Contemporary Urban environments

Question 1

what is urbanisation?

Answer 1

the increase in the proportion of the population living in a town or city

Question 2

what is suburbanisation?

Answer 2

the decentralisation of people, employment and services towards the edges of an urban area

Question 3

what is counterurbanisation?

Answer 3

population movement from large urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas

Question 4

what is urban resurgence?

Answer 4

the population movement of people from rural areas back to urban areas, after regeneration etc

Question 5

what is urban regeneration?

Answer 5

attempts made by the government to trigger the movement of people back into urban areas

Question 6

what is a green belt?

Answer 6

an area of tight planning regulations set up around urban areas to prevent urban sprawl

Question 7

what economic factors lead to urban growth?

Answer 7

economic development
industrialisation
affordable housing

Question 8

what social factors lead to urban growth?

Answer 8

rural-urban migration
concentration of socio-cultural groups
access to social and cultural participation and diversity

Question 9

what technological factors lead to urban growth?

Answer 9

more developed infrastructure
better connectivity
attraction to digital businesses

Question 10

what political factors lead to urban growth?

Answer 10

regeneration schemes such as London Docklands
re-imaging -> Llandudno
planning decisions improving land use and making urban area more attractive places to live in

Question 11

what demographic factors lead to urban growth?

Answer 11

population growth
attraction of urban areas to young, mobile populations

Question 12

How is Ubisoft an example of urban resurgence?

Answer 12

set their headquarters in the Mile End, which was a run down derelict area
helped in the revitalization of

Question 13

what is industrialisation?

Answer 13

the process by which an economy is transformed from mainly agriculture to one based on manufacturing (secondary)

Question 14

what is a megacity?

Answer 14

a city with a total population of over 10 million and shares other characteristics

Question 15

what is urban growth?

Answer 15

the increase in the total population of a town or a city?

Question 16

what is urban expansion?

Answer 16

the increase in the size or geographical footprint of a city

Question 17

what is the global pattern of urbanisation in pre 1950?

Answer 17

rapid urbanisation took place following the industrial revolution in europe and north america
many people moved from rural to urban to get jobs

Question 18

what is the global pattern of urbanisation in 1950-1990

Answer 18

since 1950 urbanisation has slowed down in many HICs, urban rates still high
most rapid urbanisation has taken place in LICs such as Asia and South America
between 1950 and 1990 the urban population living in LIC doubled, in HIC the increase was less than half.
10 megacities

Question 19

what is the global pattern of urbanisation in 1990-present day?

Answer 19

33 megacities
2010-2014 -> largest growth rates were in China, Nigeria, India and Kenya
2015 - tokyo was largest city
most urbanised region in 2014: North america (82%)

Question 20

what are the predicted global patterns of urbanisation in the future?

Answer 20

by 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas
by 2050 this will reach 66%
50 megacities

Question 21

what are the three causes of urban growth?

Answer 21

rural-urban migration -> due to population pressure and lack of resources
push and pull factors
natural increase -> when there is a decrease in death rates and birth rates but birth rates remain significantly higher

Question 22

why are urban areas so important?

Answer 22

organisation of economic production
to exchange ideas and creative thinking between businesses
centres of political power and decision making

Question 23

what is an urban hierarchy?

Answer 23

the ordering of settlements by size, population etc

Question 24

what is a world city?

Answer 24

a city that is of significant importance in the global economy

Question 25

what is an alpha city?

Answer 25

a measurement of the importance and links between cities

Question 26

what is economic interconnectedness?

Answer 26

cities that are highly interconnected on a global scale, and serve the whole world in terms of finance, business, trade and politics

Question 27

what is the prediction of megacity numbers by 2025?

Answer 27

predicted Asia will have 30 megacities alone, including Mumbai and Shanghai

Question 28

which cities are the most interconnected?

Answer 28

New York and London

Question 29

what is decentralisation?

Answer 29

the outward movement of people and activities from the centre of a city

Question 30

what is deindustrialisation?

Answer 30

reduction of jobs in industries relating to mechanisation due to competition abroad and reduced demand for industrially made products

Question 31

what is urban metabolism?

Answer 31

the view that a city is a living entity that consumes energy, food, water and other raw materials and release waste

Question 32

what are the causes for deindustrialisation?

Answer 32

mechanisation - reduced need for labour
competition abroad - cheaper labour therefore reduced costs in areas such as Taiwan
globalisation - resulted in increasing number of multinationals outsourcing labour to LICs
reduced need for certain products
increased costs of raw materials

Question 33

what are the economic impacts of deindustrialisation?

Answer 33

loss of jobs
closer to other businesses
loss of tax income to local authority
reduced housing costs as people migrate out
de-multiplier effect

Question 33

what are the social impacts of deindustrialisation?

Answer 33

increase in unemployment
higher levels of deprivation
out-migration of population
higher levels of crime

Question 33

what are the environmental impacts of deindustrialisation?

Answer 33

derelict land and buildings
long term pollution of land from industries such as dye works
deteriorating infrastructure
reduced maintenance of local housing
positive environmental impacts: reduction in noise, air and water pollution

Question 34

what are the reasons for a rise of the service economy?

Answer 34

expanding consumer demand for services related to leisure and quality of life
property development - including redevelopment of former industrial buildings
increase in tourism

Question 35

summary of the rise of the service economy?

Answer 35

low paid jobs
doesn’t replace lost industrial jobs
edge of town favoured
increase in employment at headquarters
growth in research
more highly skilled jobs

Question 36

what is a GIS?

Answer 36

(geographical information system)
a computer database capable of capturing, storing and analysing geographical information from a variety of sources

Question 37

what is a GPS?

Answer 37

(global positioning system)
an accurate world wide navigational and surveying facility based on the reception of signals from an array of orbiting satellites

Question 38

what potential does GIS hold?

Answer 38

can be used by local government to respond to the challenges and opportunities afforded by urbanisation

Question 39

what is urban form?

Answer 39

the physical characteristics of a built-up area including size, shape, density and make-up or configuration of settlements

Question 40

how does population lead to urban form changing over time?

Answer 40

globalisation has brought increased migration
lack of forward planning may result in shortfalls of housing etc

Question 41

how does the environment lead to the urban form to change over time?