Challenges of living in cities
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the challenges that people living in cities face.
Key learning points
- The high cost of land can lead to overcrowding.
- Pollution (air, water, noise) is a major urban issue.
- The growth of cities may be faster than the growth of services.
- Urban growth and traffic congestion hampers life in cities.
- The poorest people may be vulnerable to environmental hazards due to the location of informal housing, e.g. landslides.
Keywords
Overcrowding - too many people living in a small space
Pollution - harmful substances in air, water, or sound
Infrastructure - all the basic systems in a country, such as transport networks and power supply
Informal settlement - district or urban area created without official planning or support; often homes are self-built and infrastructure may not work well
Common misconception
Services grow at the same pace as population in cities.
When the population of a city grows rapidly, often the growth of services is slower. In the twenty-first century this is particularly the case in rapidly developing countries, where lots of people arrive into cities each year.
Teacher tip
Use real-world examples that students can relate to. Link challenges to students' own experiences (e.g., being stuck in traffic, seeing litter or smog, crowded buses). This builds relevance and makes abstract urban issues more concrete and memorable.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match these keywords with their meanings:
Living in, or related to, towns and cities
Systems like roads, water pipes and electricity
A place where housing has been built without planning permission
The overall well-being of people in an area
Q2.Which of the following best describes a challenge people might face in a city?
Q3.Why might people choose to live in a city?
Q4.Some people live in settlements, which may lack running water or electricity.
Q5.Why is the statement “Everyone in a city lives in modern, well-planned housing” not true?
Q6.Which city feature helps reduce traffic and pollution?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
too many people living in a small space
harmful substances in air, water, or sound
all the basic systems in a country, such as transport networks
area built without planning or official support
Q2.What is a likely effect of rapid population growth in a city?
Q3.Why might air pollution be worse in some cities?
Q4.When a city’s population increases quickly, services often grow more than the number of people.
Q5.What is a common misunderstanding about city services?
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Challenges of living in cities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Challenges of living in cities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the Cities: What are they like to live in? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.