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Year 10
Edexcel B

Economic opportunities and environmental impacts in rural areas

I can identify ways in which rural areas generate income through tourism projects and rural diversification, and recognise the environmental impacts of these opportunities.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel B

Economic opportunities and environmental impacts in rural areas

I can identify ways in which rural areas generate income through tourism projects and rural diversification, and recognise the environmental impacts of these opportunities.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Economic challenges from the decline in farming have led to new economic opportunities in rural areas.
  2. Tourism projects and rural diversification support the local multiplier effect which strengthens the local economy.
  3. An example of a tourism project in Eden is the Herdwick Stones and of rural diversification, Waterside House.
  4. Economic opportunities have environmental impacts which can be positive and negative.

Keywords

  • Tourism project - planned initiative designed to attract tourists such as new attractions, improvements to infrastructure, promotion of sustainable tourism and the development of tourism-related businesses

  • Rural diversification - increase the spread of commercial activities, for example, by creating new enterprises on a farm such as a shop or a B&B

Common misconception

Environmental impacts from economic development are always negative.

Environmental impacts from development can be negative, but they can also be positive, such as increased environmental awareness and reduced use of agricultural chemicals.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: Economic opportunities and environmental impacts in rural areas, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Add a local component to this by finding an example of a local development which had some arguments around environmental impact within it. Or set up conflict more generally with a debate around the following motion: "This House would prioritise environmental protection over economic growth".
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name of Liverpool's main shopping and leisure area?
Albert Dock
Correct answer: Liverpool ONE
Anfield
The Baltic Triangle
Q2.
Which sector mainly declined in Liverpool due to deindustrialisation?
Agriculture
Tourism
Correct answer: Manufacturing
Education
Q3.
What is studentification?
Building a new university
Correct answer: An area with a high concentration of students living in subdivided houses
Turning universities into museums
Closing universities in rural areas
Q4.
What is a common challenge faced by Liverpool's inner city areas?
Overpopulation
Lack of green space
Correct answer: High levels of depopulation and poverty
Too many luxury housing developments
Q5.
How has Liverpool’s waterfront been regenerated?
It has been turned into a farming zone
It remains abandoned
Correct answer: Through redevelopment of docks into museums, galleries and attractions
It has been used solely for shipping again
Q6.
Which statement about Liverpool’s rural-urban fringe is correct?
It only contains farmland
Correct answer: It has experienced growth in housing developments and business parks
It is untouched by urbanisation
It is mainly used for mining

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What is rural diversification?
Moving farms into cities
Correct answer: Increasing different types of business activities in rural areas
Expanding only farming
Building shopping centres in cities
Q2.
Which of these is an example of a tourism project in a rural area?
Building a motorway
Setting up a pop-up restaurant in a city
Correct answer: Developing a visitor centre and walking trails
Opening a new steelworks
Q3.
What is one reason rural diversification is important?
Correct answer: To create more types of income and jobs in rural areas
To protect farmland from flooding
To stop people from moving to cities
To replace tourism businesses in towns
Q4.
Why is it wrong to say environmental impacts from rural economic development are always negative?
All impacts are actually negative
Correct answer: Some projects protect and enhance the environment
Economic development never affects the environment
Development stops tourism completely