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Urbanization Effects Chart

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Urbanization Effects Chart

You are part of a community team working with a local fire station to understand how a fast-growing city can meet people’s needs. Read the brief and use the data chart to answer the questions. Urbanization is the growth of cities, often as people move from rural areas or as towns expand.

Community brief

Riverton is a fictional U.S. city. Over ten years, new jobs and colleges attracted residents from nearby rural communities and other cities. New housing and businesses are being built near the fire station. The city has more customers for local businesses and a larger workforce, but traffic is heavier, rents have risen, and some stormwater runs off paved surfaces instead of soaking into the ground. Some neighborhoods also have fewer nearby services than others. These effects can occur in cities at different income levels; outcomes depend on planning, investment, and who can access services.

1.Choose the most accurate definition of urbanization.

The growth of cities as populations and built-up areas increase
The movement of all city residents to the countryside
The construction of a single road between two towns
The protection of all land from development

2.Select the two details from the brief that help explain why Riverton is growing.

New jobs and colleges attracted residents
The city has fewer local businesses
People were attracted from nearby rural communities and other cities
Stormwater now soaks into every paved surface

3.For each effect, label it mainly social, economic, or environmental. An effect may connect to more than one category, but choose the strongest fit.

Heavier traffic
More customers for local businesses
Stormwater running off paved surfaces
Rising rents

Environmental
Social
Economic
Economic

4.Use the chart to calculate how many residents Riverton gained from 2010 to 2020.

Indicator

2010

2020

Population

64,000

82,000

Average commute time

24 minutes

31 minutes

Homes within a 10-minute walk of a public park

58%

51%

5.According to the chart, how did average commute time change between 2010 and 2020?

6.What is one possible concern suggested by the change in the percentage of homes near a park? Explain why the chart alone cannot prove the cause.

7.Urbanization has the same effects on every city and every resident.

TrueFalse

8.Add one possible benefit and one possible challenge of urbanization in each category. Think about how effects may differ between a higher-income city with strong public services and a lower-income city where services have not kept pace with population growth. Avoid assuming that all cities in either group are alike.

9.The fire station reports that traffic delays can slow emergency vehicles. Suggest one city-planning action that could help, and explain one other urbanization effect your action might influence.