Urban Geography: London Case Study & Fieldwork
London as a primate city dominates the UK with 8.7 million people, serving as the political and economic centre. This massive population draws people through rural-urban migration and brain drain from northern England, as young professionals chase better jobs in finance and services.
You'll see huge contrasts across London boroughs that show urban inequality perfectly. Richmond upon Thames has 62% of adults with degrees, whilst Newham sits at just 26%. Meanwhile, 84% of Newham's kids get free school meals compared to only 20% in Richmond - these stats are exam gold!
Gentrification transforms areas like Shoreditch when tech companies move in, but it pushes out original communities like Bangladeshi families who can't afford rising rents. On the flip side, regeneration projects like London Docklands created Canary Wharf after the old docks became useless for modern ships.
Top Tip: Remember that gentrification benefits some but displaces others - examiners love balanced arguments about urban change!
London's urban greening initiatives and transport improvements like Crossrail tackle city problems by reducing journey times and flood risks. For fieldwork, you'll investigate quality of life variations using environmental quality surveys, traffic counts, and questionnaires - just watch out for bias in your sampling methods.