Explain human factors contributing to urban growth

Push factors are those that cause people to leave a country, for example conflict or poor jobs opportunities. Pull factors are things that attract people to move in, such as job opportunities, a good education system and a strong economy. Urban growth can however also be caused by natural increase, which is when the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Mass migration can be caused by the push factor of conflict, as was seen with the 2015 Migrant Crisis, which saw over 900,000 refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean to flee violence and persecution. Job opportunities and good education services are pull factors, and they improve standards of living. Additional pull factors that contribute to urban growth are a stable political system, free and fair elections and a strong economy, all of which allow for self development and safety. In the UK, the growth of southern cities like London is due in part to the deindustrialisation of the north from the 1980s, which encouraged migration into Southern cities which were becoming more based around the tertiary and quaternary sectors, fuelling a knowledge economy - creating a positive multiplier effect of jobs becoming available and standards of living improving, causing further inward migration.