To compare responses to an urban issue, set each one against a benefit, a cost and the people it affects. Then give a judgement with a condition.
This lesson belongs to settlements and urbanisation. It builds on tracing an urbanisation effect through a service demand.
What goes into a fair comparison?
Use the same three questions for every response: what does it fix, what does it cost or give up, and who is affected. Answer each briefly, then compare the responses.
Finish with a judgement that says “best if”, so the choice depends on a stated condition.
Worked example: peak-hour traffic
This is an original issue. A fast-growing city has long peak-hour queues on its main road. Three responses are proposed.
Widen the road. Benefit: journeys are faster soon after opening. Cost: it needs land, and it may draw more cars later. Affected: drivers gain, and nearby residents lose land.
Add bus lanes and more buses. Benefit: each lane moves more people. Cost: it takes road space from cars. Affected: bus users gain, and some drivers wait longer.
Charge cars entering the centre. Benefit: it cuts car numbers quickly. Cost: drivers pay more, and a bus option must exist first. Affected: commuters pay, and nearby residents gain cleaner air.
Judgement: “Bus lanes and more buses are best if the aim is to move more people without taking more land, but they work best when a charge or a parking limit makes driving less attractive.”
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to list only benefits, or to praise one response without comparing it.
- One-sided: “Widening the road reduces traffic jams and saves time.”
- Traded off: “Widening the road may cut journey times at first, but it needs land and can draw more cars onto the road later.”
A second slip is a judgement with no condition, such as “The best response is bus lanes.” Add when and why.
Check yourself
A low-lying district floods after heavy rain. Two responses are to widen the drains, and to add retention ponds and green space that hold water. Compare them and give a conditional judgement.
Answer
Widening drains carries water away faster, which helps the flooded area, but it may move the flood downstream and needs digging in crowded streets. Retention ponds and green space hold water back and can add open space, but they need free land, which is costly in dense areas.
Judgement: “Retention ponds and green space are best if free land is available upstream, while wider drains suit a dense area where land is unavailable, ideally together with storage.”
What to study next
Practise the whole cluster with the settlements and urbanisation practice set. Return to classifying a settlement function if evidence reading is your weaker step.
If you want a teacher to read your judgement paragraphs, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.