London Urbanisation

London Urbanisation History and Statistics

In this section, we’ll take a look at London’s urbanisation history and demographics. Much of London’s urban history is directly linked with social, political, and economic changes which occurred. It may seem complex but we’ll keep it simple!

London Urbanisation Statistics

London is still rapidly growing, both in terms of size and population. There are a few important London urbanisation statistics that explain why. There are three main influences for the population changes in London. First, internal migration within the UK has trended lower for years. Some people move out of London but remain in the UK. This can be due to many reasons, including lower living costs in other regions.

Second, international migration has remained very high. The historical trend of attracting young foreign immigrants is still true to this day. And third, natural increase has been positive, meaning there are more births than deaths, causing the population to continue naturally growing.

London Urbanisation rate

An important urbanisation statistic for London is its urbanisation rate. London's urbanisation rate is quite low (around 1% a year) but that's because most of the urbanisation occurred between 1800 and the 1940s. Much of the urban population was established during this time as industrialisation attracted many migrants into the city. Since then, the urbanisation rate has tapered off primarily due to World War 2, which decreased most European urban populations. London is still growing, however, with projections to become a megacity by 2050.

London Urbanisation Problems

Although London is a very culturally diverse and attractive city, it still faces many unique urbanisation problems due to historic and present-day urbanisation. Issues of urban inequality, affordable housing, urban sprawl, and urban pollution come up for many residents. See the explanation on Urban issues and challenges to learn more about these issues for other cities.

Fig. 4 - Economic inequality can lead to social conflicts such as segregation

Urban Inequality and Affordable Housing

London is highly unequal. While some of the wealthiest people in the world live in London, almost a third of Londoners live in poverty. This means there's unequal access to education, health, and housing. Schools in the poorest areas of London usually score much lower on their GCSEs compared to students in wealthier areas. Residents in wealthier regions also tend to live longer than residents in poorer areas.

Affordable housing is also another huge problem. Purchase and rental prices in London are some of the highest in the UK and the world, and they just keep rising! A lack of affordable housing means people must pay more of their income for housing. This means less money for other needs and services which contribute to further urban inequality.

Urban Sprawl and Urban Pollution

Due to a lack of affordable housing within central London, many residents move out to the suburbs where housing can be cheaper. This kind of housing is built on brownfield and greenfield sites. These sites are regular targets for development. Greenbelts, open land made of forest, farmland, or other recreationally green areas are protected by law and cannot be built on. However, the environmental effects of building on greenfield sites are also debated.

This kind of development away from the urban core is considered urban sprawl. Urban sprawl can lead to more air pollution (e.g. particulate matter, CO₂) as more congestion and longer commutes occur. Urban sprawl can also lead to urban degeneration and dereliction. Urban degeneration is when a part of a city loses value and productivity, leading to dereliction, the abandonment and the decay of buildings. These are significant issues for cities as they also lead to greater waste and inequality for some districts over others.

Fig. 5 - Urban Sprawl in North London

London's urbanisation problems also lead a lot of urban pollution, particularly air pollution. This is due to the high, historical urbanisation of the city. The city is large and has a dense road network and high-rise buildings creating many opportunities for the emission and trapping of harmful substances into the air. This lowers air quality leading to illness, disease, or death.

London is also trying to mitigate the high amount of waste the city produces. The problems with high levels of waste have to do with the disposal and storage of waste, which can put a lot of pressure on sanitation systems. Recycling programs set in place aim to reduce the amount of rubbish that (unnecessarily) goes into landfills.