The document defines and provides examples of rural and urban environments. Rural environments are located outside of cities and towns with low population density and limited services, where agriculture and other land-based industries predominate. Examples given include subsistence farming in Tibet and extensive cattle farming in Australia. Urban environments are located within towns and cities with high population density and abundant services. Patterns of global urbanization show the highest levels in North America and parts of Europe and Asia, with the lowest levels in Africa and Oceania. Push and pull factors that influence migration between rural and urban areas are also discussed.

1. 1. HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS:
RURAL & URBAN
Key Knowledge:
• Definition of rural and urban environments
• Classification of rural and urban environments using a
variety of media
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Source: pg 114-118

2. WHAT IS A HUMAN ENVIRONMENT?
• A human environment is a place where activities are
conducted by humans, and features are built and/or modified
by humans.
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3. NEW YORK (USA)
http://www.airpano.com/List-Aerial-Panoramas-Top10.php
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4. KAKADU URANIUM MINE, N.T (AUSTRALIA)
Australia is home to around 40% of the world’s uranium reserves and currently supplies around 20% of the
global market.
From 2000 to 2005 nearly 50,000 metric tonnes of Uranium oxide were exported from Australia to eleven
different countries. This brought over A$2.1 billion dollars to the Aust. economy
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5. SOLAR POWER TOWER, SEVILLE (SPAIN)
Towers receive the focused sunlight from mirrors. Flat, movable mirrors focus the sun's rays upon a collector
tower (the target).
Concentrated solar thermal is seen as one viable solution for renewable, pollution free energy.
The heat produced, heats saltwater, turns turbines and produce electricity.
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6. FAVELA, RIO DE JANIERO (BRAZIL)
• Favelas were the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years,
many freed black slaves moved in.
• Most modern favelas appeared in the 1970s, due to rural exodus, when many people left rural areas of Brazil and
moved to cities.
• Residences are built without permission or a license and are often disorganised, without numbered streets,
sanitation networks, electricity, a telephone service or plumbing. In recent years favelas have been troubled by
drug-related crime and gang warfare. 6

7. RURAL & URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
THINK PAIR SHARE
• Write down a definition of rural and urban environments
• Write down as many examples of each of these environments
• What are basic facilities that humans need?
• What are basic services that should be accessible in human
envrionments?
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9. OBERWIL IN WALDKIRCH, ST. GALLEN, (SWITZERLAND)
An example of a hamlet
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10. A SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY
Type of Settlement Population Description
Conurbation 3-10 million A group of large cities and their
suburbs
Metropolis/
Metropolitan area
1-3 million A large city and its suburbs
Large city 300,000 to 1 million A city with a large population
and many services; usually
capital cities
City 100,000 to 300,000 Abundant services
Town 1000 to 100,000 Few services
Village 100 to 1000 Limited services
Hamlet 10 to 100 0 services likely
Isolated dwelling Less than 10 1-2 buildings and families
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11. Regions located outside cities and towns with a low population
density, few buildings/homes and limited businesses/services.
Agriculture is the primary industry in most rural areas, although other
human activities may include forestry, tourism, mining, fishing.
Settlements: hamlets, villages, towns
Rural regions differ because of geographic characteristics
• Relief
• Climate
• Human activities
• Social characteristics e.g. culture, wealth
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RURAL ENVIRONMENTS

12. TYPES OF AGRICULTURE
• Compare the following terms using pg. 115
– Arable farms and Pastoral farms
– Intensive farming and Extensive farming
– Subsistence farming and Commercial farming
• Arable farms: grow crops e.g. sugar canes, pineapples, cotton
• Pastoral farms: rear animals e.g. lambs, dairying cows, llamas
• Intensive farming: farms with a high level of input such as labour, fertilisers
and pesticides to achieve a high output (yield per hectare)
• Extensive farming: farms with a low level of input and output per hectare, e.g.
cattle station
• Subsistence farming: farming family consumes what is produced and any
surplus is sold or bartered.
• Commercial farming: farms that sell a majority of their produce
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Cotton farming, Australia Rice farming, Laos Pineapple farm, Philippines

13. SUBSISTENCE FARMING IN TIBET (CHINA)
Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres.
The economy of Tibet is dominated by subsistence agriculture; due to limited arable land, the primary
occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, yaks, camels and dzo.
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14. EXTENSIVE VS. INTENSIVE FARMING (AUSTRALIA)
Extensive cattle farming in inland Australia
Intensive cattle farming in well-watered pastures in Australia
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15. URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
• Regions located in a town, city, metropolitan area or
conurbation with a population greater than 1000 peopleABS
• Urban environments are generally non-agricultural, and have
abundant services such as education, healthcare, public
transport, entertainment and retail.
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16. PATTERNS OF GLOBAL URBANISATION
Source:: (Fig 6.4) Textbook pg. 116
Describe the locations of the earth’s highest and lowest levels of urbanisation
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PUSH/ PULL FACTORS

18. Push factors
• Reasons for people to leave
rural regions
Pull factors
• Reasons that attract people
to cities
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• What push and pull factors can you think of for rural-urban migration?
• Ben’s push/pull activity

19. MIGRATION TO URBAN (OR RURAL) ENVIRONMENTS
Push factors
• Industrialisation has reduced
the need for farm labourers
• Declining rural services
• Unemployment
• Low commodity prices
• Debt
• Poverty
• Drought or bushfire or
flooding
• Salinity
• Crop failure, Food shortage,
famine
• High crime
• War/ conflict
Pull factors
• More job opportunities
• Opportunity to increase income
• Higher standard of living
• Access to education
• Access to housing
• More services
• Improved living standards
• Better health services
• Wider lifestyle opportunities
• Good climate
• More fertile land
• Improved safety
• Political stability
• Reduced risk of natural hazards
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20. ACTIVITIES
1. Find examples of subsistence and commercial agriculture, and intensive and extensive
farming; and present in Pinterest. Include the product farmed and location in your
description.
2. Repeat question 1 for a town, city, megacity, metropolis and conurbation.
3. Refer to figure 6.3 (also on next slide)
a) What are the main agricultural types found in Africa? How do they differ to the ones in North
America, both in type and scale?
b) Apart from Africa, where else is shifting cultivation found?
c) Which country’s land use combinations are most like Australia’s
4. Refer to figure 6.4
a) Describe the location of high, moderate and low percentages of populations living in urban areas.
b) If earth’s population becomes more urbanised, which continents are likely to see more change?
c) Compare Australia’s level of urbanisation with its nearest northern neighbours
5. What land uses might you expect to find at a rural-urban fringe? How might the social,
economic and environmental characteristics of this fringe area differ to an urban
environment?
6. Create a map on Google Earth with the worlds megacities (population: over 10M):
Lagos, London, Moscow, Istanbul, Cairo, Tehran, Karachi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dacca,
Guangzhou, Manila, Jakarta, Beijing, Shanghai, Isaka, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York,
Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires
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21. THE EARTH’S MAJOR TYPES OF AGRICULTURE
Source: Pg. 115
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