Changing Urban Environments Vocab

Question 1

Informal sector

Answer 1

That part of the economy where jobs are created by people to try to get an income (e.g. Taking in washing, mending bicycles) and which are not recognised in official figures

Question 2

Park and ride scheme

Answer 2

A bus service runs to key places from car parks located on the edges of busy urban areas in order to reduce traffic flows and congestion in the city centre. Costs are low in order to encourage people to use the system - they are cheaper than fuel and car parking charges in the CBD

Question 3

Self-help

Answer 3

Sometimes known as ‘assisted self-help’, local authorities help those in squatter settlements to improve their homes by offering loans or grants and often installing water, sanitation, sewerage, etc

Question 4

City challenge

Answer 4

A big initiative of the 1990s, where local authorities, private companies and the local community worked together to improve housing, environment and services.

Question 5

Site and service

Answer 5

Land is divided into individual plots and water, sanitation, electricity and basic road layouts are supplied, before any building by residents begins

Question 6

Air pollution

Answer 6

Putting harmful substances, such as excess carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere

Question 7

Brownfield sites

Answer 7

Land that has been built on before and is to be cleared and reused. These sites are often in the inner city

Question 8

Central Business District (CBD)

Answer 8

The city centre with shops, offices, services and entertainments. Characterised by high-rise buildings and a high diurnal population density

Question 9

Disposal of waste

Answer 9

Safely getting rid of unwanted items such as solid waste

Question 10

Function

Answer 10

The purpose of a settlement or particular area e.g. residential use, recreation or shopping

Question 11

Green belt

Answer 11

An area of land around a large town or city which is protected from development in an attempt to halt the expansion of towns into the countryside

Question 12

Greenfield sites

Answer 12

Land that has not been built on before, usually in the countryside or on the edge of the built-up area

Question 13

Household

Answer 13

A person living alone, or two or more people living at the same address, sharing a living room

Question 14

Incineration

Answer 14

Getting rid of waste by burning it on a large scale at selected sites

Question 15

Industrialisation

Answer 15

The process by which an increasing proportion of the population are employed in the manufacturing sector of the economy

Question 16

Inner city

Answer 16

The zone around the CBD. In Britain it developed during the Industrial Revolution when factories were built with many rows of terraced houses to house the workers. A zone of redevelopment today.

Question 17

Landfill

Answer 17

A means of disposing of waste by digging a large hole in the ground and lining it before filling it with rubbish. Most of the UK’s waste goes to landfill

Question 18

Land use

Answer 18

The types of buildings or other features that are found in the area e.g. terraced housing, banks, industrial estates, roads, parks etc

Question 19

Quality of life

Answer 19

How happy someone is with their life. Measured by things such as quality of housing and environment, access to education, healthcare, how secure people feel and how contented and satisfied they are with their lifestyle

Question 20

Regeneration

Answer 20

Improving an area e.g. by improving housing, or carried out by organisations such as UDCs or initiatives like City Challenge

Question 21

Recycling

Answer 21

Collection and subsequent reprocessing of products such as paper, aluminium cans, plastic containers and mobile phones, instead of throwing away

Question 22

Rural-urban migration

Answer 22

A process in which people move from the countryside/rural areas to towns and cities

Question 23

Segregation

Answer 23

Occurs where people of a particular ethnic group choose to live with others from the same ethnic group, separate from other groups

Question 24

Settlement

Answer 24

A place where people live, anything from an isolated farm to a vast sprawling area called a metropolis

Question 25

Squatter settlements

Answer 25

Areas of cities (usually on the outskirts) that are built of any material that people can find, on land that does not belong to them

Question 26

Suburbs

Answer 26

The area on the edge of a city. Many suburbs were built after 1945 and get newer as they reach the edge of the city

Question 27

Sustainable city

Answer 27

An urban area where the residents have a way of life that will last a long time. The environment is not damaged and social fabric (due to local involvement) are able to stand the test of time

Question 28

Sustainable community

Answer 28

Community (offering housing, employment and recreation opportunities) that is broadly in balance with the environment and offers people a good quality of life

Question 29

Transnational corporations (TNCs)

Answer 29

Companies that operate out of more than one country in an attempt to reduce costs

Question 30

Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)

Answer 30

Set up in the 1980s and 1990s using public funding to buy land and improve inner areas of cities, partly by attracting private investment

Question 31

Urbanisation

Answer 31

A process whereby an increasing proportion or percentage of people live in urban areas (towns and cities)

Question 32

Urban sprawl

Answer 32

The uncontrolled expansion of towns and cities into the countryside

Question 33

Water pollution

Answer 33

Putting poisonous substances such as sewage, industrial effluent and harmful chemicals into water courses