Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
The increase in the proportion of people moving to urban areas.
What are the global patterns of urbanisation?
HICs have high proportions of urban population that are increasing very slowly.
LICs have lower proportions of urban population but are increasing very quickly.
What are the four processes that affect the population of cities?
Urbanisation
Suburbanisation
Counter-urbanisation
Urban Resurgence
What is suburbanisation?
The migration of people from city centres to the outskirts of cities.
What are some reasons for suburbanisation?
City centres become overcrowded and so people want more space.
Improvements to transport links means that people can live further away and still commute to work.
What is counter-urbanisation?
The movement of people out of the city into surrounding villages and rural areas.
What are some reasons for counter-urbanisation?
Improvements to transport means that people can commute to work easier and internet access allows people to work from home.
Overcrowding in cities.
What is urban resurgence?
Movement of people back to the city centre.
What are some reasons for urban resurgence?
There may be a lack of jobs in rural areas.
There may be new developments such as high quality housing or sporting facilities.
New shops and services may open in the city as people move back.
What is a megacity?
A city with a population of over 10 million people.
What is decentralisation?
A shift in the change of decision making from planners with the movement of commercial, retail and industry away from urban centres.
What four government policies have been used to regenerate cities since 1979?
Urban Development Corporations (1979 - 1990s)
Enterprise Zones (1981 - present)
City Challenge (1991 - 1997)
Partnership Schemes (2010 - present)
What is an urban development corporation (UDC)?
A scheme which uses private sector funding to restore derelict areas.
Where were the first two UDCs?
London Docklands and Liverpool.
What were the aims of UDCs?
To attract new businesses, improve the local environment, create jobs and build new houses.
How many houses and jobs were created as part of the UDC?
24,000 new homes and 85,000 new jobs.
What were criticisms of UDC?
They ignored the needs of local residents such as affordable homes and suitable jobs.
What is an enterprise zone (EZ)?
Enterprise zones are areas set up in areas with high unemployment with an aim to attract start-up companies to the area to create jobs.
How did EZs encourage start-up companies?
They reduced tax on corporations and land.
By 1990, how many companies and jobs were created by EZs?
5,000 companies and 125,000 jobs.
What was the problem with EZs?
Existing companies moved their premises and staff to the the EZs which limited the number of new jobs created.
What is a city challenge?
Local authorities compete for government funding to regenerate deprived urban areas.
What projects were funded during the city challenge?
Improving housing, providing training and creating jobs.
How many jobs were created and how many houses were improved during the city challenge?
50,000 jobs and 40,000 houses.
What were the criticisms with City Challenge?
Many deprived areas didn’t receive any funding.
What are partnership schemes?
When the government works with private companies to provide financial support and expertise for urban regeneration.
What do partnership schemes aim to do?
Improve physical, economic and social conditions in deprived areas by building new homes, parks, sports centres and reducing unemployment.
What is urban form?
The physical characteristics that make up a city which includes its size, shape, population density and how the city is arranged.
What are the two types of factors that affect urban form?
Physical factors
Human factors
What are examples of physical factors?
Topography
Water
Natural resources
Land Type
What are examples of human factors of urban form?
Planning
Infrastructure
Land Value
How does topography affect urban form?
Physical features affect the growth of cities.
For example, steep slopes are harder to build on so poorer quality housing may be built on them.
What are land use patterns in the developed world?
There is a central business district (CBD).
The CBD is surrounded by housing. Although land value tends to be highest in the city centre, houses generally increase in value with distance away from the city centre.
As the land in semi-rural areas is cheap, many science parks and shopping centres are constructed there.
What are housing patterns in the developed world?
Inner city areas have high land value so high density housing (skyscrapers) are built. Wages are low and many residents live in poverty. The proportion of people from ethnic minorities tends to be high.
Land value is lower in rural and semi rural areas so residential areas are less dense and there is more open space. Houses are larger and newer than the ones in inner city areas. Residents are generally wealthy and earn higher wages. The proportion of people from ethnic minorities tends to be low.
What are land use patterns in the developing world?
Cities have a CBD.
The CBD is surrounded by housing which decreases in value with distance away from the centre.
Industrial areas are located along transport links.
What are housing patterns in the developing world?
Land value is highest around the city centre so high cost housing is built there. Wages are high with wealthy residents. These are home to wealthy immigrants from developed countries.
Surrounding the high-cost housing there is medium cost housing. These usually start as an informal settlement but the housing has been improved and services added.
Land value is very low on the outskirts of cities so low-cost, informal housing is built there. These areas have little access to services and very poorly paid jobs.
What are five main types of urban areas?
Town Centre Mixed Developments
Cultural and Heritage Quarters
Fortress Developments
Gentrified Areas
Edge Cities
