Contemporary Urban Environments

Question 1

Urbanisation

Answer 1

The growth in proportion of people living in towns and cities

Question 2

Suburbanisation

Answer 2

The phenomenon of people, especially those in wealthier, western HICs, moving out of expensive and crowded cities into newly formed suburbs and settlements aking the former rural/urban fringe.

Question 3

Counter-urbanisation

Answer 3

More extreme than suburbanisation. The leapfrogging of the rural/urban fringe as people move into smaller urban or rural areas, leads to commuting workers and ‘ghost commuter towns’.

Question 4

Urban resurgence (re-urbanisation)

Answer 4

Also known as re-urbanisation. the act of countering issues of inner-city decline through promoting life in inner-city urban environments. Attempts at this are taking place in areas such as Detroit, Michigan along the USA Rust Belt.

Question 5

Megacity

Answer 5

A conurbation or agglomeration (can incorporate several large towns/cities) with a population of over 10 million- the largest is Tokyo with 39 million.

Question 6

World city

Answer 6

A city with recognised global influence either economically, culturally, historically or politically. Can be categorized into alpha, beta or gamma based on level of influence.

Question 7

Deindustrialisation

Answer 7

The act of formerly secondary sector, industrial areas losing jobs in the manufacturing sector. This occurred in the UK and many other Western HICs in the later half of the 20th century. (globalisation + governenment policies= deindustrialization)

Question 8

Decentralisation

Answer 8

The movement of population and/or industry from the urban centre to outlying areas. Includes processes such as suburbanisation. Gaining prevalence especially in American geography.

Question 9

Service-oriented economy

Answer 9

A primarily tertiary sector-based national or local economy, fuelled by activities such as deindustrialization and increasing levels of development, production costs and wealth per capita, pricing out many of the area’s industry, which is replaced by a new skilled sector- UK movement from manufacturing to financial services (Canary Wharf)

Question 10

Spatial patterns

Answer 10

A spatial pattern is a perceptual structure, placement, or arrangement of objects on Earth- essentially describes the scale and location of things.

Question 11

Urban heat island effect

Answer 11

The zone around and above an urban area, which through many processes receives higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.

Question 12

Venturi effect

Answer 12

The channelling of wind into an increasingly narrow gap between buildings resulted in a pressure decrease and velocity increase eg. skyscrapers in Manhattan funnelling wind.

Question 13

Particulate pollution

Answer 13

A form of air pollution caused by the release of particulates and noxious gases into the atmosphere. This can be natural, but is most likely due to human activity and can be linked to fossil fuels burning and usage.

Question 14

Photochemical pollution

Answer 14

A form of air pollution occurs due to gases being trapped by temperature inversions and in the presence of sunlight, low-level ozone forms.

Question 15

Sustainable urban drainge systems (SUDS)

Answer 15

SUDS is a new approach to managing precipitation in urban areas through the use of natural processes in the area such as urban greening, presence of street level runnels and porous surfaces.

Question 16

Ecological footprint

Answer 16

The ecological footprint measures human demand on nature; the quantity of nature it takes to support people in an urban area- tracked through an ecological accounting system.

Question 17

Sustainability

Answer 17

Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars; economic, social and environmental or profits, planet, people.

Question 18

Liveability

Answer 18

The concept of liveability asses which locations around the world provide the best or worst living conditions. The liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual lifestyle in a city.

Question 19

World population growth 2030, 2050 and 2100

Answer 19

World population will be 8.5bn by 2030, 9.7bn by 2050 and 11.2bn by 2100

Question 20

Global urban v rural populations

Answer 20

Globally more people live in urban areas than rural areas (54%) in 2014, could rise to 66% by 2050

Question 21

Urbanisation in Africa

Answer 21

-Africa remains mostly rural with 40% urban, but is urbanising faster than anywhere else on earth and projected to become 56% urban in 2050.
-nearly 90% of urban growth from now to 2050 concentrated in Asia and Africa alone

Question 22

Bid rent of land

Answer 22

Land at the centre of the city is most expensive due to the fact is most accessible via public transport and there is only a small amount of it available.

Question 23

How are the poor more at risk from hazards?

Answer 23

The rich generally live close to the city centre, whereas the poor are more likely to be found in the periphery on poor quality land that may be at risk from hazards such as landslides and floods.

Question 24

The urban heat island effect

Answer 24

-urban areas are generally warmer than rural areas on average 2-4 degrees Celsius
-wind speeds are lower due to the height of the of buildings and urban space roughness
-urban pollutants and photochemical smog trap outgoing radiant energy
-buildings have a higher capacity to retain and conduct heat and a lower albedo
-turbulence of air may be reduced overall, although buildings may cause funnelling effects

Question 25

Urban social exclusion

Answer 25

Economic and social problems faced by residents in areas of multiple deprivation

Question 26

Beijing ‘airpocolypse’

Answer 26

-PM 2.5 levels were 20x WHO recommended limit prior to 2008 Olympics
-PM 2.5 levels declined 30% from 2013-18
-Cars could only drive on alternating days during 2008 Olympics
-Temporary closure of factories

Question 27

What is a world city?

Answer 27

-Cities that dominate international trade and regional economies eg. Tokyo is extremely influential in international trade between East Asian counties
-In 1950, there were only 4 world cities: London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, more recently due to the discovery of certain oil rich nations, cities like Lagos, Nigeria have become contenders for World City status, as these cities are increasingly important in global economics and business.
-World cities tend to have world leading universities, good international transport, centres of science and innovation, high quality research and development facilities.
-They entice tourists to visit due to their culture and well as theatres, museums and attractions.
-Many people may migrate to world cities for work, so business owners and migrants may find themselves there.

Question 28

What were the urban regeneration policies in the UK

Answer 28

-Urban development corporations 1979-1990s (London docklands)
-City challange 1991-1997 (Manchester)
-New deal for communities 1997-2008 (Stratford)