're going
By the end you can…
Define urbanisation & describe its global rise (UN ~68% by 2050)
Define a mega-city (> 10 million) & give examples
Describe & explain the uneven distribution of cities
Evaluate the environmental footprint of cities
Outline the evolution of settlements & the role of trade
7.2.1
Urbanisation & its global rise
7.2.1 The global shift
The world went urban around 2007–2008
~30% urban in 1950 → ~55% by 2018 → UN projects ~68% by 2050. Growth is concentrated in Asia & Africa.
7.2.2
The mega-city
7.2.2 Extreme concentration
Mega-city = an urban area of > 10 million
Tokyo ≈ 37 million
The world's largest urban agglomeration (UN) — dense, productive, superb transport, but huge servicing pressures.
30+ mega-cities
e.g. Delhi, Shanghai — and the number keeps rising, fastest in Asia & Africa.
Not the same as a primate city (dominant city) or a megalopolis (merged cities).
7.2.3
Urban distribution
7.2.3 Where cities are — & why
Uneven, and clustered on coasts & rivers
Physical (water, land, harbours) + economic (trade, jobs) + historical factors → strong clustering, especially in Asia.
7.2.4
Environmental footprint
7.2.4 Small in area, huge in impact
≈ 3% of land · ≈ 70% of carbon emissions
The pressure
Cities concentrate energy use, resource consumption, waste & pollution (UN estimates).
The response
Green infrastructure · public & active transport · renewables · denser, mixed-use design.
Density can make cities more sustainable per person than sprawl.
7.2.5
Evolution of settlements
7.2.5 From camps to cities
Nomadic → farming → village → city → mega-city
The agricultural revolution produced the food surplus that first made cities possible.
7.2.6
Trade & urban growth
7.2.6 The engine of growth
Where goods meet, cities grow
Cities on trade routes, river crossings & harbours grew fastest
Trade shapes a city's size and its form (ports, markets, finance districts)
Today: shipping, finance & digital trade drive global cities
Trade = the concept of interconnection — name the flows that feed a city.
7.2.7
Ancient urban origins
7.2.7 The first cities
Born in fertile river valleys
Uruk — Mesopotamia (~4th millennium BCE)
One of the world's earliest & largest cities, in Sumer (modern Iraq). Irrigated farming on the Tigris–Euphrates plains fed a large population, monumental building & organised society — showing how surplus + trade + administration scale a settlement into a city.
Exact dates are debated — treat Uruk as an illustrative early example.
End of 7.2
Recap
Urbanisation → ~68% urban by 2050 (UN) · mega-city = > 10 million · uneven distribution clustered on coasts/rivers · big environmental footprint (~3% land, ~70% CO₂) · villages → Uruk → industrial city → mega-city · trade as the engine. Next: use the activity sheet & study guide.