IB MYP Individuals and Societies – Settlement and urban morphology Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set covers settlement and urban morphology for IB MYP Individuals and Societies. It is aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014, which lists settlement and urban morphology among the topics explored in the on-screen examinations. It suits MYP years 4 and 5; there is no SL/HL split. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – and this set covers a topic the brief lists.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it mainly trains. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (levels 1–8), so the [1] points below are a revision aid, not IB marks. Your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications for your own school’s tasks.

Learn the content first with the study guide. All countries, cities and data below are fictional. For working with sources, see source evaluation exam preparation.

Questions

1. (Criterion A) Distinguish between the site and the situation of a settlement. [2]

2. (Criterion A) Explain how threshold and range help to explain why a village has a food shop but no furniture store. [3]

3. (Criterion A)

(a) Define urbanisation. [1] (b) Explain the difference between urbanisation and urban growth. [2]

4. (Criterion B) Valdoria is a fictional country. In 1990, 1.8 million of its 6.0 million people lived in urban areas. In 2020, 4.4 million of its 8.0 million people did.

(a) Calculate the percentage of the population that was urban in each year. [2] (b) State the change in the urban share. [1] (c) Calculate the change in Valdoria’s rural population and suggest what it indicates. [2]

5. (Criterion A) Describe the Burgess concentric zone model and give one specific limitation of it. [4]

6. (Criterion B) Valdoria’s five largest cities have populations (millions) of 1.5, 0.9, 0.4, 0.3 and 0.2.

(a) Use the rank-size rule to predict the populations of the 2nd and 3rd cities. [2] (b) Calculate the primacy index (P₁ ÷ P₂) and comment on whether Valdoria has a primate city. [3]

7. (Criterion B) A student counted land use on 20 plots at five points along a road leading out of a fictional town centre.

Distance (km)	Commercial	Industrial	Residential
0.0	16	3	1
0.5	10	4	6
1.0	4	3	13
1.5	1	2	17
2.0	1	1	18

(a) Describe the pattern shown, using percentages. [3] (b) State which land-use model the data best support, and give one limitation of the evidence. [2]

8. (Criterion B) Plan an investigation into how the sphere of influence of a town centre differs between low-order and high-order shops. Give a research question, a hypothesis, a data-collection method and one way to present the results. [6]

9. (Criterion A) Explain two reasons why informal settlements grow in rapidly urbanising cities. [4]

10. (Criterion C) You are advising the council of a fictional city about an informal settlement on a river flood plain. Outline the structure and content of a one-page briefing that recommends a response. [6]

11. (Criterion D) Read both sources.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. A report by the council of Riverton, a fictional city. In 2018 the council opened bus-only lanes on four main roads and planted trees along them. Before the scheme, 62% of commuter trips were by car and 18% by bus. By 2024, 51% were by car and 29% by bus. Two derelict factory sites were rebuilt as flats.

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge. A resident of Eastside, an informal settlement on Riverton’s edge. “The new bus lanes are good for people in the centre. Our area has no bus lane, and fares went up last year. Many new flats are too expensive for us. We still have no piped water.”

To what extent has Riverton become a more sustainable city? Use both sources and your own knowledge. [10]

Answers

1. Site is the physical land the settlement is built on, such as a dry point or bridging point [1]. Situation is its position relative to surrounding places, routes and resources, such as a junction of valleys [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Each term needs its own clear meaning; one example for both, with no contrast drawn, earns only one point.

2. A food shop has a low threshold, so the village population can support it [1]. A furniture store needs a large threshold, which a village cannot supply [1]. Furniture is a high-order good with a large range, so people travel to a town or city for it instead [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Name both terms and apply each to the village; definitions alone, with no link to the example, sit in the lower bands of Criterion A.

3. (a) A rise in the proportion of a population living in urban areas [1]. (b) Urban growth is a rise in the number of urban dwellers [1]; urbanisation needs the urban share to rise, so a city can grow while urbanisation stays level if rural areas grow as fast [1]. Examiner insight: “Cities getting bigger” describes urban growth, not urbanisation, and misses the proportion idea.

4. (a) 1990: 1.8 ÷ 6.0 × 100 = 30% [1]. 2020: 4.4 ÷ 8.0 × 100 = 55% [1]. (b) An increase of 25 percentage points [1]. (c) Rural population: 6.0 − 1.8 = 4.2 million; 8.0 − 4.4 = 3.6 million, a fall of 0.6 million [1]. The rural population fell while the total rose, which suggests rural–urban migration [1]. Examiner insight: “Increased by 25%” is wrong here; the change in a share is in percentage points.

5. Rings spread out from a central business district [1], then a zone in transition with older industry and poor housing [1], then working-class homes, a residential zone of newer, larger homes and a commuter zone [1]. Limitation: it ignores transport routes, which make land uses grow in wedges, as Hoyt argued [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “It is old” is not a limitation; say what the model leaves out and why that matters.

6. (a) 2nd: 1.5 ÷ 2 = 0.75 million [1]. 3rd: 1.5 ÷ 3 = 0.5 million [1]. (b) Primacy index = 1.5 ÷ 0.9 = 1.67 [1]. This is below the value of 2 the rule predicts [1], so Valdoria does not have a primate city; its second city is larger than predicted, perhaps because it is a separate port or regional capital [1]. Examiner insight: A calculated index needs a comparison with 2 before the comment earns credit.

7. (a) Commercial land falls from 80% at the centre to 5% at 1.5 km and beyond [1]. Residential land rises from 5% to 90% at 2.0 km [1]. Industrial land peaks at 20% at 0.5 km, just outside the centre [1]. (b) The Burgess model: a CBD, then a zone with industry, then housing [1]. Limitation: one transect in one direction cannot show whether land uses form sectors [1]. Examiner insight: Quote figures from the table; “commercial goes down” with no numbers stays in the lower bands of Criterion B.

8. Research question: How does the distance customers travel differ between low-order and high-order shops in the town centre? [1] Hypothesis: customers of high-order shops travel further, because those goods have a larger range [1]. Method: a questionnaire at a set time on a set day, asking customers of both shop types where they have travelled from [1], with the same number of responses (for example 30) at each shop type [1]. Record home locations as distances or postcodes [1]. Present results as a desire-line map or a dot map showing both spheres of influence [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A hypothesis with no reason, or a method with no sample size, holds a Criterion B plan in the middle bands.

9. Migrants arrive faster than formal housing can be built [1], so they build homes themselves on unused land such as flood plains or steep slopes [1]. Many migrants earn low or irregular wages in the informal economy [1], so they cannot afford formal rents or legal plots [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each reason needs a cause and its effect; a list of causes with no explanation earns half the credit.

10. A clear title and a one-sentence recommendation at the top [1]. A short background section with the settlement’s location and its flood risk [1]. The options compared, for example relocation versus upgrading in place with flood defences [1]. Evidence from a real case, such as upgrading under Rio’s Favela-Bairro programme [1]. A reasoned recommendation that names who benefits and the likely cost [1]. Formal, concise language suited to council members, with headings and bullet points [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Criterion C rewards format and audience; a well-argued essay with no briefing structure loses credit.

11. Source A shows car use fell from 62% to 51% of commuter trips, an 11 percentage-point fall [1], while bus use rose from 18% to 29% [1]; this should cut traffic and air pollution, an environmental gain [1]. Rebuilding derelict factory sites is brownfield development, which protects greenfield land [1]. Source B shows the gains are unevenly shared: Eastside has no bus lane [1] and fares rose, which limits access for poorer residents [1]. The new flats are unaffordable to some residents, so the social dimension is weak [1]. Eastside still lacks piped water, a basic service [1]. Source A comes from the council, which may want to show its scheme in a good light, and Source B is one resident’s view, so both have limits [1]. Conclusion: Riverton is more sustainable environmentally but only partly socially, so the change is limited, and extending bus lanes and services to Eastside would be needed [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Criterion D needs a judgement that weighs both sources and their origins; summarising each source in turn with no conclusion stays in the lower bands.

Where marks are usually lost

• Mixing up site and situation, or giving examples without meanings.
• Defining terms without applying them to the settlement in the question.
• Calling a change in share a “percent” rise instead of percentage points.
• Giving a primacy index with no comparison to the rank-size value of 2.
• Describing transect data without quoting any figures.
• An investigation plan with no reason in the hypothesis and no sample size.
• A briefing that ignores its audience or format.
• Using only one source in an extended answer, or ignoring who wrote each source.
• Judging sustainability on environmental points alone.

Next steps

• Settlement and urban morphology revision notes
• Settlement and urban morphology study guide
• Criteria in practice questions
• Visit the IB MYP Individuals and Societies course hub.
• Print the IB MYP Individuals and Societies checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014. The brief lists settlement and urban morphology among the on-screen examination topics and names the four criteria used in these labels.