Compare and Contrast Essay on Housing and Geographic Location in the United Kingdom and the United States

The United Kingdom is an Island nation that is located in the North-western Europe. As of 2016, the total population of the United Kingdom was estimated to be 65.64 million people. Like many other countries in the world, the United Kingdom is characterized by various physical geographical features such as hills, plains, and mountain ranges. Some excellent examples of counties with mountain ranges in this Island nation are such as, Scotland, whose unique physical geography is characterized by the Highland Boundary Fault.

Today in the UK, problems with housing have been described as the most significant risk to the UK economy. According to the Top British authorities such as Mark Carney, this particular housing crisis has increasingly been orchestrated by the fact that the modern houses built cost today too much, are of poor quality and they are also located in the wrong places. Besides, it is expected that the rapid growth in population in the UK will place further pressure on both housing and the environment as a whole. Concerning the current population size, the present scholars contend that the current population growth in the UK can be highly attributed to a combination of high net immigration, rising life expectancy as well as a relatively high birth rate. The houses in Britain are uniquely identifiable since a majority of them are constructed from either clay bricks or concrete blocks (Russ, 2017).

A comparison made between the United Kingdom and the United States substantiates that there are differences and similarities with regard to both housing and the population in these two countries. For instance, an analysis performed on the key population data of both the UK and the United States in the past three censuses, substantiates that the total American population is approximated to be at least five times as large as that of the United Kingdom. With a population estimate of 323.1 million, the United States has a population that is characterized by younger populations as compared to the United Kingdom. More specifically, among the four United States regions, statistics indicate that three of these regions have a population more significant than the entire United Kingdom.

The United States housing also differs significantly from that of the United Kingdom. To begin with, one of the most common difference between housing in the U.S and that of the UK lies in the fact that, while most of the United States population and houses are located in the urban areas, a majority of the United Kingdom populations are located in the suburbs or rather in the rural Areas (WorldAtlas, 2017). Besides, unlike in the United States, the homes in the United Kingdom are built a lot closer together, and in many cases, more than two homes are connected with one another. Concerning the building materials, the houses in the United Kingdom are primarily constructed using bricks something which is less common in the United States. Russ (2017), argues that despite the fact that common residential houses in the United Kingdom are smaller than those in the United States, housing in the United Kingdom is usually much more expensive when compared to that of the United States.

Religion

For over 1,400 years, religion in the United Kingdom has been significantly dominated by various forms of Christianity. With Christianity being the most practiced religion in the United Kingdom, it is characterized by numerous Christian denominations that are said to have emerged from the schisms that have divided the church over the centuries. Besides, concerning the 2011 Census conducted in the country, Islam is the second most practiced religion after Christianity. The United Kingdom laws, on the other hand, guarantee freedom of religion to its citizens and therefore, various other religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism are practiced in the country. When compared to the United States, religion in the UK differs in the sense that, religious faith is more widespread and fairly spread in the United States than in the UK. Besides, based on the fact that the United States was founded on the principle of religious freedom, it is, therefore, considered to be more religiously diverse that the United Kingdom.

Technology and Mass Media

In recent years, technology and media are playing an increasing role in the lives of many families in the United Kingdom. Like in many other countries, the use of developmentally appropriate and high-quality media in the UK has proved to be overly beneficial for many United Kingdom families. However, according to Russ (2017), excessive and developmentally inappropriate use of mass media in the UK poses severe health risks for modern families. More specifically, studies substantiate that in the UK, children between the ages of 6-11 years use the internet. These statistics are similar to those reported to characterize the influences of technology and mass media among the modern American Families.

Socio-Cultural Beliefs and Values

Today, in the 21st century, the social and cultural values among the United Kingdom families are changing rapidly. Unlike in the past, the typical British family that was headed by both a father and a mother has undergone has evidently undergone substantial changes. More specifically, today in the UK, there has been a considerable change in both gender roles and parenting, and as a result, there has been an increase in the number of single-person households which are in most cases, headed by single parents. With the rapid increase of the single-person households in the United States, it is estimated that in the year 2020, the number of single people running a household will be more than that of the married one. This has fundamentally changed the socio-cultural beliefs of the British people since about half a century ago, single-person households were considered to be socially unacceptable. Comparing this to the United States, it is evident that family values and belief in the two countries, both the UK and the US, have undergone many dramatic changes. Like in the UK, common American family socio-cultural values and practices differ from those practiced today. For instance, while families in the 1950s valued the family systems and traditions such as gender roles, equality or the structure of the family, today, the society has evolved bringing about changes in the families beliefs in socio-cultural values and practices (Taylor, 2016).

Economics

In the year 2015, the United Kingdoms economy was the second largest in the European continent, after Germany and also ranked number five in the world, with regard to its GDP. Although the country was gravely affected by the global financial crisis at the end of the previous decade, today its economy has stabilized owing to its strong service sector which has overwhelmingly fuelled the countrys economy. Unlike in many countries, the UKs service sector accounts for approximately 79% of the total countrys GDP. According to the 2016 statistics report, the UKs gross national income is approximated to be 2.763 trillion PPP dollars and an average GDP of about 2.6 trillion US dollars (Schwieger, 2017). The United Kingdoms economic statistics, however, differ from those of the United States. For instance, as of 2016, the United States GDP was approximated to be about 18.5 trillion USD. This is primarily reflected in the high American Gross national income of about 18.7 trillion PPP dollars.

References

Russ, A. (2017, January 18). Comparison of British and American Housing. Retrieved from https://soapboxie.com/misc/usa-vs-uk-homes

Schwieger, J. U. (2017). Economic Policy and Economic Evaluation of The United Kingdom 2005 - 2015. S.L.: Grin Publishing.

Taylor, S. (2016). American Family Values | LoveToKnow. Retrieved from http://family.lovetoknow.com/american-family-values

WorldAtlas. (2017, April 25). Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain). Retrieved from http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-the-united-kingdom-great-britain.html