OxfordAQA International A-level Geography (9635): 3.4.2 People and contemporary urban environments – 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 – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover section 3.4.2, People and contemporary urban environments, of the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Geography (9635) specification, Version 3.2. The specification assesses this content in Unit 4: Human geography 2, Section B, in a 1 hour 30 minute written exam. Every city named in the data questions is fictional, and all data are invented for practice.

Revise first with the study guide and the revision notes. Track the course on the OxfordAQA A-level Geography hub and the 9635 checklist.

Questions

1. Define counter-urbanisation and give one reason why it happens. [2]

2. Explain the difference between a megacity and a world city. [3]

3. The table shows air temperatures along a transect across Velmora, a fictional city, at 22:00 on a calm, clear night.

Site	Rural west	Outer suburb	Inner residential	CBD	City park	Rural east
Temperature (°C)	14.2	16.0	17.8	19.1	16.4	14.0

(a) Calculate the urban heat island intensity, using the highest urban temperature minus the mean of the two rural sites. Show your working. [2] (b) Suggest why the city park is cooler than the CBD. [3] (c) Explain why urban heat islands are usually strongest on calm, clear nights. [4]

4. The table shows household waste in two fictional cities: Harrowby, a high-income city, and Kasenda, a lower-income city.

	Harrowby	Kasenda
Waste generated (kg per person per day)	1.6	0.5
Organic and food (%)	28	58
Paper and card (%)	24	9
Plastics (%)	14	10
Glass (%)	7	2
Metals (%)	5	2
Other (%)	22	19

(a) Compare the waste of the two cities. [4] (b) Suggest reasons for the differences, linked to economic characteristics and lifestyles. [4]

5. The table shows malaria cases in four districts of Nandoro, a fictional tropical city.

District	Description	Dry season cases per 1,000 per month	Wet season cases per 1,000 per month	Households storing water in open containers (%)
Lagoon Edge	Informal, low-lying, beside wetland	4.2	18.9	71
Old Town	Dense, intermittent piped water	2.8	9.8	64
New Heights	Planned, high-income, on a ridge	0.6	1.5	12
Ring Road Estates	Peri-urban, beside irrigated plots	3.5	14.0	48

(a) Calculate the ratio of wet season to dry season cases for Lagoon Edge. [1] (b) Analyse the data to explain the variation in malaria between the districts. [6]

6. Outline how wind in a city centre with tall buildings differs from wind in the surrounding countryside. [3]

7. Read the description of Corrin Wharf, a fictional district of a fictional port city.

Corrin Wharf was a dock district. Its warehouses closed when shipping moved to a new container port. Over ten years, warehouses have been converted into loft flats, galleries and cafés, and rents have tripled. At the waterfront, a new apartment complex has a single gated entrance, security guards and private gardens. Many long-term tenants have moved to cheaper districts.

Identify two types of new urban landscape shown in Corrin Wharf, and explain how each may affect social segregation. [6]

8. Outline one strategy for managing urban drainage problems and explain how it reduces flood risk. [4]

9. With reference to one named non-communicable disease, explain how its distribution within urban areas is linked to the physical and socio-economic environment. [6]

10. With reference to a specified urban area, assess the relative merits of incineration and landfill as approaches to waste disposal. [9]

11. “Truly sustainable cities are only possible in wealthy countries.” With reference to two contrasting urban areas, to what extent do you agree? [16]

Answers

1. Counter-urbanisation is the movement of people from cities to small towns and rural areas [1]. One reason: a wish for a quieter environment and cheaper housing, made possible by car ownership or remote working [1]. [2] Examiner insight: the definition must show movement away from the urban area as a whole; moving to the suburbs is suburbanisation and scores nothing here.

2. A megacity is defined by size: more than 10 million people [1]. A world city is defined by function: a command role in the global economy through finance, headquarters or media [1]. The two can differ, as a city may be a world city with fewer than 10 million people, such as Singapore [1]. [3] Examiner insight: the third mark needs the contrast made explicit, ideally with a real example of one without the other.

3. (a) Rural mean = (14.2 + 14.0) / 2 = 14.1 °C [1]. Intensity = 19.1 − 14.1 = 5.0 °C [1]. [2] (b) Vegetation and soil allow evapotranspiration, which uses energy and cools the air [1]. Grass and trees store less heat than concrete and tarmac [1]. There is less waste heat from traffic and buildings in the park than in the CBD [1]. [3] (c) On clear nights, rural surfaces lose heat quickly by long-wave radiation to the sky [1]. Urban surfaces release heat stored during the day, so the city cools more slowly [1]. Tall buildings trap outgoing radiation between them [1]. In calm conditions, wind does not mix the warm urban air with cooler rural air, so the contrast stays high [1]. [4] Examiner insight: in calculations, show each step; a correct final figure with no working can lose a mark if it is wrong by rounding.

4. (a) Harrowby generates 3.2 times as much waste per person as Kasenda [1]. Kasenda’s waste is dominated by organic material, 58% compared with 28% [1]. Harrowby has a much higher share of paper and card, 24% compared with 9% [1]. Dry recyclables (paper, plastics, glass, metals) make up 50% of Harrowby’s waste but only 23% of Kasenda’s [1]. [4] (b) Higher incomes in Harrowby mean more consumption of packaged goods, so more paper, plastic and glass [1]. More processed and convenience food produces packaging rather than food scraps [1]. In Kasenda, more food is bought fresh and cooked at home, so organic waste dominates [1]. In Kasenda, informal collectors may remove valuable items such as metals and plastics before formal collection [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “compare” needs a direct link between the two cities in each point, with data from both sides.

5. (a) 18.9 ÷ 4.2 = 4.5 [1]. [1] (b) All districts have more cases in the wet season, as rain creates standing water for Anopheles breeding [1]. Lagoon Edge has the highest wet-season rate, 18.9, because it is low-lying and beside wetland, so drainage is poor [1]. New Heights has the lowest, 1.5, less than a tenth of Lagoon Edge, as its ridge site drains well [1]. Open water storage shows a positive link with cases: 71% in Lagoon Edge against 12% in New Heights [1]. Old Town has high storage, 64%, but a lower wet-season rate than Ring Road Estates, so storage is not the only factor [1]. Ring Road Estates’ irrigated plots provide breeding sites, and higher incomes in New Heights may allow screens and nets [1]. [6] Examiner insight: analysis marks need figures quoted from the table and at least one anomaly, not a description of each row.

6. Average wind speed is lower in the city because the rough surface creates friction [1]. Between tall buildings, wind is funnelled along streets, so speeds can be higher locally (canyon effect) [1]. Tall buildings create eddies and sudden gusts, so direction is more variable [1]. [3] Examiner insight: “outline” needs each difference stated with its cause in a few words; one cause for all three points earns one mark.

7. Gentrified area: warehouse conversions with rising rents and long-term tenants leaving [1]. This increases segregation by income, as lower-income households move to cheaper districts [1]. It can also change the cultural character of the area, so some groups no longer feel it is for them [1]. Fortress development: the gated waterfront complex with guards and private gardens [1]. This separates high-income residents physically from the rest of the district [1]. It reduces everyday contact between groups and turns public waterfront into private space [1]. [6] Examiner insight: application marks need details from the extract (rents, gates, tenants leaving), not a textbook definition.

8. Strategy: sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS), such as permeable paving and retention ponds [1]. Permeable surfaces let water infiltrate rather than run off [1]. Ponds and swales store water and release it slowly [1]. This lengthens lag time and lowers peak discharge in drains and rivers [1]. [4] Examiner insight: link the strategy to a hydrological effect (lag time or peak discharge) to reach full marks.

9. Named disease: asthma, a long-term inflammatory condition of the airways [1]. Physical link: rates are higher near busy roads, where nitrogen dioxide and particulates are concentrated [1]. Physical link: calm conditions and temperature inversions trap pollution in valleys and street canyons [1]. Socio-economic link: deprived inner areas often have damp, mouldy housing, a known trigger [1]. Socio-economic link: lower-income households are more likely to live beside main roads, as housing there is cheaper [1]. Lifestyle link: smoking in the home increases risk, so rates can cluster where smoking is more common [1]. [6] Examiner insight: a named disease is required; “respiratory illness” in general is too broad to gain the first mark.

10. This question is marked by levels of response in the real exam; the points below are indicative. Example: Singapore. Context: very little land, so landfill space is scarce [1]. Incineration cuts waste volume by up to 90%, according to the National Environment Agency [1]. Heat from incineration is recovered to generate electricity [1]. Residual ash still needs disposal, at the offshore Semakau Landfill [1]. Incineration is costly and needs emission controls to limit air pollution [1]. Landfill is cheaper to build and run [1]. But landfill produces methane and leachate and takes land Singapore lacks [1]. Semakau’s space is finite, which pushes policy towards recycling and reuse of ash [1]. Judgement: incineration is better suited to Singapore because land scarcity outweighs its higher cost, but neither method reduces waste at source [1]. [9] Examiner insight: “assess” needs a judgement tied to the named place’s conditions; generic pros and cons without a city cap the answer low.

11. This question is marked by levels of response in the real exam; the points below are indicative creditworthy content for a balanced answer comparing, for example, Singapore and Lagos.

Introduction: define sustainability across natural, physical, social and economic dimensions [1]. Set the criterion: whether a city can meet present needs without harming future ones [1].

Agree: wealth funds infrastructure. Singapore can afford incineration with energy recovery [1] and road pricing since 1998 linked to strong public transport [1]. High-income states can plan land use because they control land, as in Singapore’s public housing [1]. In Lagos, rapid informal growth has outpaced planning, so waste goes to landfill such as Olusosun [1]. Flooding and drainage failures show the physical dimension under stress [1].

Disagree: wealthy cities often have the largest ecological footprints, drawing resources from far beyond their area [1]. So wealth can make a city liveable but less sustainable globally [1]. Lower-income cities have strengths: high public transport use and recovery of materials by informal recyclers [1]. Lagos has invested in bus rapid transit from 2008 and the Blue Line from 2023 [1]. Social sustainability can be weak in wealthy-looking projects: Eko Atlantic creates an enclave beside informal settlements [1]. Eviction of Makoko residents shows economic growth can undermine social sustainability [1].

Evaluation: “truly sustainable” may not exist anywhere, as every large city depends on outside resources [1]. Governance and planning may matter more than wealth alone [1]. Conclusion: wealth makes some dimensions easier, but no city has achieved all four, so the statement is only partly true [1]. [16] Examiner insight: top-level answers judge each of the dimensions of sustainability separately and use detailed evidence from both case studies.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving a correct calculation with no working, or wrong units.
• Describing each row of a data table instead of identifying patterns and anomalies.
• Using general definitions in application questions instead of details from the extract.
• Answering “compare” questions with two separate descriptions.
• Naming a disease group rather than one specific non-communicable disease.
• Discussing incineration and landfill in general when a specified urban area is required.
• Writing case studies as fact lists without linking to sustainability or residents’ experience.
• Ending an extended answer with no judgement, or with one not supported by earlier points.

Next steps

Check weak areas against the study guide. For data and statistical skills, use the geographical and fieldwork skills guide. For timing and command words, see the 9635 exam preparation guide. Try the globalisation practice questions for linked world city content. Find your gaps with our diagnostics, or Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

These questions follow the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Geography (9635) specification, Version 3.2, section 3.4.2 (Unit 4: Human geography 2, Section B). Check the current version on the OxfordAQA website.