Key Stage 2 geography · Locational knowledge

KS2 UK land use and how it has changed over time

Land use means what people do with an area of land: farming, building houses, running factories, protecting woodland or creating parks. In Key Stage 2, children learn to describe the main land-use patterns across the United Kingdom and to understand that some of them have changed over time. The curriculum gives no set case studies, so schools usually use their own local area as the starting point.

UK land use and change, explained

The main types of land use in the UK are farmland, woodland, towns and cities (known as urban areas), industry and transport, moorland and rough grazing, and areas for leisure such as parks and golf courses. Some large areas, such as national parks, are protected so that their landscape is looked after. A land-use map uses colours or symbols for each one. Children learn to read these maps and to describe patterns: where the towns are clustered, and where the countryside is.

Patterns have reasons. Farming is shaped by climate, soil and the shape of the land. The east of England is drier and flatter, and a good place to grow arable crops such as wheat and barley. The west is wetter, which suits grass for dairy cattle, and the hills and uplands have steep slopes and thin soil, so they are mostly used for grazing sheep. Cities tend to grow on rivers, at ports and where roads and railways meet. Heavy industry once clustered near coal and iron ore, in places such as South Wales, the North East and the Midlands.

Change over time is the second half of the objective. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived in villages and worked on the land. From the 18th and 19th centuries, factories, canals and railways pulled people into towns that grew very fast. In the 20th century, suburbs spread, motorways and airports were built, and new towns such as Stevenage and Milton Keynes were planned. At the same time, green belts were created around some cities to stop them spreading, and the Peak District became the first national park in 1951.

Recent changes are easiest to spot. Many mines, steelworks and docks closed in the later 20th century. Some of those sites, called brownfield land because they have been built on before, have become housing, offices or museums, such as the Docklands in London, Salford Quays near Manchester and the Albert Dock in Liverpool. Greenfield land is land that has not been built on, and some of it is now used for new housing, warehouses and retail parks. Offshore wind farms and solar farms are newer land and sea uses. Many hedgerows were removed in the 20th century to make bigger fields, and some are now being replanted.

Children find out how places have changed by comparing old and new maps, photographs and aerial images, and by looking at clues such as street names. They also hear different points of view: new homes meet a need, but fewer fields and trees may mean a loss for wildlife and walkers. The aim is not to decide who is right but to give reasons and evidence, which is a core geographical skill that links to the later study of settlements and sustainability.

Words your child will hear

Land use: How people use an area of land, such as farming, housing or industry.
Urban and rural: Urban means town or city. Rural means countryside.
Arable and pastoral: Arable farms grow crops. Pastoral farms keep animals such as sheep and cattle.
Brownfield and greenfield: Brownfield land has been built on before. Greenfield land has not.
Green belt: Protected countryside around a city to stop it spreading.
Settlement: A place where people live, from a hamlet to a city.
Pattern: A way that something is spread out on a map, such as clustered or spread out.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
Pupils should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: answering an enquiry question with evidence

An old map of an imagined town from about 100 years ago is placed next to a modern map. How has the land use on the edge of the town changed?

Describe the old map first. The edge of the town was mostly fields and a few farms. There was a small railway station, a mill by the river and a tight cluster of houses around a church.
Describe the modern map. The fields have gone and there are housing estates, a bypass road, an industrial estate by the old station and a retail park. A former gravel pit is now a nature reserve.
Spot what has stayed the same. The river, the church, the hill and the railway line are all still in the same places, which helps with matching the two maps.
Give reasons. The population grew, so more houses were needed. More people owned cars, so a bypass and car parks were built. The mill closed when machines and trade changed, so new businesses used the land.
Consider the effects. New homes and jobs help people, but there is less farmland and fewer wild places close to the town. Some people will see this as a gain and others as a loss.

On the edge of the town, farmland has been replaced by housing, roads and shops, while a gravel pit has become a nature reserve. The main reasons are a growing population and more cars. The change brings homes and jobs but also reduces farmland and countryside.

Common mistakes and how to help

Mixing up land use with the landscape itself

Words like “field”, “forest” and “hill” describe both what the land is and what people do with it, so the two ideas run together.

What helps: Ask two questions: “What does the land look like?” and “What do people use it for?” A hill might be a physical feature and also used as sheep pasture or a park.

Thinking most of the UK is covered in towns and cities

Children live in built-up areas and see mostly roads and buildings, and maps often make cities look large.

What helps: Look at a land-use map or an aerial photo of a region. Most of the land is farmland, moorland or woodland, and towns are small dots in comparison.

Believing that change is always bad, or always good

Children can take a strong view quickly, for example that new houses ruin the countryside or that old factories were ugly and should have been knocked down.

What helps: Ask who benefits and who loses from each change. Give two reasons for and two against before choosing a view.

Assuming every farm in the UK grows the same things

Pictures of farms in books show a limited set of crops and animals, so children treat them as typical everywhere.

What helps: Compare farm types in East Anglia and in the hills of Wales or Cumbria, and ask how rainfall, soil and the shape of the land explain the difference.

How to help at home

Walk and map your area. On a walk with an adult, note what land is used for: houses, shops, fields, parks, a school. Back home, colour a sketch map with a different colour for each use.
Old and new. Look for an old photograph, postcard or map of your town or village and compare it with today. Ask a grandparent or neighbour what used to be there. What has been added or lost?
Street name clues. Names like Mill Lane, Station Road or Colliery Way often point to past land uses. Collect a few from your area and guess what each place was used for.
Food label detective. Look at the origin on labels on fruit, vegetables and meat. Which come from the UK, and which regions might they come from? Talk about why different crops suit different places.

Builds on

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Africa: regions, countries and cities
Key Stage 3: Russia: the world’s largest country
Key Stage 3: Asia, including China and India
Key Stage 3: The Middle East: location and landscapes