Our Africa Teaching Resources

Rural to urban migration in Zambia

You live in Zambia and have recently moved from the countryside to Lusaka in search of work.  Where in Lusaka might you be living?  What job might you be doing?

Handout

Link to 'Rural to urban migration in Zambia' pdf

How this fits

This scenario asks pupils to think about the reasons someone would have for moving from a rural to an urban area. Pupils should be encouraged to think about the consequences of urbanisation and comparison might be made between the movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities during the Industrial Revolution.

Curriculum links

Geography:

1.2b Knowing where places and landscapes are located, why they are there, the patterns and distributions they create, how and why these are changing and the implications for people.

1.5a Understanding how sequences of events and activities in the physical and human worlds lead to a change in places, landscapes and societies.

1.7a Appreciating the differences and similarities between people, places, environments and cultures to inform their understanding of societies and economies.

2.1d Analyse and evaluate evidence, presenting findings to draw and justify conclusions.

3g Human geography, built and managed environments and human processes.

History: 

3c Appropriate links should be made to some of the parallel events, changes and developments in British, European and world history.

Where to go

Food and Daily life; People & Culture; Map of Zambia; Tourism & Communications.

What to watch

Roadside markets (video); Being creative (video).

Follow-up questions

  1. What form of transport might people who have moved to Lusaka use to get back to the countryside to visit their families?
  2. What effect might people moving to Lusaka have on the city?

Tags: population & settlement; employment; migration; population density & distribution; population growth; urbanisation

About scenarios:

Scenarios are teaching resources designed for use in the classroom or as homework. They are linked to the National Curriculum and content on the Our Africa website. See about scenarios for more information on the topics used and their position in the curriculum.