contemporary urban environments Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
The increase in proportion of people living in an urban area
What are global patterns of urbanisation since 1945?
The urban population has grown rapidly from
746 million in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014
What countries will account for 37% increase of urban growth by 2050?
India, China, Nigeria
What are the 3 causes of urban growth?
natural population growth
industrialisation
rural to urban migration
What is a conurbation?
an extended urban area, consisting of several towns merging with suburbs of city
What is a megacity and how have these emerged?
Cities with a population above 10 million - increased from 2 in 1950 to 33 in 2024
How are megacities affecting global and regional economies?
there are major connections between world and megacities and this means trade, business and transport flows between these areas
What is a metacity?
a conurbation with a population above 20 million
What is the Hukou system in China?
an internal passport system that classifies every house as rural or urban
How many Chinese live on less than $2 a day?
362 million
What 3 things have causes internal immigration in China?
surplus labour supply
extreme poverty
difficult agrarian lifestyle
What is the problem with the Hukou system?
250 million Chinese live in urban poverty but go unaccounted as they’re registered as rural
What is deindustrialisation?
the decline in importance of manufacturing
What is decentralisation?
the movement of industries and people out of urban areas
What 3 factors cause urban resurgence?
regeneration
rebranding
gentrification
What are the consequences of urban growth?
urban sprawl
shortage of housing
lack of services and waste disposal
unemployment
transport issues
What is urban sprawl?
the spread of an urban area into surrounding countryside
What is urbanisation?
the expanding of cities
What is suburbanisation?
increased movement of the urban population into the rural-urban fringe
What is counter-urbanisation?
the movement of people from urban to rural areas
What are the positives of counter-urbanisation ?
increase in businesses
older buildings restored
farmer make money by selling land
rural schools can stay open
What are the negatives of counter-urbanisation ?
new developers affect local character
house prices increase
ability to travel to cities
increased congestion
Impacts of counter-urbanisation in St Ives
A14 traffic congestion problems
Average house price increase by £278,000
new developments built on floodplains
strain on schools sue to change in population
Management of counter-urbanisation in St Ives
240 places created in schools
built flood protection costing £8.8 million
£116 million busway built
200 new homes built where 75 were affordable
What is urban resurgence?
economic and structural regeneration of an urban area which suffered a period of decline
What is gentrification?
change in the neighbourhood composition
What are positives of reurbanisation?
replacement of run down builidngs
people’s QOL increases
people live next to cultural facilities
What are negatives of reurbanisation?
house prices increase
the poor are displaced
people struggling to move
loss of character of place
3 impacts of deindustrialisation?
increase in unemployment
longer term pollution
higher rates of crime
What are 3 examples of regeneration policies?
Urban development corporations - aim to regenerate inner city
City challange - cities competing against each other for regeneration grants
New deal for communities - nationally determined contributions to decrease release of greenhouse gases
Describe information about urban development corporations
established in 1980
spend money on land, infrastructure and marketing
money comes from central government
e.g London Docklands Development
-sold 431 hectares of land
-reclaimed 760 hectares
-24000 new homes with 85000 working
-2,700 business in trade
-very expensive costing £1.8 billion
Describe information about city challenge partnerships scheme
cities compete with each other for government grants
e.g. Hulme- improving housing built in 1960’s
included locals opinions on investment
£37.5 million spent on demolishing buildings
areas previously receiving funding may have lost it to bidding
Describe information about New Deal for communities
agreements allowing cities to take responsibility on regeneration of area and deciding on spending of public money
e.g. Manchester ‘working well’ - payment by results mechanism - rewarding service providers for achievement
employed 25000 people and supported 70,000 residents
What are the trends of megacities?
1990 - 10 megacities
2010 - 22 megacities
Today - 33 megacities
2050 - 67 megacities
What is a world city?
cities that have great influence on a global scale due to financial status and commercial power
Charactersitics of a world city?
high quality education
domination of trade
centres of media and cpmmunication
multi-functional infastructure
residents employed in information sector
What is urban morphology?
spacial structure and organisation of an urban area
What is CBD?
central business district- an area that contains major shop, office and entertainment facilities
What are edge cities?
self contained settlements which have emerged beyond original city boundary
What are the characteristics of a edge city?
developed next to a major road or airport
in close proximity to shops, offices or other businesses
lack clear structure
linked to extreme social segregation
wide range of amenities
What is an example of economic inequality?
Mumbai - most expensive home ‘Antilla’ worth $21 billion overlooking slums
Asia, Africa and South America with largest wealth gaps
How is urban deprivation measured?
income
employment
health
education
housing
crime
lived environment
How is poverty being tackled?
-enforcing a living wage
-provision of schools
-supporting skilled workers
-access to affordable housing
-greater provision of public transport
-enforce minimum environmental standards
-fairness comission - make sure places ar etreated equally
What is the urban heat island effect?
The idea of a micro climate ‘urban dome’ that forms around a city - temperatures inside the city being higher than ones in rural areas surrounding them
How can the urban heat island effect be managed?
cool surfaces - build buildings with reflective material
green roads - use porous surfaces that allow water to seep in
green roofs - reduce rainwater runoff and reduce rooftop temps
urban greening - provides shade, cooling areas
sky view factor - openness between buildings reduces accumulation of heat
What factors affect the urban heat island?
-temperature
-precipitation
-relative humidity
-visibility
-wind speed
-radiation
-pollution
What are th effects of an urban area on a local climate?
-higher temp by 1-3 degrees
-heavier and more frequent rain
-humidity is lower
-more air pollution
-slower wind speeds
What is a named example of wind management in an urban area?
Burj Khalifa - Dubai
-softened edges deflect wind and prevent whirlpools
-orientataed to prevailing wind
-withstands 240 km/hr winds
What are the main gases that cause pollution in urban areas?
-carbon monoxide
-nitorgen oxide
-sulphur dioxide
-particulate matter
What is photochemical pollution?
a mixture of pollutants that are formed when nitrogen oxides react to sunlight, creating a brown haze above cities
Describe the Clean Air Act
introduced in 1956 as a result of London’s smog
-dust suppressants installed
-smoke free zones introduced
-councils monitoring pollution
Describe the Vehicle control and public transport policy (UK)
280,000 trees planted
-world’s first ultra low emission zone
-1500 electric car charging points
-£48 million scrappage fund for polluting cars
What is zoning of industry?
where industries are located downwind in cities and factory chimneys are built above inversion layer
What are urban transport solutions?
-congestion charges e.g. London 2003
increase in cycling scheme
waterways as use of transport
park and ride
ban cars driving on some days
What are the problems with urban drainage?
higher precipiattion in cities
impremeable surfaces lead to flashy hydrographs and less infiltration
rapid movement of water to collective stores
What are issues with urban river catchment management?
pesticides and nutrients from gardens
higher water temp
pollution of toxic chemicals
erosion of river bank due to incresed flow
What are SUD’s and examples?
natural processes in landscape to reduce/control flooding
-roffwater collected in water butts
-afforestation
-e.g. Moor Park Centre, Blackpool
What is the Cheonggyech River Project?
example of river restoration in urban catchment
-originally river was built over with 4 lane overpass due to being a sanitation and flood risk
$281 million scheme converting it into 5.8km ecological and green pedestrian area
What was done in the Cheonggyech River Project
-22 bridges built
-rapid bus lanes added
-water pumped from nearby Hanang river
-wetlands conservationa area
-made attractive for pedestrians with recreation areas
What are the impacts of the Cheonggyech River Project?
increased congestion due to overpass holding 169,000 cars a day
-18.1 million visitors yearly
-business and property prices risen
-reduction of 2.5 degrees in temp
-re-established lost habitats
-however not disabled-friendly
What is an LA example of managing urban drainage?
river changed from natural and meandering to cement and controlled
-removed ecosystem
-easily destroyed by cracks
-more water volume held
-reduces floods
What are the issues with urban waste?
-leads to air and water pollution
-expensive to deal with
-waste accoints for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions
-accounts for 12% of methane emissions
-waste is increasing at 7% per year
What is the trend in urban waste?
increasing due to higher wealth and consumption
-increased focus on recycling
-China has fastest growth in urban waste
What are the impacts of increasing waste?
-cost of collecting and treating it is really high - governments spend 20-50% of their budget on solid waste
-contributes to water, air and land pollution
-30-60% of urban waste in LIC’S is uncollected - 2012 World Bank
-In Cairo, only 40% of waste is treated accordingly
In what ways can waste be managed/treated?
reduction - genereting less waste overall
Reuse - reusing product for the same use
Recycling - reduces amount of disposed waste
Recovery- reuses material for another purpose
Landfill - prduces methane and dust particles
Incineration - burning something - high pollution
What are the advantages and disadvantages of incineration?
can reduce waste volume by 90%
can reduce toxicity
can produce energy
bottom ash can be recylced
high energy costs
pollution of air/water
not all waste is combustable
capacity limitations
What are the advantages and disadvantages of landfill?
properly disposed of with necessary controls
different types of waste accepted
produces methane and greenhouse emissions
pollution of air/water
high transportation costs
unsightly
What is incineration and key facts?
burning waste material
-can reduce volume of waste by 90%
-can generate energy
-creates air pollution
What is recycling and key facts?
selective extraction of waste for a specific next use
-world market for scrap metal is at 400million tones annually ($30 billion a year)
-1% of urban population in LIC’s survive of recycling waste
-producing aluminium from recycled one requires 95% less energy than from virgin materials
What is urban mining and key facts?
process of recovering compounds from buildings and waste
-greater chance of reducing landfill waste
-returns material to economy
What is trade (regarding waste) and key facts?
waste moved between countries o properly dispose of it
-toxic/hazardous waste can be safely disposed of
-contamination of environment
What is an example of a waste city?
Guoyu, China
-50 million tonnes of e-waste produced each year
-3rd fastest growing waste -UN 2013
-electronics contain toxic substances contaminating environment and causing health problems for workers
-Guangdong province recycles 15,000 tonnes in 5000 workshops daily
high levels of lead in blood of locals
What is an example of a city incinerating its waste?
-incinerating waste since 1999
-send waste to offshore landfill that is lined with impermeable membrane to prevent leaks into water and covered with soil once reaching the same level
What is Lansink’s Ladder?
The Amsterdam approach to avoid creating waste in the first place, recover valuable raw materials and generate energy by incinerating rest of waste - introduced in Dutch legislation in 1994
What have Amsterdam done to reduce landfill?
-landfill tax was placed onto every tonne of material landfilled , the tax then increased each year until it was taken off as it was not necessary anymore
-landfill ban introduced containing 35 categories of waste
-Waste-to-energy strategy including incineration plants producing electricity
Describe information of the AEB incineration plant in Amsterdam
-produces 1 million MWh of electricity
-creates heating for communities around it (300,000 gigajoules of heat annually)
-1.4 million tons of waste brought to plant annually
-64% of waste recycled
-plant works together with water treatment plant nearby
-avoids 438 kilotons of CO2 per year
Did Amsterdam succeed the targets of the Landfill Directive?
Yes, by 2006 the country had already reached the targets that the directive set for 2016
Why did Amsterdam need to control its waste?
-growing population
-diminishing amount of spare land
-need to reduce reliance on landfill
- environmental deterioration of land
-pollution and groundwater contamination
Why did Singapore need to control its waste?
waste was increasing from 1260 tonnes per day in 1970 to 8559 in 2016
What agency aided Singapore with their waste and what did they do?
National Environmental Agency (NEA)
-introduced an efficient waste collection and disposal system
-regulation of solid waste and illegal dumping
- appoints public waste collectors to companies that meet specific criteria (currently 4 in Singapore)
-General waste collectors that serve commercial and industrial waste
Was the waste-to-energy incineration plant in Singapore successful?
-first plant commissioned in 1979
-reduced waste volume 90% and reduced landfill space
What are the steps of waste water treatment?
Preliminary treatment - removing large objects through screening
Primary treatment - remaining organic matter is pulled to bottom of tank and then sprinkled in air to allow aerobic respiration so microorganisms can break down sewage
Secondary treatment - sewage sludge that sinks to bottom is fed into another tank and digested by anaerobic bacteria
Tertiary treatment - specific pollutants treated
Nutrient stripping - chemically removing nitrates/phosphates from water to prevent eutrophication
Organic matter is returned to river/sea and sludge is dried and used as organic matter for soil
What is the cause of dereliction in urban areas?
-the ageing and decay of buildings
-movement of urban activities to more profitable locations
-changes in urban economy
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using brownfield sites?
-protects green belt
-improves urban environment
-reduces demand on car use
-addresses need for more homes
-can be contaminated
-not all sites are accessible
-neighbouring land could still have industrial usage
What is an example of regeneration of brownfield sites?
Cardiff Bay - regenerating the Cardiff Docks where the biggest export of coal took place in 1990s
Docklands area regenerated by CBDC - Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
What were the 5 main aims of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay?
-To provide an environment where people want to work, play and live
-To reunite the city of Cardiff with its waterfront
-To create job opportunities
-To achieve the highest standard of design and quality
-To establish the areas as a recognised centre of excellence and innovation in the field of urban regeneration
What are the positives of the Cardiff Bay regeneration?
Completed in 1999- £13 million project
-500 acre freshwater lake with 8 miles of waterfront hoped to stimulate the future development of the bay as a tourist and leisure destination.
-14,000,000 square feet of non-housing development
-5,780 housing units were built
-31,000 new jobs were created
-£1.8 billion in private finance was invested
-200 acres of derelict land was reclaimed
What were some of the failures of the Cardiff Bay regeneration?
-Only certain parts of the Bay were regenerated (e.g. the Cory’s’ Building and the Coal Exchange).
-Social inequalities persist too.
-Lloyd George Avenue - which connects the Bay to the outskirts of the city centre-has been described as a ‘one-sided road to nowhere’ due to dereliction on other side of road
What is ecological footprint? (add an example city)
The amount of resources used in relation to the available resources on Earth
-London’s ecological footprint is twice the land area of the whole UK
What are the features of sustainable cities with examples?
-greener built environments - using water and energy efficiently (Philippines)
-improved transport - develop transport infrastructure (Spain)
-planned expansion - encouraging compact cities (France)
-economic opportunities - creating a ‘green economy’ (South Africa)
-conserving buildings and open spaces - to be used by community (London)
-carbon-neutral development - remove CO2 from atmosphere (London)
What has Freiburg done to be sustainable?
-green spaces protected and enhanced - 40% of city is forested with native trees and River Dreisam has been left unmanaged
-sustainable water supply implemented - SUDs introduced including green roofs, permeable roads and wastewater recycling
-Recycling solid waste - 350 community collection points - energy for 28,000 homes produced by incineration
-creation of 10,000 jobs in solar energy
-aim to be carbon neutral by 2038
-swapping cars to bikes
Describe background information on Rio
-host city of World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016
-magnet for tourism (South America’s top tourist destination)
-major centre for banking and finance
-manufacturing centre of chemicals, clothing and processed food
-major port exporting coffee, sugar and iron ore
Describe the 4 zones of Rio De Janeiro
North - industrial part including port, airport and main football stadium
Central - oldest part of Rio including Imperial Palace and cathedral. Now dominated by tall office blocks with headquarters of major companies located there e.g. Petrobas - brazil’s largest oil company
West- most modern area of Rio where the Olympics were hosted. luxury apartment blocks and shopping malls found here
South - socially and economically polarised. Where both Rocinha and the wealthiest postcode is found
What are the urban challenges in Rio?
-housing and services
-unemployment and crime
-air and water pollution
How is housing and services a problem in Rio?
-over 90,000 migrants coming in every year
-causes people to locate on hazardous environments where 1/3 of inhabitants have no access or sewers or electricity
-high infant mortality and low life expectancy
-Improved by the Favela Bairro Project
Describe the improvements made by the Favela Bairro Project
-helped over 250,000 residents
-paved and formally named roads
- Pacifying Police Units
-provided basic sanitation and electricity
How is unemployment a problem in Rio?
-20% unemployment rate
-irregular informal sector
-poorest 50% of Rio earn 13% of all income
-favelas controlled by gangs
-Police Pacifying Units placed in 2008 to control crime and gangs
How is air and water pollution a problem in Rio?
-40% of Rio’s inhabitants living in suburbs causing 4 million cars on roads
-14km long bridge and 21km tunnels built to control traffic
-cable cars linking favelas and city
-57km of metro track
-tighter environmental laws placed onto sewage and landfills
What is an example of urban waste in Rio?
Jardim Gramacho - world’s largest landfill closed in 2012 after 34 years of operation.
Rio still produces enough solid waste to fill the Maranca Stadium every 2 months
Describe background information on London
most visited city in the world - 16 million people spending £3.3 billion every year
world city status
6th richest place on earth
hosted 2012 Olympics
rapid growth of post-industrial economy
What are some problems that London is facing?
-changing stock exchanges causing companies such as Shell to relocate to Dubai
-rising costs of houses and office spaces
-poor air quality
-pressures to build on green built
What are opportunities of London?
-it is a testbed for new ideas in media/data/science etc.
-Eastbrook Studios - largest film and television production centre employing 1200 people and contributing £35 million to local economy
What urban regeneration has taken place in East London?
-London Docklands Development
-Enterprise Zone
-London Thames Gateway Development Corporation
What development have the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation implemented?
-10500 new homes (35% affordable)
-5000 jobs
-£1.25 billion private sector investment
-15,000 metres of education space
-300 hectares of open space
How did the 2012 Olympics benefit London?
-13000 homes (11% affordable)
-The broadcast centre provided 6000 jobs
-new transport infrastructure
-4000 tress planted
-clean up of river Lea
-30 000 tonnes of rubbish cleaned up
