chapter seven Flashcards
what are cities
defined urban area within a country
features of cities
- large population size
- high population density
- built up area
- range of functions
population density defenition
measurement of the number of people in a unit area of land
population density formula
number of people living in an area/ land area
built up area defenition
land surface covered by buildings
infrastructure definition
system of buildings and equipment to provide basic services (eg: water, electricity, sanitation, telecommunications, and transport)
range of functions
- administrative
- commercial
- educational
range of functions example
jakarta: administrative function
- highest court of law
- economic function: manufacturing industries
relationship between cities and rural areas:
- rural-urban migration
- provision of goods and services
rural-urban migration
people living in cities originally coming from another location
people living in cities originally coming from another location
rural-urban migration
factors of rural-urban migration:
- push factor (non attractive)
- pull factor (attractive)
push factors
reasons that make migrants want to leave their place of origin
push factor example:
- natural disaster
pull factors
reasons that attract migrants towards a destination, such as the city
pull factor example
- job opportunities
- education
provision of goods and services
cities rely on rural areas for food supply due to limited space for agricultural activities
- rural farmers rear animals and sell corps for money -> incomes
how do cities affect their inhabitants and environment
- provides opportunities for education and employment, and technological innovation for inhabitants
- increased environmental pollution and competition for natural resources
education and employment opportunities
- enables people to gain knowledge for employment
- receive wages to purchase necessities + improve wellbeing
education opportunities
- centre of learning
- home to a variety of educational institutions that cater different interests
businesses in cities
- thrive: developed infrastructure, availability of services, opportunities (education)
- benefit from concentration of educational institutions
technological innovation defenition
use of scientific knowledge to create new products/services
technological innovation
- many skilled people living in cities
- funding from gov./investors for people to experiment (shading, transport, vegetation, building facade- reflect sunlight)
cause of increased environmental pollution
large amounts of fossil fuels are being consumed in cities every day due to high concentration of people, businesses and transport networks
increased environmental pollution:
- water pollution
- air pollution
water pollution
- improper management of waste
- reduces water quality
- decrease quality of water
- threatens human health and aquatic life
air pollution
- caused by use of coal to generate electricity, high volume of vehicular traffic, emissions from factories
- prolonged exposure: lung cancer, heart disease
+ thus demand for healthcare
causes for competition for natural resources
as more cities’s populations increase, they need large amounts of natural resources to build infrastructure and supply material for industrial use
- natural resources: land and water
competition for natural resources:
- land resource
- water resource
land resource:
- land to accommodate large and growing populations
- have to expand towards rural areas, replacing natural vegetation
- rebuilding current city to use more intensively
-> cause unhappiness
water resource
- ensure continual supply of clean water to meet needs
- compromised by competition for land (limit expansion of reservoir)
water source example
- july 2018, cape town, south africa turned off taps
- water level in reservoir was too low
how can cities be sustainably built and managed?
- environmental management
- improve quality of life
environmental management
- management of physical environment
- management of hazards
management of physical environment
- reducing water pollution
- reducing air pollution through laws
reducing water pollution
- kranji resorvoir in singapore
- when rainwater mix with nutrients by nearby farms, it reduces the water quality
- set up drains around to collect rainwater and excess nutrients
- plants: cattails + pandan grown in water treatment to purify water
reducing air pollution through laws (1)
- 2013, beijing: air pollution prevention and control action plan
- laws: environmental protection and air pollution prevention and control
- city government to regulate people’s action and industrial activities
- limits on air pollutants for industries + vehicles
reducing air pollution through laws (2)
- license plate policy
- limits the number of new vehicles that can be registered
- vehicle restriction rule, limits use of private cars to selected days in a week according to the last number of the license plate
- lessen traffic congestion
management of hazards
- better quality of building materials
- land use planning
hazards
- human induced: human actions/inaction - ignoring warnings
eg: fires, oil spills, industrial accidents - natural hazards: natural
eg: earthquakes
hazards negative impact
- hazards can turn into disastors
- damage properties
- death
- economic cost to rebuild
better quality building materials
- withstand threat of hazards
eg: japan has earthquake resistand buildings due to previous disastors
land-use planning
- decisions on how land resources will be used for various purposes (housing, recreation, transport)
- may disallow use of construction in unsafe locations -> prevent hazards
- shared with land owners/ property developers
improve quality of life
- safe housing
- variety of transport modes
- needs of different goods
quality of life definition
persons well being
housing definition
strucuter/buildings constructed to shelter people from weather elements (eg: extremely high/low temps)
- social gatherings
safe housing example:
singapore faced problem of inadequate and low quality of housing
- singapore improvement trust set up to build affordable housing
- housing supply inefficent -> squatter settlements in unsafe location
definition of transport modes
ways in which people/goods move from one location to another
transport modes:
- land
- air
- water
variety of transport modes benefits
- easier to travel around with public (affordable) and private transport
- reduce traffic congestion with more options to travel
eg: bus can carry more passengers - reduce environmental pollution in cities
-> fewer cars lead to less fossil fuel consumption+ carbon emmisions
