Geography

Key unit competency:

By the end of this unit, I should be able to discuss the impact of settlement and

urbanization on the sustainable development of different countries.

The concept of urbanization is well defined from the concept of settlement.

A settlement refers to a place where people live. It can be large or small, permanent

or temporary. A settlement also means the process of settling in a given a place.

Settlement is associated with the concepts of shelter, infrastructure and community

services like health, culture and education. There are two types of settlements: rural

settlement and urban settlement.

The term ‘urban’, is opposed to rural which can refer to isolated building, hamlet,

village, small market town while urban is related to towns or cities. Urban settlement

is large nucleated settlement in which most of the employed inhabitants are engaged

in non-agricultural activities. Urban areas may be defined by national governments

according to different criteria; for example, size of the population, population

density, occupation of the people, and type of local government. However, the

United Nation defines an urban place as a permanent settlement with not less than

20,000 inhabitants.

Urbanisation is a process of increasing number of people that live in urban areas

in a country or the process of growing of cities and towns, therefore, the societies

becoming more urban. For example, according to 2012 national census, 16.5 % of

Rwandans live in urban areas. Urbanisation refers also to the physical expansion of

urban areas, or the increase in number of urban areas or towns.

11.1. Rural settlement

Learning activity 11.1

With reference to your own observation and the knowledge acquired from past

studies

1. What do you understand by the term rural settlement?

2. Describe the different types of rural settlement.

3. What are the factors that would influence someone to create a settlement

somewhere?

Rural settlement is a sparsely populated community that exists in each area. The

population density in rural areas is very low compared to the urban areas. In such

areas houses are scattered. The largest land use is agriculture. This means that

most people are engaged in agricultural activities and other related activities

such as livestock farming, fishing, mining, hunting etc. Sometimes, there are larger

agricultural agglomerations. However, this cannot be considered as urban centres

because of the primary activity common in that region.

11.1.1. Types of rural settlement

The following are the various types of rural settlements:

(i) Nucleated settlements pattern: It is also known as clustered or grouped

settlements. Houses are concentrated in one place without proper arrangement.

Nucleated or clustered settlements often form at crossroads or route centres. These

types of settlements are known as “Imidugudu” in Rwanda. Socially, the people are

closely knit

(ii) Linear settlement pattern: This is where houses are well planned and

concentrated along the communication lines like roads, railway stations or along

the coast. The fields extend behind the buildings in long, narrow strips. These are

mainly influenced by economic factors. Linear settlement patterns are also known

as ribbon settlement. 

(iii) Dispersed /scattered settlement pattern: This is where houses are scattered

all over the area. The settlements are located at distance apart from each other. This

type of settlement dominates in areas where agricultural and livestock activities are

dominant. 

(iv) Isolated settlement pattern: This is a type of settlement which is characterized

by people who are hunters, shifting cultivators and food gatherers or other specific

activity. That is, people who are socially isolated by other people.

(v) Ring settlement pattern: In this type of settlement, houses make a circle. There

is an open ground at the centre.

Planned settlement pattern: These are settlements which are deliberately

designed to assume a certain shape or pattern. They may develop according to

the government’s plan. The emergence of the various patterns of settlement is

influenced by the following factors.

11.1.2. Factors influencing rural settlement

A place where a settlement starts is called a site of a settlement. Any settlement site

is chosen because it has a lot of good reasons for locating a settlement there. The

following are the main factors influencing rural settlement:

– Water supply: Water is an important human need. It helps in deciding where

a settlement might be located. Thus, most settlements are located near water

sources such as rivers and lakes.

– Soil fertility: Farmers often choose to settle at points where the land is

suitable for crop growing as agriculture and livestock are the key activities in

rural areas.

– Security: More people settle in areas where there is peace. They can live

without fear of anything.

– Building materials like timber and stone attract people to settle where they

are easily available.

– Absence of natural hazards: few people live in places likely to be hit by

natural hazards.

– Climate: People are much more attracted to settle in temperate climatic areas.

Few people live in very hot or very cold areas.

– Means of transport and services: The presence of roads, schools and hospitals

attract many people for settling around them.

– Presence of minerals: People like to settle where mining activities are taking

places as jobs are available in those areas. In those areas, the markets, schools

and hospitals are built to serve them.

– Government policy: The government decides where people should and

should not settle. This is done as part of planning.

– Cultural and social factors: For example, a father dividing his land among his

children. The children settle in the same area.

– Relief: Few people live on the steep slopes of mountains. On the other hand,

Flat land is easier to build on and it is good for growing crops. This explains

why many people live in plateaus and the plains.

11.1.3. Effects of rural settlements

The concentration of people in rural areas has both negative and positive effects:

Positive effects

– The development of rural settlement, especially grouped and planned

settlement facilitates the establishment of social facilities. Facilities such as

schools, shops, hospitals, electricity, water points and other basic infrastructure

are usually established and made available to the entire settlement.

– Rural settlement leads to the development of trading activities with

surrounding settlements and urban centres.

– Rural settlement produces food stuffs to the urban areas.

– Rural settlements provide or supply the urban centers with affordable labour

force.

Negative effects

– Rural settlements, especially dispersed settlements experience shortage/lack

of basic infrastructures such as water, electricity, roads, etc.

– They are exposed to pollution resulting from uncollected garbage and

contaminated water.

– Rural settlement experience shortage of social services such as hospitals,

schools and markets. People make a long distance to access such services.

– In rural settlement people fight for land. Therefore, constant land disputes are

witnessed.

– There is high spread of diseases like dysentery, cholera, and malaria due to

poor hygiene and compaction of individuals.

– There is environmental degradation due to high demand for building materials,

firewood, charcoal which further results into soil erosion, reduction in rainfall

and landslides.

– The family plots are fragmented. This makes them to be too small for

commercial mechanized farming.

11.1.4. Solutions to the problems affecting rural settlement

– To avail the basic infrastructures such as water, electricity, roads, etc. in the

areas to be settled.

– Construction of social facilities and services such as hospitals, schools, market.

– Regular registration of land to reduce the conflicts related to the land

ownership and use.

– Preparation of master plan and land use guide for all country to avoid

unplanned settlement.

– Making environment management policies to avoid environmental

degradation.

– Establish good governance to avoid any kind of division, insecurity in

population, etc.

– Sensitizing the rural settlers on the most effective way of managing the

environment.

Application activity 11.1

1. Make an excursion in rural areas not far from your school and find answers for

the following questions:

a) Examine the predominant activities.

b) Basing on what you have learnt in this lesson, associate the below diagrams with

their corresponding names/ types. 

11.2. Urbanization in the world

Learning activity 11.2

1. Analyse the map shown above and name the most urbanized regions in the world.

2. Discuss the major factors influencing urban development in the world.

3. From your understanding, what are the socio-economic benefits of the big cities

compared to small cities?

11.2.1. Definition of basic terms

Different terms are used to express urban centres according to their size or

characteristics. The following are the commonly used terms.

– Trading center: A trading center is a given settlement whose major occupation

is associated with trading activities. It may be an area within a city or located

away from the main city.

– Town: It is the smallest unit of urban settlement. Here, urban functions are

well marked although the possibility of some rural activities existing is not

ruled out.

– Town board: It is the legislative body that governs a town/city.

– Municipality: A municipality is a political subdivision of a state for a specific

population concentration in a defined area. The municipality is bigger than a

town in terms of covered area and the size of population settled in that area.

– City: The term city is derived from the Latin word ‘civitas’ which means

community/city/town or state. It is a full-fledged urban agglomeration showing

predominance of urban occupations and complex internal structure. Any town

with a population of 100,000 inhabitants/dwellers or above is termed as city.

– Agglomeration: It is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up

area of a central place (usually a municipality) and some suburbs linked by

continuous urban area.

– Megalopolis: It denotes a large urban region formed by the out-growth of

many metropolises. A  megalopolis (sometimes called a megapolis; also,

megaregion, or super city) is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent

metropolitan areas, which may be somewhat separated or may merge into a

continuous urban region. Megalopolis also expresses the full mature stage of

urban growth.

– Conurbation: It is a large continuous built-up area formed by the joining

together of several urban settlements or town. It is an urban region consisting

of a large metropolis and several small towns huddled together.

– Suburb: It is a mixed-use or residential area, existing either as part of a city or

urban area or as a separate residential community within commuting distance

of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have

lower population density than inner city neighbourhoods.

– Green city: It refers to a broader metropolitan area. For example, “Chicago”

represents the greater metropolitan area surrounding the city of Chicago. It

aims at informing and stimulating the interest with authorities, organizations

and companies which are professionally involved in planning and developing

the urban area, ensuring green belts (Areas covered with selected flora) will be

applied appropriately.

– Slum: It is defined as a highly populated urban residential area consisting

mostly of closely packed, dilapidated housing units in a situation of deteriorated

or incomplete infrastructure, inhabited primarily by impoverished persons or

low income earners. 

11.2.2. Location of major world urban centres and ports

The major world urban centres and ports are considered as megalopolises which are

large urban regions formed by the out-growth of urban center.

– The most known urban regions are developed along the North-Eastern sea

board of USA. This includes: Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia,

Baltimore ending in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia

– The urban regions in Eastern Asia which include the urban centres of China,

Japan, Singapore, India, South and North Korea.

– The Western European urban centres including cities of Germany, U.K, France,

Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, etc.

– The South Africa urban centres including: Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban,

Cape Town, etc.

– The Urban centres in Northern Africa including the cities of Libya, Morocco,

Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt.

11.2.3. Factors influencing urban development in the world

Urbanization is the function of socio-economic changes that take place through

time. The following are its determinants, which are mainly economic, social and

demographic.

– The economic determinants are the types of economy, degree of

commercialization of agriculture, the extent of diversification of economy,

the changing size of agricultural landholdings, the stage of economic

advancement and the degree of development of means of transportation and

communication.

– The social factors that determine the nature and magnitude of urbanization

are the degree of socio-economic awakening, the social value system, the

stage of technological advancement, the public policies and the government

decisions.

– Among the demographic factors, the rate of population growth, magnitude of

migration and pressure of population are significant.

– Improvement of transportation can bring raw materials to any point quite

cheaply.

– Improvement of information and technology which raises the population

awareness about the available opportunities in other urban centres.

11.2.4. Functions of urban centres and ports

Most towns perform several functions. In some towns, one activity is predominant,

and the town is known for that function. But many towns are now multi-functional.

The following are the most important functions that cities perform:

11.2.5. Impact of world urbanization on the environment

 Urbanization might cause the following problems:

– Urbanization results into pollution of land, air, water and noise. This is because

of poor disposal of garbage from the domestic and industrial remaining. It

also results into noise pollution from industry machineries, vehicles, and other

means of transport,

– High energy consumption increases the release of CO2 in the atmosphere.

This leads to global warming.

– Most people do not have access to safe drinking water especially in developing

countries. Thus, poor sanitation and poor quality of drinking water result

into water-borne diseases like Cholera, Typhoid, tuberculosis, dysentery and

gastro-enteritis.

– Sewage also provides nutrition to a vast array of microbes, bacteria and fungus

adding to the eutrophication of surface water bodies, seriously affecting the

human environment and the entire food web in the eco system. Even the

ground contaminated by the industrial effluents in the atmosphere, brought

down by precipitation.

– Waste disposal is a major problem in large cities.

Application activities 11.2

11.3. Case studies of cities in developed countries: 

New York City,London, Tokyo

Learning activity 11.3

Map showing major world urban centres

1. With reference to the map above and the help of any other geographical documents,

locate and describe the factors that have favoured the development and the growth of

New York, London and Tokyo cities.

2. Analyse the main functions available for each city mentioned above.

3. Identify challenges facing the above cities.

11.3.1. New York

New York City is one of the most populated metropolitan area of the United States

of America and the world. The city’s population is estimated at 19 million people

distributed over 17,400 km2. It was established in 1624 as a trading center of Dutch

colonialists and it was named New Amsterdam in 1626. It became under English

control in 1664. Thereafter it was renamed New York after the Duke of New York who

was a brother to King Charles II of England. The New York served as Capital City of US

between 1785 and 1790. 

The city of New York has the following functions:

– Financial centre: New York is the world’s leading financial capital and the

headquarters of the most principal business firms in the United States. The

New York’s financial centre is based on Wall Street where the New York Stock

Exchange is located.

– Commercial centre: New York conducts a considerable proportion of internal

trade of the country as well as international trade. This makes it an international

and national commercial centre.

– Industrial centre: Many heavy and light industries have been developed in

New York. The heading industries include oil cracking, heavy engineering like

ship building, manufacturing, chemical processing, leather tanning and sugar

refining making it an industrial centre.

– Transport and communication centre: New York is a leading sea port

worldwide. It has also three international airports: J.F. Kennedy, Newark and

La Guardia. It is also served by canals e.g. New York state Berge and Erie Canals

that connect the city to the Great Lakes.

– Administrative Center: Besides being an administrative centre for the state of

New York, it serves also as headquarter of several international organizations

such as headquarter of the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank.

– Education Center: New York City is a home to many universities and colleges

well reputed worldwide. Example: New York State University and Columbia

University.

– Cultural centre: It is a leading cultural centre hosting the most heterogeneous

population. Its cultural diversity has made it a leading fashion art and cultural

centre in the world.

11.3.2. London

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the largest metropolitan

area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union.

London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Its history going back to

its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London’s ancient core, the

City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since 1831,

the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.

London is the political, industrial, cultural, and financial centre of the country. It has

an area of 1,706 square km and consists of two regions: The Inner London comprises

14 of London’s 33 boroughs and Outer London encompasses the other 19 boroughs

(municipalities). 

Functions of London

– London is leading European city in the arts, commerce, education,

entertainment, finance, healthcare, research and development, tourist and

transport.

– London is considered as a world cultural city. It hosts a range of people with

various cultures.

– It is among the top ten world’s most visited cities through its air transport.

– London has more than 50 universities which are highly rated in the world. It

therefore has an educational function.

– London hosts well known football teams and it has been given the opportunity

to host the summer Olympic games many times like in 2012. Therefore, it has

a recreational function.

11.3.3. Tokyo

Tokyo is called also ‘Eastern Capital’ and officially Tokyo Metropolis. It is one of the

47 prefectures of Japan. It is located on the Eastern side of the main island Honshu.

It includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. It is the

capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan

area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and

the home of the Japanese Imperial Family.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo.

Each is governed as a city. Those wards (districts) cover the area that was the city

of Tokyo, 39 municipalities in the Western part of the prefecture and two outlying

island chains. Tokyo is the world’s most populous metropolitan area with 38 million

people and the world’s second largest metropolitan economy ahead of New York

City

Functions of the city of Tokyo

– Tokyo hosts most of top governmental and non-governmental institutions of

the country.

– Tokyo is a major international financial Centre. It hosts the headquarters of

world’s largest banks, insurance companies, industries among others.

– The largest Japanese stock exchange is found in Tokyo and it is the third largest

worldwide.

– The road and railway transports are very developed in Tokyo city. This can be

testified by the fact that more than 40 million passengers use rail system daily.

– Tokyo houses a big number of international universities which are highly

ranked worldwide.

– It is known to have many museums like Tokyo National Museum, Traditional

Japanese art, National Museum of Western art, National Museum of Science

and Ueno Zoo.

– The city of Tokyo has many well-constructed theatres facilitating it to host

different festivals and sporting events like 1964 Summer Olympics.

– Tokyo is considered as the world’s most environmentally friendly as it uses

renewable energy with superb energy security.

Problems facing New York, London and Tokyo Cities

The following are the main problems facing the Cities of New York, London and

Tokyo:

– Lack of space for expansion: The fact that New York and London are boarded

by the water of Atlantic Ocean in the East and West respectively while Tokyo

is boarded by Pacific Ocean in the East result into lack of enough land for city

expansion.

– Shortage of housing: There is lack of adequate and decent accommodation

for middle class in New York, London and Tokyo.

– Slum development: The cities are experiencing the problem of slums with

poor housing for the people with less income. They are especially found in

Harlem and the Bronx in New York.

– Unemployment: Many people migrating from different parts of the world are

directed to these cities of developed countries hoping to find better jobs there.

– High crime rates: The crime rates are very high because of the high number

of unemployment people living in these cities.

– Traffic Jams: New York, London and Tokyo are overpopulated which result

into congestion of many cars especially during the pick hours.

– Pollution: Air, water, land and noise pollution are among the main problems

facing the city of New York, London and Tokyo.

– Tokyo faces several natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,

Tsunami and tropical cyclones.

Application activity 11.3

Search on internet and other geographical document to supplement your answers.

answer the following questions:

1. Suggest the appropriate measures to be taken to deal with problems

facing London and Tokyo.

2. Discuss the role of land values as a factor in the internal functioning of cities.

Nairobi

11.4. Case studies of the cities in developing countries: Brasilia,Johannesburg, Nairobi

Learning activities 11.4

1. With the help of geographical documents and other relevant sources of

information, describe briefly Brasília, Johannesburg and Nairobi cities.

2. Locate Brasília, Johannesburg and Nairobi cities on the world political

map.

11.4.1. Brasilia

Brasília is the capital of Brazil. The city and its District are in the Central-West region

of the country, along a plateau known as Plan Alto Central. According to 2008

census, it has a population of about 2,557,000. This makes it the fourth largest city

in Brazil. It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Brasília was hosting 122

foreign embassies in 2014. The city of Brasilia was planned and developed in 1956

by Lucio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal

architect. On April 22 of 1960, it formally became Brazil’s national capital. Viewed

from above, the main portion of the city looks like an airplane or a butterfly. It has a

unique status in Brazil, as it is not a municipality like nearly all cities in Brazil. 

Functions of the city of Brasília

– Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government.

– The city also hosts the headquarters of many Brazilian companies such as the

Banco do Brazil, Correios and Brazil Telecom.

– The city is a world reference for urban planning. Planning policies such as

the locating of residential buildings around expansive urban areas as well as

building the city around large avenues and dividing it into sectors.

– Brasília city hosts several national financial Centre, banks, insurance companies,

industries among others.

11.4.2. Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Joburg or Goli is the largest city in South Africa,

by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng which is the

wealthiest province in South Africa and obviously in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the

world’s largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline.

Johannesburg metropolitan includes four regions: Ekurhuleni, the West Rand,

Soweto and Lenasia. It hosted around 12 million people in 2017. The municipal

city’s land area is 1,645 km2 with population density of 2,364 /km2. Johannesburg

includes Soweto, which was a separate city from the late 1970s until the 1990s.

Soweto is considered as the largest slum area in Sub-Sahara Africa. Johannesburg

was developed from Gold mining activities which started since 1880s.

Functions of the city of Johannesburg

– Johannesburg is the hub of South Africa’s commercial, financial, industrial and

mining activities.

– It has the largest stock exchange in Africa.

– Johannesburg contributes up to 16% of national South Africa’s gross domestic

product and it accounts around 40% of the economic activities of Gauteng

Province.

– Johannesburg has towers which are among the tallest in Africa. There are for

instance Sentech, Hillbrow-(Vodocom tower), Carlton towers, etc.

– Johannesburg is a major international financial center which houses the

headquarters of world’s largest banks like Standard ABSA, Nedbank, insurance

companies, and industries among others.

– It hosts a very big airport named Oliver Tambo International airport which is

connected to different international and domestic airports of the world.

– Johannesburg has well developed both private and public universities like

Witwatersrand and Johannesburg universities.

– It hosts well known soccer teams and it has been given the opportunity to

host FIFA final world cup in 2010.

11.4.3. City of Nairobi

Nairobi was founded in 1899 as a rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to

Uganda. It was also a colonial settlement. It became British East Africa in 1907 and

eventually the capital city of independent Republic of Kenya in 1963.

The name Nairobi comes from the Masai sentence “Enkare Nairobi” meaning the cold

water. This Nairobi was a name of a river in Masai language meaning that the city is

extended around this river. According to the 2012 census, Nairobi had a population

of 3,138,295 inhabitants living on an area of 696 km2.

Functions of Nairobi

Despite Nairobi being the capital city, it has other several functions. Among these

functions are:

– International center: Nairobi is cosmopolitan (Multicultural) city with

residents drawn from all over the world. It has conference facilities like

Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC). It hosts several international

headquarters such as United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and

International Centre for Research in Agro forestry (ICRAF), etc.

– Transport and communication centre: Nairobi, is a nerve cardinal centre

for transport and communication lines. All roads in the country converge in

Nairobi. It has international airports with air links to the rest of the world. The

national communication systems centred in Nairobi are also linked to the

communication systems of the world.

– Education centre: There is variety of education institutions in Nairobi. These

include the University of Nairobi and many tertiary colleges and technical

institutions.

– Tourist centre: Its central location in East Africa makes it an important transit

point for tourists. Moreover, Nairobi also has many tourist attractions for

instance Nairobi National Park, museums and animal orphanages besides

excellent accommodation in hotels of international standards.

– Administrative centre: Nairobi is a residential base for all the foreign missions

in Kenya. It is also the provincial headquarters for Nairobi province as well as

the seat of the Kenyan government.

– Industrial centre: Nairobi is the leading industrial centre in East Africa. The

Industries found in Nairobi are motor vehicle assembly, steel rolling, food

processing, garment making and radio and television assembly.

– Cultural centre: Nairobi has several theatre groups operating at the Kenya

National Theatre, French Cultural Centre and other cultural centres. Various

dancing troupes operate from Bomas of Kenya and tourist hotels while art

exhibitions are held in art galleries.

– Commercial centre: Nairobi is the leading commercial centre. Through the

Nairobi Stock Exchange, a huge volume of transactions is made on daily basis.

It is also a centre of banking and financial instructions.

Problems facing cities in developing countries: Brasília, Johannesburg and Nairobi

Although cities of Brasília, Johannesburg and Nairobi are having remarkable records

in terms of economic development. They also face many common problems which

include:

– The loss of culture identity of the society: This is as result of the interaction of

different cultures from different people including foreigners.

– The pollution of land, air, water and noise: This is because of poor disposal of

garbage and the existence of very many vehicles and industries.

– The shortage of land for agriculture: As towns expand, land for agriculture is

reduced in favour of settlement and this in turn may result into a decline in

food production.

– Unemployment and under employment: This is because of the high urban

population that competes for the low employment opportunities.

– Urbanization creates congestion especially during rush hours when people go

to or come from the work.

– The big number of population in Brasília, Johannesburg and Nairobi cities has

led to the problems of insecurity. The security personnel are overwhelmed by

the rising crime rates.

Solutions to the problems facing cities in developing countries

In order to overcome problems related to the development of urban centers in

developing countries, both the government authorities and the inhabitants of

those cities need to cooperate to find the appropriate solutions. Here are some of

the solutions to the problems faced by cities:

– The problem of accommodation can be solved or reduced by the construction

of skyscrapers or stored houses which occupy little space on the ground and

can accommodate very many people.

– Enlargement of roads by constructing high ways and subways for vehicles and

pedestrians in addition to strict laws governing traffic.

– Enforcing tight security and punishing law breakers like those involved in

robbery theft murder and prostitution.

– Garbage within urban cities should be cleaned by forming cleaning association

and be dumped in particular places where they are burnt or recycled into other

useful products.

– Attracting foreign investors to establish more industries both in rural and

urban centers to provide employment to the majority and where necessary to

form labour organizations.

– Good urban planning strategies to avoid further slum development, digging

water tunnels to direct water and replacing semi-permanent structures by

permanent structures.

Application activities 11.4

3. Explain how cities in developing countries are involved in environment

degradation.

4. Identify the main factors that led to the development of Brasília, Johannesburg

and Nairobi cities respectively as big cities in developing country.

End unit activities

1. With reference to Kigali city explain why towns are constantly growing

both in population and area.

2. Analyse the major problems that are shared by both developed and

developing countries cities.

3. Suppose you are one of the urban planners, design a program that would

address the problems caused by urbanization.

4. Describe the different functions of urban centers. Give at least two cities

as example for each function.

5. Kigali is currently experiencing rapid urban development in our region.

From the knowledge acquired in this unit, identify the major factors which

are contributing to that urban development.