Birmingham Case Study Flashcards
What is the Location and Background of Birmingham.
UK’s second largest city.
Population of just over 1 million.
Well connected via an international airport, several motorways (M6, M42, M5) and 3 mainline train stations.
Name 3 Challenges of living in Birmingham:
One of the following:
* Industrial decline led to high rates of unemployment, especially in inner city areas and former car manufacturing zone
* Racial tensions created by newly arrived migrants have caused race riots (e.g. 2005)
* Transport remains a major challenge with the historic ring roads no longer fit for purpose and acting like a ‘concrete collar’ on the city
* Employment inequality for migrants is another issue. Migrants, mainly concentrated in the inner city (e.g. Sparkbrook) have a far lower chance of being employed. Leading to economic segregation
* Newly arrived migrants often settle in the same area for a variety of reasons. This leads to enclaves and social separation which can make tensions worse.
* Health inequality is clear, wealthy areas such as four oaks have a life expectancy of 84, compared to 76 in Sparkbrook
* Inequality in housing between Edgbaston and Sparkbrook is Also evident and a likely cause for some of the health inequality
Name 3 Opportunities of living in Birmingham:
One of the following:
* City has 5 universities which together educate 50 000 students
* Green city with 500 parks and more trees than any other city in Europe
* New investment creating jobs (e.g. 20 000 jobs as HSBC moves HQ to Birmingham from London)
* Waste recovery system created turning 350 000 tonnes of waste into energy each year
* Cultural diversity creates social opportunities for shared language, culture and food. Led to the “Balti Triangle”
* State of the art recreational facilities such as the symphony hall and award winning library as well as redeveloped areas such as Brindley place
* Fantastic internal and national transport links through revamped train station and extended midland metro tram network which reaches increasingly far from city centre.
What did Birmingham do for redevelopment?
In order to address this Birmingham created the BIG CITY PLAN to redevelop 5 key areas of the city. One of these was the £600 million revamp of new street station to create a world class shopping facility (Grand Central), generate 1000 new permanent jobs and increase rail capacity to 300 000 passengers per day. In addition, materials used were largely recycled and rainwater collected to flush toilets to make the development more sustainable.
