- Define and explain Global Connections in your own words
- Use key terms such as globalisation accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This lesson focuses on Global Connections: explore how trade, transport and communications link countries together.
Explore how trade, transport and communications link countries together.
Key ideas
Cities grow in two ways
Urban growth comes from rural–urban migration and from natural increase, when birth rates exceed death rates. In many poorer countries both are happening at once, so cities are expanding rapidly. Urbanisation is different from urban growth: it measures the rising share of people living in urban areas, not just bigger cities.
Distribution is uneven for good reasons
People cluster where conditions suit them: fertile plains, navigable rivers, coasts and mineral resources attract settlement, while deserts, high mountains and frozen lands stay sparsely populated. In the UK, the south-east is densely settled while the Scottish Highlands are sparse — relief, climate and economic history all play a part.
Key term — globalisation: The growing interconnectedness of the world through trade, transport, communication and culture.
What is the difference between internal and international migration?
Internal migration is within one country; international migration is between countries.
Answer: Internal migration is within one country; international migration is between countries.
- Confusing population density with total population A country can have a huge population but low density if it is vast, like Canada. Density is people per square kilometre, not the total headcount.
- Calling every move 'migration' Moving house within the same town is mobility, not migration. Geographers usually mean a longer-distance, longer-term move, and distinguish internal migration from international migration.
Practice
The average number of people per square kilometre.
Any two: mountainous relief, desert climate, extreme cold, dense forest, poor soils.
A push factor — it forces people to leave.
Rural–urban migration and natural increase.
Quick check
Which of these best defines "globalisation"?
Give one positive and one negative effect of rural–urban migration on the countryside left behind.
- Global Connections: explore how trade, transport and communications link countries together.
- Cities grow in two ways: Urban growth comes from rural–urban migration and from natural increase, when birth rates exceed death rates.
- migration: The movement of people from one place to another to live, either within a country or between countries.
- Watch out for: confusing population density with total population