Key features of the IB Geography Urban Environments study guide:

• Overviews and key terminology for each topic
• Practice exercises to test your knowledge and understanding with answers or answer frames
• Original, varied case studies from around the globe to contextualise important concepts
• Author tips to encourage effective revision and exam technique
• Links to further online resources

Valid for external assessments to November 2025

Contents of this guide:

The Variety of Urban Environments

• Characteristics of Urban Places: Site and Function
• Characteristics of Urban Places: Land Use and Hierarchy
• Megacities and the Urban Growth Process
• Factors Affecting the Pattern of Urban Economic Activities
• Factors Affecting the Pattern of Residential Areas within Urban Areas
• The Incidence of Poverty, Deprivation and Informal Activity in LICs
• The Incidence of Poverty, Deprivation, and Informal Activity in HICs

Changing Urban Systems

• Centripetal Population Movements in Industrialising Cities
• Centripetal Population Movements in Post-industrial Cities
• Centrifugal Population Movements
• Urban System Growth and Infrastructure Improvements over Time
• The Causes and Consequences of Urban Deindustrialisation

Urban Environmental and Social Stress

• Urban Microclimates
• Air Pollution Patterns
• Traffic Congestion and its Management
• Contested Land Use Changes
• Managing Social Deprivation and Geographic Patterns of Crime

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future

• Urban Growth Projections for 2050
• Trends of Rural–urban Migration
• Changing Urban Population Sizes and Structures
• Resilient City Design: Climatic Control
• Resilient City Design: Geopolitical Risks
• Ecocity Design
• Smart City Design: Retrofitting Technology to Older Settlements
• Smart City Design – Purpose Built Settlements

Mapping Exercise

Answers to Practice Questions

Appendix