Case study: a UK city compared with a capital city overseas
Geography · Key Stage 2 · The School
Same list, two cities
A fair way to compare London and Nairobi uses the SAME list for both. How many people live there? What is the weather like? What jobs do people do there? These are fair, useful things to compare. Comparing London's weather with Nairobi's past would not be fair at all.
People and weather
About nine million people live in London. About four and a half million live in Nairobi. London's weather is mild and wet all year. Nairobi sits near the Equator, but its weather is mild too. That is because the city sits high up, far above sea level. Altitude, not just latitude, decides a lot about climate.
What each city is known for
London is a big centre for money, government and visitors. Nairobi is East Africa's main hub for new technology and trade. Both cities are the capital of their own country. Both are by far the biggest city in their own country too.
"London has about nine million people, Nairobi has about four and a half million" is just a fact. A real comparison goes further than that. London grew over several centuries as the centre of a huge trading empire, drawing people in from all over the world. Nairobi is a much younger city. It began only in 1899, as a small railway stop. It has had far less time to grow this big. Same list, both cities checked against it, and now a REASON is given for the gap, not just the number itself. That extra step is what turns a fact into real geography.