Changing Spaces; Making Places🌅 5.3 Flashcards
How does income influence people’s lives?
Income + wealth = significant factors determining standard of living + quality of life
- higher incomes —> leads to greater choices but not necessarily better quality of life - longer work hours, longer commute, migration away from family
How is deprivation measured?
Multiple Deprivation Index —> 7 factors used to give overall measure:
- income
- health
- employment
- education
- crime
- housing & service access
- loving environment
- Lower Layer Super Output Areas = ranked
What the are factors determining standard of living + quality of life?
- housing quality
- health standards + access to facilities
- education standards
- income levels
- access to leisure facilities, open spaces etc
How to measure income/wealth/employment + why varies?
Gini Coefficient —> used to measure inequality income - larger the number the more unequal income levels are
Absolute poverty - living on less than $1.25 a day
Relative poverty - earning less than 60% of UK median income
Varies: low incomes linked to ill-health, low educational attainment, poor access to services,
Key factor = disposable incomes
How to measure housing + why varies?
Housing tenure - owner occupiers or tenants renting from a landlord
Varies: if a household has a low income, there is less choice or housing, poorer housing quality + overcrowding
How to measure education + why varies?
Literacy levels = measure of ability to read + write to basic level - gives indication of inequality in education - clear contrasts between LIDCs + ACs
Varies: education access in rural regions LIDCs = huge issue - differing access to education causes huge inequalities
Achieving universal primary education - Millennium Development Goal
How to measure health care + why varies?
Number of health care professionals - measure of number of doctors per 1000 people
Health care access + ill-health levels = associated with poverty & social inequality
Varies: uneven distribution of health services - access to medical services - uneven in rural areas - difficult to access for elderly, those without cars or public transport
How to measure employment + why varies?
If a household includes a recipient of regular income —> unemployment + wages
Give examples of varying access to services
- affects standard of living + quality of life - huge inequalities between ACs, EDCs + LIDCs - 1 measure = number of doctors per 1000 people - Norway(AC) - 4, Brazil(EDC) - 2, Kenya(LIDC) - below 1
- national scale - core - more investment & availability of services + periphery regions - limited access + services
- internet access - UK - contrasts between rural + urban broadband speeds - China + North Korea - limit access to internet services
What is the role of globalisation in economic change?
- Global shift = consequence of globalisation - relocation of manufacturing at a global scale
- Newly Industrialising countries (East Asia + Latin America) - containerisation + bulk handling decreased relative costs - contributing to locational changes
- economic restructuring led to loss in primary + secondary sectors & growth of tertiary + quaternary sectors
Describe the impacts of structural economic change on people + places
- economic restructuring led to deindustrialisation - chains job losses in ACs - skills needed for heavy industry weren’t transferable to growing service sector
- unemployment caused ill-health in concentrated inner city neighbourhoods - Toxteth
- globalisation has enabled firms to specialise in specific areas where they have a comparative advantage eg Sellafield, Cumbria - EU’s largest high-tech employment in nuclear industry
Give positive impacts of economic change - ACs
- cheaper imports of labour intensive products keeps living costs down
- loss of mining + manufacturing leads to improved environmental quality
Give positive impacts of economic change - EDCs + LIDCs
- reduces negative trade balances
- exposure of new technology, skill improvement + labour productivity
Give negative impacts of economic change - ACs
- job losses of unskilled workers
- rising job exports lead to inevitable job losses as well as competition-driven changes in technology
Give negative impacts of economic change - EDCs + LIDCs
- can destabilise food supplies as people give up agriculture
- unlikely to decrease inequality - more jobs concentrated in core region of urban areas - may promote in-migration
Describe the impact of boom + recessions
- growth + stagnation cycles = linked to technological innovation - providing basis for a boom - once technology = no longer new - boom is followed by a recession
What are recessions?
General slowdowns in economic activity
- macroeconomic indicators:
- GDP
- investment banking
- household income
- unemployment rise
- bankruptcy
How do people cope with a recession?
- more skilled + qualified an individual - more employment opportunities they’re likely to have
- households cut back on spending on non-essentials —> can result in fewer service jobs
What methods do the UK government use to tackle social + economic inequalities?
- taxation: income tax - redistributes wealth from rich to poor - creating a fairer society - progressive tax systems used
- subsidies: reduce inequality by giving subsidies to poorer groups eg free school meals for kids + free childcare for single parents
- planning: - government, charities + housing agencies give priority to service + housing upgrade in poorest areas - organised geographically
- law: - legislation exits which outlaws discrimination - aims to give equal opportunities to all groups
- education: - governments provide funding for training + upgrading skills to raise qualifications + skill levels, improve empower prospects + boost economic growth
How is government spending allocated?
- pensions: - spending on pensions doubled - showing ageing pop. + increasing life expectancy - therefore the age you can claim state pension also rises - large numbers of people have occupational pensions too
- health care: - NHS - paid through taxation system - language + cultural barriers for migrants - literature developed in other languages to explain benefits of immunisation
- rural services: - key settlement policy - services have been constructed in large villages + small towns - areas act as hubs for surrounding smaller areas
Which case studies show contrasts between social inequality?
Jembatan Besi, Jakarta, Indonesia + Northwood, Irvine, California
Jembatan Besi - key facts
- over 1/4 of Jakarta’s (capital of Indonesia) residents live in slum settlements
- Jembetan Besi = slum - developed die to pop. growth - 4000 inhabitants - 1 of the capital’s most densely populated districts - as housing demand exceeds supply
- insecure employment - mostly unskilled residents + casual labour - lots of self-employment
- Jakarta - significant garment industry - small-scale producers in + around slum areas
Jembatan Besi - environment
- poor sanitation - no clean running water + groundwater supplies = polluted as slum was built on former waste tip
- cholera + typhoid = common - warm, humid conditions = malaria
- high air pollution levels - kerosene (cooking) + emissions
- poorly equipped schools - families often can’t afford formal education
- poorly built, makeshift housing - constant fire risk - pile-ons + kerosene
Jembatan Besi - future
- Jakarta Housing Agency - identified around 400 slum areas planned for improvement - involves re-location of people - can make situation worse in slums re-located to
- strong sense of community - residents look to a better life + future
Northwood - key facts
- community in Irvine - was a fully planned city, development began - 1960s - city developed around a series of communities
- 21,000 inhabitants
- residents = generally well-off - Northwood has great access to employment in Irvine - several TNCs headquarters located here eg Kia + Mazda motors
Northwood - environment
- healthcare for residents = excellent
- relatively low air pollution
- schools = best achieving in USA - residents have high educational standards
- crime rates = 70% lower than national average
Northwood - future
- Irvine = 1 of the hugest ranked cities within the USA - Mediterranean-style climate + easy access to beaches along Pacific —> presents opposite end of the economic spectrum to Jembatan Besi
