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De-Graft is in Birmingham to explore urban settlements - including cities and megacities.

Video summary

De-Graft cycles around the UK鈥檚 second largest city, Birmingham, exploring what makes an urban settlement, including what a city is and what a megacity is.

This film also explores what a capital city is and locates the capital cities of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

De-Graft explains the type of buildings found in urban areas and the population density. He is then joined by two local children to consider aspects of urban planning including impact on the environment and making sustainable choices.

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Teacher Notes

Questions to consider:

  • What is a city? What shops and services might you expect to find there? How is a city different from a village or a town?
  • What are the four capital cities in the UK? Have you ever visited one, and if so can you describe it? Do you know the names of any other cities in the world? Which countries are they in?
  • What is the population like in cities? Why might people move - migrate - to a city?
  • What do you think are some of the benefits of living in a city?
  • What do you think are some of the disadvantages of living in a city?
  • What is pollution? Is there more than one type? How can we reduce it?
  • What ideas do you have for making our cities better and more sustainable places?

Suggested activities to further explore learning:

1. An activity around locating cities and using the terminology of an eight-point compass

  • Start by asking pupils which of the UK鈥檚 capital cities is furthest north. What about east, south, west? What would you use to find out?
  • Give pupils a map outline of the UK with only the capital cities marked on. Their task is to place markers on the map to indicate where other cities are using just a list of instructions based on the four capital cities. For example, Manchester is 200 miles to the north-west of London; Southampton is 100 miles south-east of Cardiff. And then they can self-check their answers and where they鈥檝e placed the cities on the map by looking at a map of the UK online or using an atlas.

2. Design your own city:

  • Pupils create an annotated map of their own new city, with sketches of some of the key features and places in it such as leisure facilities or offices.
  • Encourage pupils to think about how they might organise their city. What might need to go down on the map first? What kind of housing will they create; what will the transport connections would like; how will they make it safe and environmentally friendly; and what kinds of entertainment will there be?
  • What would they call their city? What would the overall vision for the city be? Could the city be created to be car free? Could it be self-sufficient in terms of clean water and food? Would it be all about being environmentally friendly, or maybe about being the most entertaining, exciting city in the UK?
  • Pupils could then use junk modelling to create one of the buildings featured in their city, and present it to the class.

Key terminology:

Capital city 鈥 a city where the government of that country is based. Each of the four countries that make up the UK have a capital city (England 鈥 London, Northern Ireland 鈥 Belfast, Scotland 鈥 Edinburgh, Wales 鈥 Cardiff).

City 鈥 a city is larger than a town 鈥 usually with a population of over 100,000 people. Cities are also home to a wealth of shops and services such as schools, universities, hospitals, offices, and often a cathedral.

Clean air zones - areas where action is being taken to improve air quality, normally by charging vehicles that enter the areas. The aim is to reduce the amount of cars on the road.

Congestion 鈥 when roads are full of traffic including cars, buses and lorries.

Construction 鈥 building work often to create new roads, houses, or offices. Construction can mean the removal of green spaces or natural habitats.

Economic activity 鈥 the amount of money a city or country makes by producing and selling goods.

Environmentally friendly 鈥 goods or services that do not harm the environment or do very little harm to it.

Habitat 鈥 a place that an animal lives, where it finds food, water, and shelter. There is a huge range of habitats across the planet, from deserts to rainforests.

Pollution 鈥 when the environment is harmed or dirtied by waste or chemicals. There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land, although in cities noise pollution can also be impactful.

Population 鈥 the number of people living in a particular area.

Settlement 鈥 the places that people live. There are different shapes and sizes of settlement: hamlets, villages, towns, cities, and megacities.

Suburbs 鈥 an area on the outskirts of a city, often less crowded and with a bit more green space.

Trade 鈥 the buying and selling of goods and services. Cities are often especially busy areas of trade.

Transport 鈥 all the different methods used to move people or goods from one place to another such as cars or trains.

Suitable for teaching geography at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 2nd level in Scotland.

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