Practice G.3 Urban environmental and social stresses with authentic IB Geography exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like physical geography, human geography, and geospatial analysis. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
Paper
Level
Question 1
SL & HLPaper 1
1.[4]
State two differences between local parks and open spaces to a country park.
2.[6]
Explain two reasons for the importance of city planners including sufficient open spaces for urban residents.
3.[10]
Examine the factors influencing the location and distribution of leisure facilities, using one named example (excluding open spaces).
Question 2
SL & HLPaper 1
The infographic shows the spatial variation in PM2.5 air pollution levels by city and exceeds WHO guidelines
Source: IQAir, World Health Organisation (WHO)
1.[1]
Identify one city where PM2.5 air pollution exceeds 40 µg/m³.
2.[1]
Identify one city where PM2.5 air pollution is within 2× the WHO guideline.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why PM2.5 levels may be higher in cities such as Cairo or Mumbai.
4.[6]
Explain two impacts of air pollution on urban populations and sustainability.
5.[10]
Discuss the causes and consequences of deteriorating air quality in urban areas in middle- and low-income countries.
6.[10]
Evaluate the extent to which urban air pollution challenges can be addressed through planning and policy strategies.
Question 3
SL & HLPaper 1
The map shows global flood events by type (heavy rain, snowmelt/ice, tropical storm/surge, dam failure) and indicates the total population exposed, highlighting Southeast Asia as a high risk region.
Source: Mapbox/Viz by Bloomberg Green (Adapted)
1.[1]
Identify the country with the highest number of people exposed in a single flood event.
2.[1]
Identify the flood type that accounts for the greatest concentration of flood events globally.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why urban areas in Southeast Asia are especially vulnerable to flood events.
4.[6]
Explain two challenges that flooding poses to urban sustainability and resilience in rapidly developing cities.
5.[10]
Discuss how flood risk affects sustainable urban development in low- and middle-income countries.
6.[10]
Evaluate the effectiveness of flood management strategies in urban areas at different levels of development.
Question 4
SL & HLPaper 1
The infographic shows the estimated share of the population living in urban areas in 1950, 2025, and 2050 for selected countries.
Source: United Nations (UN) Population Division
1.[1]
Identify one country where the urban population is projected to exceed 90% by 2050.
2.[1]
Identify one country where the urban population is projected to remain below 50% in 2050.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why urbanisation is projected to increase in countries such as India or Kenya.
4.[6]
Explain two consequences of urban growth for infrastructure or services in low- and middle-income countries.
5.[10]
Discuss the causes of increasing urbanisation in both high-income and low-income countries.
6.[10]
Evaluate the social and environmental implications of projected urban growth by 2050.
Question 5
SL & HLPaper 1
The following resource shows a map of green spaces in Australia.
1.[1]
Identify the type of green space that is most common within the boundaries of the Widok City Estate.
2.[1]
Identify the number of private green spaces in the area.
3.[2]
Outline two reasons for the importance of "urban green spaces" in urban environments.
4.[6]
Explain two potential social and environmental impacts of unequal distribution of urban green spaces.
5.[10]
Evaluate two strategies city planners could implement to improve the distribution of urban green spaces.
Question 6
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows traffic congestion delays across three time periods, by population size in the United States.
1.[1]
State the population area size with the largest hours of delay per traveler.
2.[1]
Identify the hours of delay per traveler in 2002 of 'large' population area size.
3.[2]
Define 'urban environmental stress'
4.[2]
Outline two examples of stresses in urban areas
5.[6]
Explain two potential challenges cities may face in implementing solutions to urban environmental stresses
6.[10]
To what extent has industrialization benefited urban areas?
Question 7
SL & HLPaper 1
The infographic shows the contributions to global surface air temperature anomalies from both land and ocean regions.
Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service (2024)
1.[1]
Identify the land latitude band with the greatest contribution to global surface air temperature anomalies in late 2023.
2.[1]
Identify the ocean latitude band that contributed most consistently to global surface temperature anomalies throughout 2023.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why contributions from ocean regions may be more stable over time than from land regions.
4.[6]
Explain two ways in which urban areas in mid-latitude regions may be particularly affected by rising temperature anomalies.
5.[10]
Discuss how increasing regional temperature anomalies challenge the sustainability of cities in different parts of the world.
6.[10]
Evaluate the extent to which urban planning strategies can reduce the risks associated with rising global temperature anomalies.
Question 8
SL & HLPaper 1
The map shows the share of the urban population living in slums (2022).
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018)
1.[1]
Identify one country where the capital city population exceeds 20 million people.
2.[1]
Identify one country where the capital city population is below 500,000 people.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why capital cities in low-income or newly urbanising countries may have very large populations.
4.[6]
Explain two possible challenges associated with large and rapidly growing capital city populations.
5.[10]
Discuss the causes and consequences of population concentration in capital cities in middle- and low-income countries.
6.[10]
Evaluate the extent to which strategies to decentralise urban development have been successful in reducing pressure on capital cities.
Question 9
SL & HLPaper 2
1.[10]
Examine the role of urbanization in driving economic development. Use examples from both developed and developing countries.
Question 10
SL & HLPaper 1
The infographic shows the estimated share of the population living in urban areas in 1950, 2025, and 2050 for selected countries.
Source: United Nations Habitat
1.[1]
Identify one country where over 80% of the urban population has convenient access to public transport.
2.[1]
Identify one region where less than 20% of the urban population has convenient access to public transport.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why access to public transport may be higher in high-income urban areas.
4.[6]
Explain two challenges faced by cities in low-income countries with limited access to public transportation.
5.[10]
Discuss the role of accessible public transportation in shaping the sustainability and inclusiveness of urban environments.
6.[10]
Evaluate how disparities in public transport accessibility influence patterns of urban inequality within and between countries.