AP Syllabus focus:
‘Urbanization and globalization reshape culture through media, technological change, politics, economics, and social relationships.’
Urbanization and globalization transform cultural practices by increasing interaction between diverse groups, accelerating the flow of information, and reshaping social and economic systems. These processes intensify cultural exchange and create new opportunities for cultural blending, adaptation, and innovation.
Urbanization as a Driver of Cultural Change
Urbanization—the increasing concentration of people in cities—creates environments where cultural exchange occurs rapidly and continuously.
Urbanization: The process in which an increasing proportion of a population lives in urban settlements, driven by migration, natural increase, and economic opportunities.
Urban settings bring together people from different backgrounds, enabling cultural traits to mix, evolve, or become reinterpreted through shared experiences.
This world map shows how levels of urbanisation vary globally, with darker areas representing countries where most people live in urban spaces. The map illustrates why cultural change often concentrates in cities where diverse populations interact intensively. Some additional detail about settlement density extends beyond syllabus requirements but enriches understanding of urban spatial patterns. Source.
As cities grow, cultural landscapes change: farmland may be replaced by high-rise housing, shopping districts, and transport infrastructure, reflecting new economic and social priorities. Urbanization often leads to:
Densification, as buildings become taller and land is used more intensively.
Functional zoning, where residential, commercial, and industrial areas are spatially separated or deliberately mixed.
New public spaces, such as plazas, transit hubs, and malls, which act as stages for cultural interaction.
Urbanization is also linked to internal migration, as rural residents move to cities in search of employment, education, and services. These migrants bring their own cultural practices, which can:
Persist as distinct ethnic neighborhoods or community clusters.
Blend with other traditions to produce hybrid foods, festivals, and styles.
Be reshaped by urban norms regarding work, gender roles, and leisure.
Globalization as a Driver of Cultural Change
Globalization expands cultural interaction beyond local and national boundaries, connecting societies through economic, political, and technological networks.
Globalization: The increasing interconnectedness of societies through economic exchange, technological communication, political integration, and cultural interaction.
Globalization accelerates diffusion, allowing cultural traits to travel long distances quickly and reshaping cultural landscapes worldwide. Corporations, international organisations, and global media all act as agents of diffusion.
Major Cultural Effects of Globalization
Expansion of global media
Television, film, music, and digital content expose people to international cultural trends.Standardization and homogenization
Global brands, technologies, and consumer goods contribute to more uniform cultural experiences across countries.Cultural convergence and divergence
Some cultures adopt similar traits (convergence), while others reinforce local traditions in response to global influences (divergence).Rise of transnational identities
Migration and digital communication enable people to maintain cultural ties across borders.
This map shows variations in the KOF Globalisation Index, reflecting differences in global integration among countries. Higher-scoring regions tend to experience stronger global cultural influences. The numerical index categories exceed syllabus needs but clearly illustrate uneven globalisation as a driver of cultural change. Source.
Urbanization, Globalization, and Cultural Landscapes
Cities as Nodes in Global Networks
Urbanization and globalization overlap because major cities function as nodes in global networks of trade, finance, migration, and information. Large metropolitan areas often host:
Corporate headquarters and financial districts linked to global markets.
International airports, ports, and logistics hubs.
Universities, cultural institutions, and creative industries with global reach.
These connections shape urban cultural landscapes by encouraging the spread of global architectural styles, restaurant chains, shopping malls, and entertainment venues. At the same time, local cultural elements—such as street markets, religious buildings, or murals—persist and adapt, creating visually layered spaces.
Social Relationships in Urban-Global Contexts
Urbanization and globalization jointly restructure social relationships:
People may maintain ties to rural hometowns through calls, remittances, and visits while building new networks in the city.
Transnational migrants connect urban neighborhoods to distant countries, sharing media, money, and ideas across borders.
Workplace and school environments bring together individuals of diverse ethnicities, nationalities, and languages, influencing identity formation.
These processes can produce both inclusion (greater tolerance, multiculturalism) and exclusion (segregation, discrimination, rising inequality). AP Human Geography students should recognise that spatial patterns—where different groups live and work—reflect these tensions.
Media and Technology as Channels of Cultural Change
Media and technology amplify the cultural effects of urbanization and globalization by enabling rapid communication and broadening the reach of ideas.
This visualisation illustrates the share of each country’s population using the internet, highlighting uneven digital connectivity across the world. Internet access is a key channel through which global cultural flows spread. The detailed numerical data exceed AP requirements but help contextualise how digital networks reshape cultural interactions. Source.
Urban populations are especially likely to be connected to digital communication networks, which reinforce global cultural flows. Key mechanisms include:
Social media platforms, allowing cultural content to spread across borders.
Streaming services and online games, distributing global entertainment products to local audiences.
Mobile technologies, enabling migrants and diasporas to maintain transnational relationships.
These technologies can intensify cultural convergence, as people in different countries consume similar media and adopt comparable lifestyle choices. They can also enable cultural divergence, as communities use digital tools to preserve and promote local languages, traditions, and identities.
Politics, Economics, and Everyday Space
Urbanization and globalization also reshape culture by altering economic systems and governance structures. City governments respond to global economic pressures by:
Promoting urban redevelopment to attract investment and tourism.
Regulating land use in ways that favor high-value commercial or residential developments.
Branding the city through cultural districts, festivals, and flagship projects.
For residents, these decisions influence who has access to central, well-serviced spaces and who is pushed to more peripheral or informal areas. Global capital can raise land values and rents, altering the social composition of neighborhoods and potentially displacing lower-income or marginalised groups.
At the same time, local communities negotiate, adapt to, or resist these changes. Grassroots movements, neighbourhood associations, and cultural organisations may seek to protect historic sites, maintain affordable housing, or defend cultural practices threatened by global development priorities.
FAQ
Global cities act as command centres for finance, media, technology, and migration flows. This gives them disproportionate cultural influence compared with ordinary urban areas.
They generate new cultural trends, attract diverse populations, and serve as gateways for global ideas entering a country, making them key sites of rapid cultural transformation.
Urban areas offer economic opportunities, education, and services that attract migrants from multiple regions and countries.
As these groups settle, they introduce new languages, foods, traditions, and social networks, producing multicultural neighbourhoods and hybrid cultural practices.
Communities often use global platforms to preserve and promote local languages, crafts, and traditions.
For example:
social media can showcase local festivals
diaspora networks can support cultural revival
global tourism can increase pride in heritage
These mechanisms help local identities remain visible and valued.
Global economic integration introduces new jobs, products, and consumption patterns. These shifts can change daily routines, such as food choices, work schedules, and leisure activities.
For instance, global brands may influence eating habits, while international work norms can reshape expectations around punctuality or productivity.
Air travel, high-speed rail, and digital networks collapse time–space barriers, allowing ideas to move quickly between distant places.
As people access similar media, products, and lifestyles, cultural traits begin to align across regions.
At the same time, these technologies allow communities to maintain distinct identities, creating a balance between convergence and cultural continuity.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (1–3 marks)
Explain one way urbanisation can accelerate cultural change within a society.
Mark scheme:
1 mark for identifying a valid mechanism (e.g., increased interaction among diverse groups, exposure to new social norms, or innovation in urban centres).
1 mark for explaining how urban environments facilitate faster diffusion of cultural ideas (e.g., dense networks, public spaces, or digital connectivity).
1 mark for linking the process to a clear cultural outcome (e.g., hybrid practices, changing gender roles, or shifts in lifestyle).
Question 2 (4–6 marks)
Analyse how globalisation and urbanisation work together to reshape cultural landscapes. Refer to at least two different cultural processes in your answer.
Mark scheme:
1 mark for describing a cultural effect of globalisation (e.g., diffusion of media, global brands, or transnational identities).
1 mark for describing a cultural effect of urbanisation (e.g., densification, cultural mixing, or innovation).
1–2 marks for explaining how the two processes interact (e.g., global flows concentrate in cities, cities act as nodes in global networks).
1–2 marks for providing specific examples of cultural landscape change (e.g., emergence of global architectural styles, fusion cuisines, altered consumption patterns).
1 mark for clarity, coherence, and accurate use of geographical terminology.
