How cities grow: urban, suburban and rural patterns
Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
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The world's urban and rural people
Measure Value Urban people, 1950 751 million Urban people, 2018 4.2 billion Rural people, 2018 close to 3.4 billion Rural people, projected for 2050 3.1 billion Share of people who were urban, 2018 55% Share projected to be urban, 2050 68% Note: UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018 Revision). By the UN's figures, 2007 was the first year in which more than half of the world's people lived in urban areas. Urbanization is a rising share of people living in urban areas. A suburb is a mostly residential area within commuting distance of a large city. Rural areas are the countryside outside towns and cities. Each country uses its own definition of urban.
The chart gives 4.2 billion urban people as 55% of the world in 2018, and close to 3.4 billion rural people. Do the figures agree, Ari?
- Yes, but the 55% is the share of rural people, since the 4.2 billion is the bigger of the two counts
- Yes: 3.4 plus 4.2 billion is about 7.6 billion, and 4.2 of 7.6 is about 55%
- No: 4.2 billion can be 55% of about 7.6 billion if the rural people are counted a second time
- No: with about 3.4 billion rural people, the urban people should be the smaller share, about 45%
The rural population is projected to fall from close to 3.4 billion in 2018 to 3.1 billion by 2050, while the urban share rises. Which claim does Bo support?
- The countryside is emptying, since the rural share falls from 45% to 32% of everyone
- The rural population is projected to grow, since the urban share rises from 55% to only 68%
- Rural areas lose 0.3 billion people and cities gain the same 0.3 billion, so people move one for one
- Rural people become a smaller share of everyone, and their number is projected to fall by about 0.3 billion
Esme compares the urban shares of two countries from the UN's tables. What limit does the chart's note place on that comparison?
- Countries may count different places as urban, so the shares are not measured in the same way
- Urban shares cannot be compared between countries, since the UN has no common definition
- The shares are wrong for any country whose definition differs from the UN's own
- The shares are fair to compare for countries of similar size, since size changes the urban share
By 2050, 3.1 billion rural people are projected to be the 32% who are not urban. What does Jun learn about the world's 2050 population?
- It would be about 4.6 billion, since 3.1 billion is the urban 68%, with 1.5 billion rural
- It would be about 6.2 billion, since 3.1 billion rural people means twice as many urban
- It would be about 7.6 billion, the same as 2018, since just the shares change in 2050
- It would be about 9.7 billion, with about 6.6 billion of them urban
Kira takes 2050 as about 9.7 billion people, 6.6 billion urban, against 7.6 billion, 4.2 billion urban, in 2018. Is the world's net gain all urban?
- No: urban areas gain 2.4 billion, which is more than the world's 2.1 billion, so the figures conflict
- No: rural areas gain people too, since the world total rises from 7.6 billion to 9.7 billion by 2050
- Yes: urban areas gain 2.1 billion, which is the same as the world's gain, with rural areas unchanged
- Yes: urban areas gain about 2.4 billion and rural areas lose 0.3 billion, so cities hold the net gain
Luz says the 68% urban share in 2050 is a fact about the future. What is the sound reply?
- It is a count made in advance, since the UN has already counted the people who will live in 2050
- It is a fact, since the UN measured 55% in 2018 and an urban share rises from year to year
- It is the UN's projection, an expected value that could turn out different, not a count
- It is a guess with no basis, since the future share cannot be measured for any country
A neighborhood of homes lies 25 minutes by train from a large city. A town of 800 people lies far from any city. Which is a suburb, Milo?
- Neither, since a suburb must be part of the city itself and not a separate place
- The neighborhood: a suburb is residential and within commuting distance of a large city
- The town of 800, since small settlements outside the big cities are called suburbs
- Both, since any residential area counts as a suburb wherever it lies and however far it is
A country's urban share rises from 40% to 50%. Pia asks whether its rural population could still grow. What is the answer?
- Yes, if the whole population grows by more than 10%, since a 10% rise is enough to do it
- Yes: if the whole population grows by over a fifth, the rural count can rise while its share falls
- No: when the urban share rises, the rural count must fall, because the people move to cities
- Yes, but just if the urban count falls, since the rural share must fall for the rural count to rise
By the UN's figures, 2007 was the first year in which more than half of the world's people were urban. Which statement can Ren support?
- In 2007 the world's urban population first reached 4.2 billion, the figure for 2018
- In 2007 and after, urban people outnumbered rural people worldwide, since more than half were urban
- Before 2007 no country had an urban share above half, since the world's share was under half
- After 2007 the rural population began to fall, since the urban share passed one half
Zee compares urban and rural people in 2018 and 2050, using 6.6 billion urban and 3.1 billion rural in 2050. What happens to the gap?
- The gap stays near 0.8 billion, since the shares move by just 13 percentage points
- Urban people outnumber rural people by about 0.8 billion in 2018 and by about 3.5 billion in 2050
- The gap shrinks, since the rural population is projected to fall and the urban share is unchanged
- The gap grows from 0.8 billion to 3.1 billion, since the gap in 2050 equals the rural count