Urbanisation in the UK

About the lecture

In this module, we think about patterns of urbanisation in the UK from the 19th century to the present. We focus on: (i) the definition of urbanisation as primarily a process of migration into cities from rural areas, and the global trend towards urbanisation in the 21st century; (ii) the UK as an early example of mass urbanisation, with a majority living in cities by the mid-19th century, and the stabilisation of the UK’s rural-urban split in the 20th century; (iii) the historical growth of London and other important UK urban centres, particularly the industrial cities of the Midlands and the North; (iv) the processes of counterurbanisation from around the 1950s and reurbanisation in the 21st century.

About the lecturer

Dr Heather Barrett is Principal Lecturer in Geography at the University of Worcester. Her research centres around urban geography and planning, with a particular focus on the conservation of urban heritage sites. She is co-author of the well-known Routledge textbook Urban Geography (5th edition) (2018).