Urbanisation and demographic change Notes

Urbanization and Demographic Change

1. Urbanization is the process where more and more people move from the countryside into towns and cities.
2. During the Industrial Revolution, this shift happened on a massive scale.
3. Cities didn’t just grow, they exploded.

Why did people move to cities? (Push + Pull Factors)

1. New factory jobs (Pull factor)

1. Factories needed huge numbers of workers.
2. Rural families saw steady wages for the first time.
3. Cities offered opportunities that farming couldn’t match.

2. Decline of rural cottage industries (Push factor)

1. Mechanization made many home-based workers unnecessary.
2. Spinners and weavers lost their income.
3. Their only option was to follow the machines to the factories.

3. Agricultural changes (Push factor)

1. New farming methods meant fewer farm workers were needed.
2. Enclosure pushed small farmers off common land.
3. Improved tools meant fewer laborers could farm more land.

4. Better transport (Pull factor)

1. Railways and canals made travel easier and cheaper.
2. People could migrate without walking for days.

5. Chance for social mobility (Pull + Push)

1. Rural life often meant staying in the same job forever.
2. Cities promised:
   1. higher wages
   2. independence
   3. upward mobility

How did urbanization reshape populations?

1. Cities grew rapidly (often too rapidly)

1. Populations exploded within decades.
2. Resources didn’t keep up.
   1. overcrowded housing
   2. polluted air
   3. poor sanitation

2. New industrial working class emerged

1. Urban populations created a new social group:
   1. factory workers
   2. miners
   3. child laborers
   4. women in textile mills
2. This class would later push for political rights and labour reforms.

3. Rural populations shrank

1. Town migration left many villages with ageing populations and fewer workers.

4. Immigration increased

1. Cities attracted not only rural migrants but also workers from abroad.

5. Shift in family life

1. Life changed from:
   1. families working together in cottages →
   2. individuals working long factory shifts
2. Families became more urban, smaller, and more dependent on wages.

6. Faster spread of ideas

1. Urban density meant:
   1. growth of newspapers
   2. political clubs
   3. worker organisations
2. Cities became engines of cultural and political change.

Case study

Manchester : “Shock City” of the Industrial Revolution

• Manchester transformed from a small town into a factory-filled megacity.
  • Rapid growth: 25,000 → 300,000 in under 80 years
  • New buildings: huge mills, warehouses, railways
  • New problems: smog, overcrowding, disease
  • New population mix: migrants from rural England, Ireland, and Scotland
• It became the symbol of both industrial success and the social challenges that came with it.