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Urbanisation is an increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. The process of urbanisation is when people move from rural areas into denser urban areas.

An urban area is a built-up area such as a town or city.

A rural area is an area of countryside.

Cities grew because factories were built near the CBD mostly in the 1800s.

The population of the city and of these inner city areas grew rapidly as people migrated from more rural areas to work.

The factory owners sometimes built houses close to the factories so that workers could live in close to their work.

These houses were usually small, terraced houses built in long straight lines to squeeze as many people in as possible. Some were poorly built, to make it cheaper for the factory owner.

Inner cities became overcrowded. Some areas eventually became ‘slums’.

There were a number of problems in these inner city area. Some affected people – these are social problems – and some were to do with poverty – these are economic problems.

Inequality means extreme differences between poverty and wealth, as well as in peoples' wellbeing and access to things like jobs, housing and education.

Inequalities may occur in:

• The quality of housing;
• how close you are to shops and other services;
• whether you had a park or other open space nearby; and
• how safe and secure you felt living where you did.

Often people who live in inner-city areas experience a poorer quality of life. This is because the inner-city typically has older housing, built many years ago when factories were built, and fewer job opportunities because many of the industries have now closed.

The diagram below compares the quality of life for someone living in an outer London borough with that of someone who lives in an inner London borough.

Unemployment and incidents of long-term illness are higher in the inner city. At the edge of London, households are more likely to have central heating and own more than one car.

Sometimes there are schemes to redevelop run-down inner-city areas. These may improve the quality of housing and improve the environment for those who live there.

However, it can create even greater inequalities because the people who lived there before might not be able to afford the new houses and flats.

Belfast’s population expanded with new industries, especially in the 1800s .

It became a busy manufacturing centre for linen, rope and tobacco products. There were also factories for heavy engineering and shipbuilding was a very important industry.

Many of the housing areas that surround the CBD were built after 1850 and there are many areas with long rows of terraced houses in the inner city, similar to many other MEDC cities.

From the 1950s, many MEDC inner city areas started to fall into disrepair.

Living standards started to change. Small terraced houses became overcrowded and too cramped for large families to live in.

Most of the terraced houses in Belfast were ‘two up, two down’ which means two rooms on the ground floor – a parlour at the front and a living room/kitchen at the back, and two bedrooms upstairs. Many had up to 10 people living in these small houses.

The toilet was usually found outside at the end of the yard – there was no bathroom.

While these areas were poor, and the houses were often not well maintained, the people who lived in these areas knew one another very well. Neighbours generally helped each other out, and there was a very strong community spirit.

In the 1950s and 1960s people needed more space for new modern conveniences – fridges, freezers, washing machines and televisions.

Many people did not want an outside toilet but wanted a proper bathroom and a separate kitchen.

The modernisation of the inner city housing started with renovations to the existing houses.

They could build out the back to provide a larger kitchen downstairs and a bathroom and, sometimes, a third bedroom upstairs.

Even with some improved houses, the inner city was over-crowded and the government decided to ‘move’ people out of the city to new houses in the suburbs, or even into some of the provincial towns.

This moved much of the population of the inner city to large estates built at the edge of the cities, or even to small towns away from the city. These were often much better houses than the ones that they had left, but the move often put an end to the strong communities that had existed in inner cities.

Urban regeneration is the term for trying to bring towns and cities ‘back to life’.

Gentrification is when an area is redeveloped and upgraded, attracting richer people into the more expensive, modern accommodation but often meaning that poorer tenants can no longer afford to live there as the rents go up.

In the late 1980s the Laganside Corporation was set up with the aim of developing a 300 acre stretch of land. This land had mostly housed the shipyards and was surrounded by terraced housing which had housed workers, but which now had a high level of deprivation and unemployment.

The aim of this organisation was to, “contribute to the revitalisation of Belfast and Northern Ireland by transforming Laganside to be attractive, accessible and sustainable.”

As a result of this, expensive apartment blocks were developed along the river.

The cost to purchase or rent these apartments was too high for the people who had traditionally lived close to this area and they moved to other areas outside Laganside.

Large cities have massive problems with congestion. From the 1950s, car ownership has grown at a very quick rate. For example:

• In the 1970s - most families had access to 1 car.
• In the 1990s - usually 2 cars per household.
• In the 2000s - average of 3.1 cars or vans per household.

In 1975, a number of main roads ran through the heart of Belfast. However, these became over-crowded. So, a number of road developments were introduced to reduce congestion.

The Westlink was built in 1981 to connect the M1 and M2 motorways and it was widened a couple of times so it could cope with increased traffic.

The M3 cross-harbour project was built to link the M2 (north of the River Lagan) with the Sydenham Bypass (south of the river).Despite all these projects, the traffic congestion soon became as bad as ever.

This means that travelling about in the city takes a long time and, the longer cars are sitting in traffic jams, the more air pollution there is from the engines. Pollution from vehicle exhausts can affect the health of people who live in cities.

To reduce congestion, more people are encouraged to switch from their own cars to public transport such as buses or trains.

Translink operate a range of bus and train services across Belfast and beyond. One recent and very successful development is the Glider, opened in 2018. These large buses can hold up to 105 people – more than a double decker bus. Glider buses link East and West Belfast through the city centre. There are plans for an extension linking Glengormley in the north and Carryduff to the south of the city and another route around the University district of Belfast.

Parking (cost and availability)

Car parking charges have been increasing rapidly and finding a car parking space in the city has become more and more difficult.

Many of the streets are not wide enough for cars to be parked and many of the houses do not have space for driveways or garages.

Belfast City have a car parking strategy which sees car parking as important in helping economic growth and regeneration of Belfast city centre, while “balancing the needs of residents, businesses, commuters and visitors”.

Ethnic tensions

In recent years, many MEDC cities have reported an increase in the number of migrant workers living in cheaper inner city residential areas.

As a result, different groups are living in some inner cities. Sometimes, streets are dominated by one ethnic group, as it is often seen to be safer and more friendly to be living with people similar to yourself. These extra people often make a city more interesting and provide a richness in culture, music and food. Sometimes, the close proximity of different people can results in ethnic tensions and conflict.

Religious tensions

The different groups living in cities may also differ in terms of their religion. The UK has often been considered a tolerant country where people are allowed to practice whatever religious practices they choose but sometimes there can be tensions between people of different religions.

Belfast, and other parts of Northern Ireland, experienced tension between the largely Catholic Republicans and the largely Protestant Loyalists, both of which tended to live in segregated areas. This led to ‘'the Troubles' – a conflict which lasted for over 30 years.

The introduction of so many people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds has also meant big changes in the languages used to communicate.

Recent migrants may not yet have learned to speak or read English, and this barrier can have a negative impact on them socially and economically. Not being able to use English is a considerable barrier in doctors surgeries, in schools or shops or trying to get a job.

The UK government used to provide English language classes to some migrants, but many classes have been cut since 2010. That makes it difficult for the new arrivals to integrate into UK society.