DSE Geography | Urban Land Use and Urban Problems Lesson-Prep Guide (Tutor Edition)

DSE Geography | Urban Land Use and Urban Problems Lesson-Prep Guide (Tutor Edition) | Density, Land-Use Shares, Renewal

2026-11-01

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Geography

Students know city density is high, but cannot say how high or how it is worked out. This lesson uses one formula so the citywide average and one district sit on the same scale.

Objectives — Students can: (1) calculate density as population divided by area and give the unit people per km2; (2) convert hectares into percentages that add up to 100; (3) link one urban problem to one response and its cost.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Area units	1 km2 in hectares	100 hectares
Percentages	55 out of 250 as a percentage	22%
Density unit	How people per km2 is obtained	Population divided by area

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Density warm-up	Write the formula and unit, do the citywide case	Get 6,732 per km2
8-22 min	District density	Same formula on district figures, then the ratio	Get 40,000 per km2, 5.9 times
22-36 min	Land-use shares	Hectares into percentages, check the total	Fill the table and check 100%
36-48 min	Urban problems	Congestion, traffic, pollution, old buildings	One problem, one response, one cost
48-56 min	Answer frame	Describe, explain, evaluate	Rewrite one four-mark answer
56-60 min	Exit check	Three questions marked on the spot	Independent work

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Density: one formula for every case

Density is population divided by area. Citywide, 7,500,000 people over 1,114 km2 gives 6,732 people per km2. Put a district of 0.8 km2 holding 32,000 people through the same formula and you get 40,000 people per km2, which is 5.9 times the citywide average. The unit must be written as people per km2; a bare number earns nothing. Density is an average, so it does not mean every street is equally crowded.

Ask the student: name the unit before writing any number.

Scene 2: Land use: hectares first, percentages second

A district of 250 hectares has 120 residential, 40 commercial, 55 industrial and 35 hectares of open space. Each share is that item divided by the total times 100: 48%, 16%, 22% and 14%, which adds up to exactly 100%.
Warn: students read 22% industry as 22% of the whole city. Here the denominator is this district only.

Ask the student: what is the denominator of these percentages (this district total, not the city).

Scene 3: Urban problems: one problem, one response, one cost

Crowding leads to redevelopment, which raises floor area but scatters the existing community. Traffic congestion leads to rail or bus lanes, at high cost and with years of disruption. Unsafe old buildings lead to mandatory inspection, but owners pay. Answer in three moves: describe with data, explain the cause (density, land price, building age), evaluate the response against its cost. A response without a cost earns at most half marks.

Ask the student: state one cost for every response you write.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Density	Citywide average density	Population divided by area, with unit	6,732 per km2
Share	Residential share of the district	Item divided by total times 100	48%
Comparison	How many times the citywide average	40,000 divided by 6,732	about 5.9 times
Evaluation	Benefits and costs of redevelopment	Two points each, then compare	Gains large but relocation must be handled

Sanity check (teach this): The district figure of 40,000 per km2 is well above the citywide 6,732; a ratio below 1 means the numbers were inverted. The four shares must total 100%; a total of 98 or 102 means a hectare figure was misread.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
0.8 km2 holding 32,000 people, find the density	40,000 per km2	Unit present
120 hectares out of 250, as a percentage	48%	Multiplied by 100
Does high density always mean poor quality of life	No, it depends on open space and transport	A counter-example is given

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Number without unit	Writes 40,000	The unit is people per km2; a bare number is not an answer.
Shares not checked	Submits shares totalling 102%	They must total 100%; if not, one hectare figure is misread.
District share read as city share	Writes 22% of the whole city is industrial	This 22% is a share inside this district.
Response without cost	Writes only redevelop the old district	Every response needs one cost, or it is not an evaluation.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

DSE Geography practice paper (urban and industry) — Section B data-response questions
Secondary Geography chapter index — All chapters

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
7,500,000 people over 1,114 km2	6,732 per km2	All three right: move to urbanisation
Share of 35 hectares	14%	One wrong: reteach the denominator
One urban problem with response and cost	Crowding, redevelopment, relocation	Two or more wrong: return to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

May students use a calculator?

Yes, but the unit and significant figures must still be written by hand.

Must the citywide figures be memorised?

No, but students should know urban density can be several times the average.

How is this different from the population unit?

The population unit covers distribution and structure; this one covers land use and problems inside the city.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.