9 - Urban Forms Flashcards
What is urban form?
The physical characteristics that make up built areas, including shape size, density and organisation of settlements.
On which scales is urban form seen?
From regional to urban, neighbourhood to street!
What does urban form evolve in response to?
Social, economic, environmental and technological developments.
What 4 physical factors influence urban form?
Topography - steep slopes are harder to build on and access whereas a large flat area encourages low density developments as there’s lots of accessible space to build on.
Water - lakes and the sea limits growth however cities can grow along the course of a river due to historical trading.
Natural resources - coal and metal etc will encourage city size and population growth.
Land type - some ground types are more difficult or expensive to build on than others e.g swamps, wetlands so limit urban growth.
What is the UK’s urban form?
1 mega city - London and SE region
6 metropolitan areas - Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield)
56 towns and cities
What 3 human factors influence urban form?
Planning - urban expansion can be planned or unplanned e.g in LI or developing countries growth is caused by unplanned slum expansion but in HI or developed countries planning and building leisure facilities etc causing growth.
Describe a HICs spatial pattern of land use within cities.
CBD in the centre = high land value, shops, businesses and entertainment.
Inner city around CBD = poverty, ethnic minorities, high density, high land value (victorian terraces and skyscrapers)
Suburbs around inner city and CBD = more open space, bigger houses, wealthy, lower land value, shopping centres and science parks, lower ethnic minorities.
Describe a LICs spatial pattern of land use within cities.
CBD in the centre = high land value, shops, businesses and entertainment.
Cheap and medium priced housing around CBD (like inner city)
Informal squatter settlements/slums surround it along roads and the edge of the city.
Commercial spine (along the radius of the city) with wealthy immigrants either side the spine in expensive housing.
Modern factories and developments along roads and rivers.
What is a mega city, a meta city and a world city?
Mega - population of 10,000,000+
Meta - population of 20,000,000+
World - important role in the global economic system
Describe the characteristics of world cities.
Hubs of business, transport and trade - HQ for TNCS, excellent air and internet connection, clear identifiers of personal wealth (billionaires)
Production hubs - e.g. marketing, production, selling etc
Political importance - all important global political decisions are made here
Migration - people with globally transferable skills are attracted to employment in world cities = diverse population
Name the 5 new urban landscapes and briefly describe them.
Town centre mixed developments: wide range of leisure facilities, huge availability of space, promotion of street entertainment, developing nightlife, new offices and residential areas. e.g. St Albans
Gentrified areas: buying and renovating properties in run-down areas by the wealthy. Supported by estate agents and local authorities. Produces, overpriced housing, increased congestion and therefore some loss of business but also increases wealth, tax aesthetic and job opportunities for the area. e.g. Shoreditch
Fortress-landscapes: designed around security, surveillance and exclusion. To reduce crime they use closed-circuit television, railings and fences around private areas, good street lighting, speed bumps, avoid features that make crime easier (e.g alleyways), and gated communities (concierge, keypad to promote privacy and surveillance) e.g USA
Edge cities: self-contained settlements beyond the city boundary. Linked to extreme social segregation, wealthy move to suburbs and leave poor behind e.g. 20+ edge cities in LA!
Cultural and heritage quarters: build up regional and sometimes national reputation…cultural - cultural production (goods, foods etc) and consumption (shows, venues, galleries etc) and heritage - history, small-scale industry e.g. Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham
