Changing Spaces, Making Places Case Studies Flashcards
Demographic Characteristics
Warwick - Population growth 2002-2011: 26,100- 30,100 15.3%. Slightly more young adults, fewer older working age compared to the rest of county. 0-15 (18.9%) 16-64 (68.8%) 65+ (15.6%) -related to Warwick and Coventry University. Continued growth +8% by 2021.
Gairloch - Low population density below Scottish average. Population of 950, increase 4% by 2020.
Young tend to leave for employment, housing is costly.
increasing elderly/ retired.
Socio-economic Characteristics
Warwick - Relatively affluent- low levels of deprivation, Professionals, educated, middle income and wealthy dominate. House prices are above average, 131k above. Successful professionals (14%), Low income workers, 0.7%
Gairloch - Narrow employment range- employment is seasonal- tourism. Distribution, hotels are employers. A lot of small companies, lower incomes than average. High house prices (£123,250), little deprivation, remote community, access to internet limited.
Cultural Characteristics
Warwick - Historical location and buildings. Castle and Leycester Hospital. Ethnic diversity- 17% non-white British. Vibrant community life eg Warwick Folk Festival. Numerous sports clubs. Numerous places of Worship.
Warwick ranked 11th best place to live in 2014.
Gairloch - Place names dominated by Gaelic/ Norse influences. Strong connection with landscape. Strong community life- GALE- action forum. Places of Worship restricted to Church of Scotland. Little diversity - 98.9% were White British.
Political Characteristics
Warwick - District Local Authority, Conservative MP.
Housing development South of Warwick, population growth - traffic congestion. HS2 route close to NE Leamington.
Gairloch- UK and Scottish parliament. SNP representation. Last election voted 40-50% SNP and 30-40% Labour party. Investment in infrastructure, employment, Housing costs.
Natural Characteristics
Warwick - West Midland Location - close to centre of England. Lowland area with low rolling hills and floodpains. Riverside location- flooding. Mostly arable mixed farmland and fragmented woodland. Warmer and drier than UK average.
Gairloch - North- West Coastal location, village at bay head of a short wide sea loch. Narrow lowland coastal strip. Cooler, much wetter, cloudy and windy for UK.
Built Characteristics
Warwick - Bridging point over River Avon. Nucleated form- double CBD. Leamington and Warwick have merged due to growth. Densely built and compact, exceptions are parks eg St Nicholas park. Mixed land uses - technology park. Growth South of Warwick.
Gairloch - Dispersed linear settlement. Limited land uses, dwellings, food retail, schools, community centre and harbour. A832 passes through- links coastal communities. Low rise single story buildings.
Flows
Warwick - Immigration and growth of population, commuting population -via M40 and rail to London and Birmingham. Tourism - visitor spend £221m, creates jobs. Government investment- M40 construction, A46 upgrade promotes growth, redevelopment of the canal side. Quaternary Industry, technology park, and JLR.
Gairloch - Historical widespread depopulation- poverty and famine in the past. An influx of visitors - hotels. Retirement in area. Outmigration of young adults for jobs. Government investment in infrastructure eg A832. Private investment, Tourist spend (seasonal). Fishing local food chain. Hydro and Wind power into the national grid.
Connections
Warwick - Connections over time, canal industrial links 1890s. Recently M40 constructed 1987-91, encouraged growth. Rail links to major cities from Warwick Parkway. Birmingham airport- 340 destinations. Road junction improvements eg A46 and M40.
Gairloch - Remote location little connections. Past travelled by sea- dependence on fishing. Coast road upgraded in 2007. Fast A road- shortened journey times to Inverness. Far from nearest airport and city, Inverness 1h 35mins. Unreliable internet connection.
Liverpool- case study
Liverpool ranked 4th deprived local authority. 134 LSOA’s 45% are in 10% most deprived nationally. Mostly around city centre. City in the North West of England in Merseyside. Weak job growth 1% smaller than other cities. Median annual full time pay £27,554, average. Disposable income is £13,959, lower than national average. 7% population growth since 2001. Next 20 years increase in over 60 year olds. 2 in 3 adults are physically inactive. 43% of adults are healthy weight, 55% overweight/obese.
Ethnic groups Black African (1.8%) and Chinese (1.7%). 39.2% of 16-39 year olds and 7.8% of 65-74 year olds.
Social Inequality- Birmingham
Most of the deprivation is found in a ring around the city centre, scattered in a suburban setting or in social housing estates. IMD - income, employment, health, education and physical environment. Sparkbrook, Nechells and Kings Norton are deprived areas. Most areas are in the inner city with cheap housing and overcrowded houses for the poor, most are being rented. Causes of deprivation- Economic restructuring (decline of manufacturing), falling wages and affordability of housing. Post-war migrants migrated to inner city areas as it was cheaper, richer people moved to the suburbs.
Contrasting social inequality- Jembatan Besi
Jembatan Besi, Jakarta, Indonesia, people live in slums which are densely populated, as the demand for affordable housing exceeds the supply. Average income is about $4/day. Employment is often insecure, as most people are unskilled. Jakarta has a significant garment industry from producers in slums. Health in slums is poor, as sanitation hardly exists. Few homes have a toilet, the toilets flush out onto the street. There is no clean running water, so epidemics of cholera and typhoid are common. Air pollution is very high due to the use of kerosene in a confined environment. Schools are poorly equipped, children not sent to school as they need to provide income for their family.
Contrasting social inequality- Northwood
Northwood, Irvine, California, residents are generally well off. Their median income is about $86,500 a year. People live in Northwood for jobs in Irvine as the University of California are big employers as well as TNC’s like Kia, Mazda and Toshiba. Healthcare is excellent and air quality is good. There are 5 high schools, 68.5% of residents aged 25+, many people have a first class degree. The overall crime rate is 70% less than the national average. Half the residents are white and the second largest group is Asian. 91% of households own their own home, the average household is 2.8 persons.
South Wales Players
Welsh Development Agency (1976) - Responsible for encouraging business development and investment in the area. It is credited by attracting Ford, Bosh, Panasonic, Sony, Toyota, etc to the area. They removed contaminated land and coal tips.
Sony- Opened a TV assembling plant in 1974, to supply a growing demand and access the EU market. This plant supplied 4000 jobs to the area, as many people were out of jobs with the mining moving abroad.
UK government - Improving access to the internet in the South Wales area, built the DVLA, providing 8000 jobs to the local area. Building of more roads, like the M4 to make South Wales more accessible, for example crossings over the river Severn. Dai Williams, Japanese restaurant.
Blackpool- rebranding case study.
Why the place needed to rebrand - It was old fashioned, run down, draws many hen/stag nights, tacky attractions.
Destination Blackpool (Blackpool Council) - Aim: increase visitor numbers and remove bad perception.
£200m redeveloping the seafront, with building of steps.
£100m scheme building of a contemporary tram system.
Tower Festival Headland- concerts attracting 20,000.
£220m scheme to create new retail, commercial and community space. Retail units, hotel, cafes/restaurants.
Improvement of water quality and housing at Blackpool. Queens Park estate will eventually be demolished.
Merlin Entertainment - redevelopment of Blackpool Tower, the promenade and the ballroom.
Improvement of Blackpool’s Illuminations.
Rebranding - Success or Failure (Blackpool)
Visitors to Blackpool are staying longer and are happier with their holiday according to figures in 2016.
2 million adults visited from Jan to Apr 2016.
Visitors contribute £1.33 billion to the local economy and support 24000 jobs.
Still a lot of work to do, not all projects finished. In 2010 the North West Regional Development Agency cancelled £52 million worth of grants. Still negative perceptions of place. Day-trippers dominate rather than extended stays.
Deprivation and poverty still exists in Blackpool, 36 out of 94 LSOA’s were ranked in 10% most deprived (2015).
Low employment rate (68.1%). 30% of children in poverty.
