Birmingham Flashcards
What is the site of Birmingham?
- Located on Birmingham plateau in the West Midlands
- Began as a small village
- Built on a dry point (flood-free) site
What is the situation of Birmingham?
- Located in Central England, in the West Midlands
- Has road links to Northern and Southern England
What is Birmingham’s connectivity like?
- Birmingham International Airport
- Birmingham New Street railway station
- Easy access to M5, M6, M42 - providing national links
What is Birmingham’s culture like?
- 22% of population born outside the UK
- 13.5% of population are Pakistani (2011 Census)
- 6% of population are Indian (2011 Census)
What does Birmingham’s environmental situation look like?
- One of the leading cities in terms of parks
- Approximately 571 parks covering 3,500 hectares
- Ranked 5th for sustainability in the UK, in 2011
Q: Explain the function and land use of the CBD. (4 marks)
- Birmingham’s CBD is the main financial centre of the city. with Govt offices situated in it (1)
- Land use is a combination of offices, shops, restaurants, apartments and hotels (1)
- Recently undergone redevelopment, e.g. building of Bullring Shopping Centre (1)
-Most accessible part of the city with key transport links, e.g. M6 motorway which connects Birmingham to the rest of the West Midlands (1)
What are the causes of national migration in Birmingham?
- People moving out to retirement destinations in the south, e.g. Bournemouth
- People moving in because increased investment in the CBD has created more employment opportunities.
What are the causes of international migration in Birmingham?
- Migrants fleeing conflicts in their country, e.g. Syria
- People moving in the past, encouraged by the UK Govt to fill key jobs
What are the impacts of migration in Birmingham?
- Percentage of people aged 20-25 is higher than UK average
- 66% of the population is under 45
- 42% of residents are from ethnic groups other than white
- 16% of residents don’t have English as a main language
- Migrant communities have developed in places like Sparkhill due to cheaper housing
- Birmingham’s housing demands were 5,000 people higher than expected in 2015
- Increased pressure on key services, such as GP surgeries, due to rise in population
Q: Describe the population pyramid for the city of Birmingham. (3 marks)
- Population pyramid shows a higher-than-UK average for ages 0-34 (1)
- Highest age group is 20-24 (1)
- Approx. population of 98,000 (1)
How has urbanisation influenced Birmingham?
Urbanisation: an increase in the proportion of the population living in towns and cities.
- Increase in manufacturing, e.g. jewellery
- Housing built for working coming from the countryside, e.g. in Small Heath
How has suburbanisation influenced Birmingham?
Suburbanisation: suburbs on the outer edge of the settlement grow outwards as new houses and services are built to accommodate more people
- Rising population in 1920 lead to council building new housing on the outskirts of city
- Mainly built semi-detached houses
How has counter-urbanisation influenced Birmingham?
Counter-urbanisation: moving from an urban area to a more rural area. Push / pull factors apply here
- Five new comprehensive development areas built in the inner city
- People forced out of urban areas, into places like Redditch
How has reurbanisation influenced Birmingham?
Reurbanisation: when people move back into inner city areas where populations had previously declined due to a range of social, economic and environmental issues
- More people want to live in or near CBD, close to place of work or amenities
- Modernisation of flats and building of new apartments.
What are the population characteristics of Birmingham?
- Population of 1.1 million in 2014 - increase of 9.9% since 2004
- 22.9% of the population were children in 2014 - 19% higher than the national average
- 13.1% of people living in Birmingham were of pensionable age in 2014 - lower than national average - 17.6%
- Key reasons for population growth: increase in number of births, rise in international migration, declining death rate from improved healthcare
What are the reasons for deindustrialisation in Birmingham?
- Increased imports of foreign cars
- 1970s ring road built - some factories demolished
- Inner city redeveloped - old factories demolished to make way for new housing
- Some industries become less efficient, and were closed down
Q: Explain two causes of deindustrialisation in Birmingham. (4 marks)
- One cause of deindustrialisation in Birmingham is an increase in foreign imports of cars. (1)
- This has resulted in less demand for cars produced in Birmingham. (1)
- Another cause of deindustrialisation in Birmingham is the development of the ring road in the 1970s. (1)
- This led to factories being knocked down to make space for the ring road. (1)
Explain Birmingham’s economic structure.
- 40% of Birmingham’s population live in areas that are amongst the most deprived in England.
- From 2004 to 2007, Birmingham was ranked as the most deprived local authority in the West Midlands,
- Sutton Four Oaks is in the top 5% of least deprived areas in the UK
- Deprivation (people’s access to resources & opportunities) is high in inner city areas of Birmingham, but also exists in the suburbs.
What are the main reasons for economic change in Birmingham?
- Decline in manufacturing industry - Birmingham was a manufacturing hub in the 19th century
- Lack of investment in services, e.g. schools.
What are the negative impacts of quality of life in Birmingham?
- Lack of investment in inner city
- Some migrants don’t have skills for available jobs
- Increasing population density in inner city leads to a strain on public services
- Provision on necessary services, e.g. schools, hasn’t kept up with ever increasing demand
- Many jobs have short-term contracts, and don’t pay well
How has Birmingham’s CBD changed over time?
- In the 19th century: people move away from inner city to suburbs, to avoid increasing pollution levels
- In the 1870s: manufacturing industries relocate to suburbs
- In the 1970s: Shopping outlets move to out-of-town locations
What are the advantages of out-of-town shopping centres?
- Cheaper and larger units than in CBD for retailers
- Free, easy parking and all stores under one roof for consumers
How has Birmingham Council addressed a declining CBD?
The city council has supported redevelopment projects, including the Bullring and Grand Central shopping centres.
What are the impact of decentralisation in Birmingham?
- 12% decline in trade in the CBD, due to shopping outlets moving out of the CBD into out-of-town locations
- Movement of shops into Merry Hill causes redevelopment of brownfield site
- Redevelopment of CBD through new projects like The Mailbox has causes a growth in trade
