Causes of Urbanisation

Understanding why people move from rural areas to cities is central to the Edexcel B Topic 3. Urbanisation is driven by a combination of factors that push people away from the countryside and pull them towards urban areas. However, migration alone does not explain urbanisation — natural increase within cities, economic drivers and the forces of globalisation all play important roles. In HICs, the process of counter-urbanisation adds another layer of complexity. This lesson examines each of these causes in detail.

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Rural-to-Urban Migration

Rural-to-urban migration is the movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities. It is the single most important cause of urbanisation in LICs and NEEs today, just as it was in HICs during the Industrial Revolution.

Migration decisions are influenced by a combination of push factors (reasons to leave rural areas) and pull factors (reasons to move to urban areas).

Push Factors (Rural Areas)

Push Factor	Explanation	Example
Poverty	Low incomes from subsistence farming; lack of economic opportunity	Rural Bihar, India — many farming families earn less than £1.50/day
Lack of services	Limited access to healthcare, education and clean water	In rural sub-Saharan Africa, 40% lack access to basic healthcare
Natural hazards	Droughts, floods and other disasters destroy livelihoods	Bangladesh — annual monsoon flooding displaces millions; farmers migrate to Dhaka
Mechanisation of farming	Machines replace manual labour, reducing employment	Chinese agriculture has shed ~300 million jobs since 1990
Land tenure issues	Small or fragmented plots are insufficient to support families	In Brazil, 1% of landowners control 45% of agricultural land
Conflict and insecurity	War, ethnic tension or political instability force people to flee	South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo — displaced populations flood into cities
Climate change	Changing rainfall patterns, desertification and rising temperatures	The Sahel region of West Africa — declining crop yields push farmers towards coastal cities

Pull Factors (Urban Areas)

Pull Factor	Explanation	Example
Employment	More jobs in manufacturing, services, construction	Mumbai's diverse economy employs millions in textiles, IT, finance, film
Higher wages	Urban wages are typically 2–5 times higher than rural wages	In China, urban incomes are ~2.7 times rural incomes
Education	Schools, colleges and universities concentrated in cities	University of Lagos attracts students from across Nigeria
Healthcare	Hospitals and clinics concentrated in urban areas	Rural India has 1 doctor per 10,000 people; urban India has 1 per 2,000
Infrastructure	Better roads, electricity, water supply, internet access	Urban electrification rates in sub-Saharan Africa: 78% vs rural 28%
Social and cultural opportunities	Entertainment, diversity, freedom from traditional social structures	Young people attracted to the social opportunities of city life
The "bright lights" perception	Media and returning migrants create an idealised image of city life	Bollywood films portraying Mumbai as a city of opportunity

Exam Tip: When discussing push and pull factors in the exam, avoid simply listing them. The best answers explain how push and pull factors work together. For example: "Declining crop yields due to drought in rural Maharashtra (push) combine with the perception of employment in Mumbai's textile and service industries (pull) to drive rural-to-urban migration."

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Natural Increase in Cities

Natural increase occurs when the birth rate exceeds the death rate, causing the population to grow without migration. In many LIC and NEE cities, natural increase is a major contributor to urban growth — sometimes accounting for up to 60% of urban population growth.

Why Is Natural Increase High in Cities?

1. Youthful population structure: Rural-to-urban migrants are disproportionately young adults of childbearing age (typically 18–35). This means cities have a high proportion of people likely to have children.

2. Improved healthcare: Urban areas have better access to hospitals, vaccinations and clean water, which reduce infant mortality and increase life expectancy. The death rate falls while the birth rate remains relatively high.

3. Cultural transition takes time: Migrants from rural areas may initially maintain higher birth rates associated with rural life (where large families are an economic asset). It takes a generation or more for family sizes to decline to urban norms.

4. Better nutrition: Access to more diverse food supplies in cities can improve maternal and child health, further reducing death rates.

graph LR
    A["Young migrants<br/>arrive in cities"] --> B["High proportion of<br/>childbearing age (18-35)"]
    B --> C["High birth rate<br/>in urban areas"]
    A --> D["Better healthcare<br/>and nutrition in cities"]
    D --> E["Lower death rate<br/>especially infant mortality"]
    C --> F["NATURAL INCREASE<br/>births exceed deaths"]
    E --> F
    F --> G["Urban population<br/>grows even without<br/>further migration"]