SETTLEMENTS

Urbanization
Danica Laukova

urbanization /bənazeʃ(e)n/ noun [uncount] Geography and Environment

GEOGRAPHY

the process by which towns and cities grow bigger and more and more people go to
live in them.L

Since the Second World War, urban populations and the sizes of cities have been constantly increasing.

1 The world’s biggest cities Speaking, writing

a) Work with a partner.

Look at the names of the cities in the table below. How do you say their names
in English? Which countries are they in? How do you pronounce these names?

b) Use the internet or the school library and search for information on ‘world
populations’.
Choose the most recent information you can find. Then complete the table
below with the populations of these cities today. Write the numbers to the
nearest 1,000. The figures already in the table show their populations in 1950.
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 The world’s biggest cities in 1950 and today
GEOGRAPHY

City Country 1950 Today

New York USA 12,463,000 21, 900, 000
London UK 8,860,000
Tokyo Japan 7,000,000
Paris France 5,900,000
Shanghai China 5,406,000
Moscow Russia 5,100,000
Buenos Aires Argentina 5,000,000
Chicago USA 4,906,000
Kolkata India 4,800,000
Mexico City Mexico 2,883,000
Jakarta Indonesia 1,452,000
Delhi India 1,390,000

2 The world’s growing population Speaking

Your teacher will give you either Table A or Table B.

a) Using your answers in exercise 1, ask and answer questions with your partner
to find the missing information on your sheet. Ask: What is the population of
(London) today?

b) Then use a calculator to work out the percentage of population increase for
each city. Use the information in the box to help you.

How to calculate the percentage increase from 8,860,000 to 12,000,000

1. First, find the difference between the two figures by subtracting the
larger figure from the smaller figure i.e. 12,000,000 – 8,860,000 =
3,140,000. (This shows how much the population has increased, i.e. it
was 8,860,000 and it has increased by 3,140,000. It is now 12,000,000.)

2. Enter into your calculator:

3,140,000 ÷ 8,860,000 x 100 = 35%.

So the population has increased by 35%.

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 c) Discuss these questions:
GEOGRAPHY

• Which cities have grown the most/least?

• How do their sizes today compare with those in 1950?

• Have any cities got smaller?

3 City populations in 1950 and today Writing

a) Look at this map of the world.

Mark the cities with the five highest populations in the 1950s ‘A’, and today’s
cities with the five highest populations ‘B’. Write the names of the cities on
the map. Check your results with a partner.

_________________

________

________
________
________
________

________
________

________

Key:
A ___________________
B ___________________

b) Give your map a suitable title and key.

4 Population concentrations by latitude Writing, speaking

a) Look at the map in exercise 3 again.

Find the lines representing the tropical latitudes. Count the number of cities
with the highest populations in 1950 and today, both inside and outside these
latitudes. Write the numbers in the table. Check your results with a partner.
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GEOGRAPHY
1950 Today
Inside Outside Inside Outside
tropical tropical tropical tropical
latitudes latitudes latitudes latitudes
Number of
cities with
highest
populations

b) Discuss the significance of your results with your partner:

• Are there more or fewer cities outside the tropical latitudes than inside?
Why do you think this is?

• Have cities grown more inside the tropical latitudes than outside? Why do
you think this is?

5 MEDCs, LEDCs and GDP Reading, writing

We divide groups of people economically as well as geographically and by

population.

a) Fill in the letters to find what these abbreviations stand for.

MEDC = M _ R _ E C _ N _ M I C _ _ _Y - D _ V _ L _ P _ _ CO___R_

LEDC = _ E S _ _CO_O___A__Y-_E_ELO__D ___NTR_

b) Now read this definition of a GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

GDP /di di pi/ noun [count] Economics

gross domestic product: the total value of the goods and services that a country
produces in a year. It does not include income that is received from money that is
invested in other countries.

c) Write a short sentence paraphrasing the definition in b.

______________________________________________________________
d) Refer to exercise a.
Circle the abbreviation below which usually refers to countries with a high GDP:

MEDC / LEDC
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 e) Look at the map in exercise 3 again.
GEOGRAPHY
Check you know which countries the cities are in - see exercise 1. Decide
whether you think a country is a MEDC or a LEDC. Count the number of MEDC
and LEDC countries inside and outside the tropical latitudes in 1950 and today.
Then write them in the table.

1950 Today
Inside Outside Inside Outside
tropical tropical tropical tropical
latitudes latitudes latitudes latitudes
MEDC
LEDC

f) Discuss your results with a partner, and try to explain any differences you
may have.

6 Changes in urbanization 1950 – today Writing

a) Write an essay discussing the changing pattern of urbanization between

1950 and today. You will need four paragraphs and about 150 – 180 words.

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Introduce the subject you are going to discuss.

Paragraph 2: 1950
Discuss the cities with the highest populations in 1950, whether the
countries were inside or outside the tropical latitudes. Which were MEDCs
and which were LEDCs?

Paragraph 3: Today
Discuss the differences between 1950 and today.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion
Give some factual or personal opinions about why these changes have
happened.
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 Make notes of subjects you will write about in these boxes.
GEOGRAPHY

Paragraph Topic Content

1 Introduction

2 1950

3 Today

4 Conclusion

Useful language for the text:

The majority of cities…
Only a few cities…
Some cities are located…
Some parts of the world…
The main differences between…
... differs from ... in that …
... is different from/similar to… in …
aspects: firstly, secondly,…
Useful language for the conclusion:
This is / was because…
This may be / may have been due to…
That is why…

8 Supercities in the past and today Speaking

In groups or pairs choose one of the biggest cities in the world and prepare
a presentation for the class. Use the PowerPoint presentation slides your
teacher will give you and the language from the tasks you have done.

You will need to search the Internet for information and images for your presentation.

In your presentation make sure you:

• describe where your city is situated

• compare its population in 1950 with its population today

• say what you think the growth of your city will be over the next 50 years

• create a handout for your classmates to use to for making notes

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 TEACHER’S NOTES
Urbanization
Advanced level

1 The world’s biggest cities Speaking, writing

GEOGRAPHY

Aims
Students use the Internet and/or school library for information on city populations
to complete a table. They will work in pairs, and practise saying large numbers and
pronouncing the names of cities and countries in English.

Time
60 minutes or less if the task is divided between the students.

Procedure
1 Introduce the subject of urbanization by reading the dictionary definition to the
class and asking them to guess at the population of their town or city.

2 Ask whether they think the population has increased or decreased since 1950
and ask them to give reasons why this might be. Accept all possible answers.

3 Tell them they are going to find out about the populations of the world’s biggest
cities today, and compare them with their populations in 1950.

4 Before the students start work on this task, they should discuss what is meant by
a city – is it the area within administrative boundaries or is it a continuous built-up
area? Try to reach a class agreement.

Exercise a
• Ask the class to look at the table and go through the names of the cities together.
Make sure they pronounce them in English.

• You could ask them to cover the column giving the name of the country and ask
them to tell you, and then check with the table. Again, make sure they use the
English names and pronounce them correctly.

Exercise b
• Divide the class into pairs and give each pair some, or all, of the cities to research,
depending on their abilities to access sources.

• They are looking for today’s population numbers. If they have access to the
Internet, tell them to search for world populations and find the most recent
information. Remember, their results may vary depending on sources used.
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 • Discuss their findings as a class and practise saying these large numbers properly.
GEOGRAPHY
(We say ‘twenty-one million, nine hundred thousand’ without the word ‘and’.)

• Discuss which cities have grown most in terms of population since 1950.
(Mexico City, Jakarta and Delhi have all grown more than 10 times their 1950
populations.)

2 The world’s growing population Speaking

Aims
This is an information gap activity based on the information researched in exercise 1.
It practises reading out large numbers.

Preparation
Cut out and photocopy Table A and Table B so that half the class will have A and
half B. Ensure that students have access to calculators.

Time
30 minutes

Procedure
1 Divide the class into pairs and in each pair give one student Table A and the other
Table B.

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GEOGRAPHY
Table A
City Population in 1950 Population today Population increase (%)
London 8,860,000

Paris 5,900,000
✂

✂
Moscow 5,100,000

Chicago 4,906,000

Mexico City 2,883,000

Delhi 1,390,000

Table B
City Population in 1950 Population today Population increase (%)
New York 21,900,000

Tokyo 33,600,000

Shanghai 14,600,000
✂

✂
Buenos
13,600,000
Aires

Kolkata 15,700,000

Jakarta 15,000,000

2 Exercise a: Student A asks What is the population of London today? Student B

looks back to the information in exercise 1 and dictates the number he or she has
found. Student A writes it in the appropriate column or asks for repetition. Student
B checks that it has been written correctly.
Student B asks What was the population of London in 1950? The exercise
continues in the same way, until both students have all the information that was
missing on their lists.

3 Exercise b: Students now need to work out the percentage of the population
increase for each city. Encourage them to read the information in the box and
then follow these instructions for all the cities in the table.
4 Exercise c: Ask pairs to join with other pairs to discuss the questions in c.
Each group chooses a speaker to report back to you. Give them enough time to
discuss and formulate their answers.
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 Key
GEOGRAPHY

Exercises a and b:

City Population in 1950 Population today Population increase (%)

London 8 860 000 12 000 000 35%

Paris 5 900 000 10 000 000 69%

Moscow 5 100 000 13 500 000 164%

Chicago 4 906 000 9 800 000 99%

Mexico City 2 883 000 22 400 000 676%

Delhi 1 390 000 21 500 000 1446%

3 City populations in 1950 and today Writing

Aims
Students mark the cities with the highest populations in 1950 and today on a map.
They give the map a title and write a key.

Time
20 minutes

Procedure
Exercise a
1 Ask the class to tell you which cities the circles correspond to. Check their
pronunciation.

2 When everyone knows which city is which, tell students to look back at their table
in exercise 1 and look at the top five cities for 1950. They should write the names
on the map and write ‘A’ in the circles.

3 They should then look at the Today column and find the top five cities in terms
of population. (Beware – these will not necessarily be the top five in the list, and
different students may have different population numbers.) They should write the
names on the map and write ‘B’ in the circles.

4 Students should check their answers with a partner, and discuss any differences.
Allow different answers depending on the sources students used.
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 Exercise b
GEOGRAPHY

Ask students to give their map a title and to write a key in the corner.

Key
Exercise b

London
________
A
A
A/B Paris
________
Tokyo
________
Delhi
________ A/B
New York City
________ A
B
Tropics of Cancer
B
B Shanghai
________
Mexico City
________

Kolkata
________

Tropics of Capricorn

Key:
A ___________________
Highest populations in 1950
B ___________________
Highest populations today

The choice of title for the map will vary, but should ideally be something like:
‘The highest city populations in 1950 and today’. Accept any title that shows they
have understood what the map is about.

The Key should be very simple: ‘A = the highest populations in 1950’, ‘B = the
highest populations today.’

4 Population concentrations by latitude Writing, speaking

Aims
Students classify the cities in terms of latitude. They count how many of the major
cities are found between the two lines of latitude on the map, and how many are
outside it.

Time
15 minutes
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 Procedure
GEOGRAPHY

1 Exercise a: Draw students’ attention to the map again and ask them if they know
what the two lines encircling the world are (The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic
of Capricorn). These are the tropical latitudes referred to in the exercise. Ask
them to count the number of cities inside and outside the tropical latitudes, both
in 1950 and today, and record their answers in the boxes. Ask students to compare
their answers. (Remember, their answers may differ according to their original data.)

3 Exercise b: Students discuss the questions in small groups of three or four,

appointing one of them as the speaker. After a suitable time of discussion, bring
the class together to exchange ideas.

5 MEDCs, LEDCs and GDP Reading, writing

Aims
Students will see other ways of classifying populations – by economic growth and
how this relates to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and by location.

Time
30 minutes

Procedure
1 Ask if students have any idea of what the abbreviations in the title of the exercise
mean. Do not explain them yet.

2 Exercise a: Ask students to look at the gapped words in a and fill in the missing
letters. They should be able to do this quite quickly, and then explain to you what
the abbreviations mean. Ask them to paraphrase the definitions (Countries that
are rich/Countries that are poor.)

MEDC = MORE ECONOMICALLY-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

LEDC = LESS ECONOMICALLY-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

3 Exercise b: Now ask them to read the definition of GDP and explain in their own
words what it means (The way a country’s economy is measured by the value of
goods and services produced.)

4 Exercise c: Students should write a short sentence summarising the definition.

Possible answer: The way a country’s economy is measured by the value of
goods and services produced.
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 5 Exercise d: Ask students to decide whether a high GDP usually equates to an
GEOGRAPHY
MEDC or an LEDC. Answer: MEDC.

6 Exercise e: Students refer to the world map again. Check that they remember
the names of the countries the cities are in. They should then decide which
countries they think are MEDCs and which are LEDCs, and whether they are
inside or outside the tropical latitudes. They fill in the table with the number of
countries in each category.

7 Exercise f: Students then check with a partner and discuss any differences
between their results. These may be because they have used different sources,
and therefore have different countries inside or outside the tropical latitudes.

6 Changes in urbanization 1950 – today riting

Aims
Students write an essay of 150 – 180 words.

Time
45 minutes

Procedure
1 Exercise a: Copy this diagram from the student worksheet onto the board, and
write in some suggestions. These are possibilities.

Paragraph Topic Content

1 Introduction Urbanization means…
I am going to discuss…
2 1950 In 1950, the biggest cities were…
They were found in…
… were MEDCs /LEDCs
3 Today Today, the biggest cities are …
They are found in …
… are MEDCs/LEDCs
4 Conclusion Some cities have grown enormously. These are…
The reason for this growth may be…
They are mainly found inside/outside the tropical
latitudes.
The biggest city in the world today is…

2 Discuss what should go in each part of the essay and write in some suggestions
from the class. Insist that they keep to the pattern of 4 paragraphs.
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 3 Discuss the Useful Language boxes, and ask them to make some sentences
GEOGRAPHY
orally, before they write.

4 Ask students to write an introduction first, and ask some of them to read their
paragraph out. Discuss together if the class thinks it is suitable to introduce the
subject. If not, accept suggestions from the class and write the best idea on
the board.

5 Ask students to write the other three paragraphs, paying attention to relevance
of subject matter, spelling and punctuation. Remind them that the whole essay
should only be 180 words at most.

8 Supercities in the past and today Speaking

Aims
To give a PowerPoint presentation

Preparation
Students in their pairs or groups will need access to a computer and the internet in
order to conduct research. Students will need access to the PowerPoint presentation
template called ‘Supercities_in_the_past_and_today.ppt’.

Time
60 minutes

Procedure
1 Ask students in pairs or groups to choose one of the cities from the module.
Show them the PowerPoint slides one by one and explain that they need to conduct
Internet research to find relevant information and images of their chosen city.

2 Students should describe where the city is situated, compare its population in
1950 with its population today, and say what they think the growth of the city will
be over the next 50 years. Encourage them to recycle the language they have
used in previous exercises. Students should each present at least one slide or
piece of information depending on the size of the group.

3 When they have finished constructing their presentation and working out what to
say they should also create a handout for their classmates to use to make notes.
This can be done by selecting ‘File’ from the PowerPoint menu. Then select ‘Send
to – Microsoft Office Word’.
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