ZIMSEC A Level · Geography · Form 6
Urbanisation
The increasing proportion of people living in towns. In Zimbabwe, urbanisation grew rapidly after independence; Harare and Bulawayo are the main cities.
Urban models
Burgess (concentric zones), Hoyt (sectors), Harris and Ullman (multiple nuclei). Many African cities also show colonial planning legacies (former racially segregated suburbs, high-density townships far from the CBD) and a dual city structure.
Urban problems
Housing shortages and informal settlements, unemployment and a large informal sector, overloaded water and sewage systems (cholera outbreaks), traffic congestion, waste management and urban sprawl onto farmland.
Management
Low-cost housing schemes, site-and-service schemes, upgrading informal settlements, investment in water and sanitation, urban planning and decentralisation through growth points (e.g. Gokwe, Murambinda).
Rural settlement and services
Central place theory (Christaller): settlement hierarchy, threshold and range. Rural service centres and growth points aim to reduce rural–urban migration.
The informal sector
Vending, small-scale manufacturing (e.g. Mbare's Siyaso, Bulawayo's Kelvin industrial area), transport. It provides livelihoods but lacks security and tax contributions.
Check yourself
- What is meant by threshold population?
- Give two problems caused by rapid urbanisation in Harare.
- What is a growth point?
Show answers
- The minimum number of people needed to support a service.
- Any two: housing shortages, water/sanitation failure, congestion, unemployment, informal settlements.
- A rural centre given investment and services to encourage development and reduce migration to big cities.
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