Changing Urban Environments Flashcards
Urbanisation
A process where an increasing proportion of the population lives in towns and cities (there is a reduction of those living in rural areas)
Rural to urban migration
A process in which people move from the countryside to towns
Land use
The type of buildings or other features that are found in the area eg. terraced housing, banks, industrial estates, roads, parks
CBD
Central business district; the main shopping and service area of a city. The CBD is usually found in the middle of the city as this is the most accessible point for most people
Irregular street pattern and narrow streets (built for horses and carts often)
Inner city
The area often found around the CBD, usually built before 1918 in the UK - often contain old factories and have regular and tightly packed together street patterns
Suburbs
Lots of coldecots and housing estates with wider roads and often detached or semidetached housing
The area on the edge of the city. Many built in interwar period (1918-1939) and 1945 onwards. They typically get younger as you go closer to the edge of the city
Household
Person living alone or two or more people living at the same address, sharing a living room
Brownfield sites
Land that has previously been built on and needs to be cleared to be reused. These sites are often found in the inner city
Greenfield sites
Land that has not been built on before, usually in the countryside of the edge of a city or built up area
Regeneration
Improving the built and natural environment of an area
Sustainable community
Community (offering housing, employment and recreation opportunities) that is broadly in balance with the environment and offers people a good quality of life
Quality of life
How good a persons life is as measured by such things as quality of housing and the environment, access to healthcare, education, how secure people feel and how contented and satisfied they are with their lifestyle
Park and ride scheme
A bus service run to key places from car parks located on the edge of busy areas to reduce traffic flow and congestion in the city centre
Eg. Cambridge
Segregation
Occurs where people of a particular ethnic group choose to live with others from the same ethnic group, separate from other groups
Squatter settlements/informal settlements/shanty towns/favelas (Brazil)
Areas of cities (usually on marginal land - not desirable due to risk of hazards eg. floods, landslides, waste) that are built up by people of any materials they can find on the land that doesn’t belong to them.
Informal sector
The part of the economy where jobs are created by people to try to get an income (eg. taking in washing, mending bikes etc) and not recognised in official employment figures. Workers typically have no rights and may be exploited
Self help
Sometimes also assisted self help - local authorities or charities improve their homes by offering finance in the form of loans or grants and often installing water, sanitation etc.
Site and service
Occur where land is divided into individual plots (including tenure - ownership of the land) and water, sanitation, electricity and basic road layout are supplied before any building by residents begin
Industrialisation
A process in which an increasing proportion of the population are employed in the manufacturing sector of the economy
Disposal of waste
Safely getting rid of unwanted items such as solid waste
Landfill
A means of disposing of waste by digging a large hole in the ground and lining it before filling it with rubbish
Recycling
Collection and subsequent reprocessing of products such as paper, aluminium cans, plastic containers and mobile phones instead of throwing them away
Air pollution
Putting harmful substances into the atmosphere eg. particulates, sulphur dioxide, coat on dioxide
Water pollution
Putting poisonous substances onto water courses such as sewage, industrial effluent (oil etc) and harmful chemicals
Sustainable city
An urban area where residents have a way of life that will last a long time. The environment is not damaged and the economic and social fabric, due to local involvement are able to stand the test of time
Sustainable (re)development
Development that balances the needs of the economy, society and environment. It uses resources in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising future generations ability to meet their needs
Green belt
Land on the edge of a built up area, where restrictions are placed on building to prevent the outward expansion of towns and cities into the countryside
Bid-rent
A theory that explains the distribution of city land use, based on the price of the land
Burgess model
This represents urban land use as a series of concentric rings or zones
Commuting
The process by which people living in one place travel to another place of work
De-industrialisation
The absolute or relative decline in the importance of manufacturing in the economy particularly in MEDC cities
Dereliction
The residue of abandoned buildings, often in disrepair
Ethnic group
The group of people a person belongs to, categorized by race, nationality, language, religion or culture
Gentrification
A process by which run-down houses in an inner city or other neglected area are improved by better off (affluent) people who move there in order to have easier access to the jobs and services of the city centre. The ‘improving’ social group changes attract more people of the similar wealthier social group
Ghetto
An urban district containing a high proportion of one particular ethnic group
Hoyt model
The represents land use in sectors or wedges that follow the main transport routes that radiate out from the CBD
Mega-city
A city or urban agglomeration with a population of 10m or more inhabitants
New town
A well-planned, self-contained settlement complete with housing, employment and services
Overpopulation
Where there are too many people and not enough resources to support a satisfactory quality of life
PLVI (Peak Land Value Intersection)
The region within a settlement with the greatest land value and commerce. As such, it is usually located in the CBD, and has the greatest density of transport links, tall buildings (in order to maximise the land use) and a relatively great number of pedestrians
Push-Pull Factors
Push factors encourage or force people to leave a particular place; pull factors are the economic and social attractions (real and imagined) offered by the location to which people move (i.e. the things which attract someone ti migrate to a place)
Rural-urban fringe
Where the city transitions into rural areas. Typically home to housing estates and modern industrial developments with good transport connections
Sanitation
Is the means of promoting health by preventing human contact with the hazards of wastes (eg. sewage systems)
Tenure
The war in which property is held a house or flat may be owned by the occupier or rented, either from the council or from a private landlord
Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)
Set up in the 1980s and 90s (eg. the London Docklands Development Corporation) using public money to buy land and build infrastructure in inner city areas in decline. This public investment then attracted private investment to fully redevelop the sites
Urban growth
The absolute increase in physical size of an urban area
Urban sprawl
The uncontrolled outward expansion of the built up area of a town or city
