Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
Consequences of urbanisation - Urban Sprawl (HICs)
Less economically efficient to build roads/pipes over lower-density areas. Building on greenfield sites. Decentralisation of businesses from CBD
Urbanisation
The growth in the proportion of a country’s population that live in an urban environment compared to rural.
Majority of urbanisation occurs in Africa and Asia
Urban population expected to rise from 54% to 66% between 2014-2050
Consequences of urbanisation - Shortage of Housing (LICs)
large areas of informal or inadequate housing. 850 million people living in slums in 2013
Consequences of urbanisation - shortage of affordable housing
UK- rising demand for housing has led to increased housing costs
Consequences of urbanisation - lack of urban waste disposal
Financial restraints in LICs can lead to lack of basic services - council only able to deal with 66% in Addis Ababa
Consequences of urbanisation - Unemployment
Large amount of people moving to cities mean considerable pressure to create enough jobs - many people work in informal sector
Consequences of urbanisation - transport issues
Increased traffic which has created congestion and pollution
Suburbanisation
Outward growth of urban areas that has resulted in suburban and rural areas being engulfed. Facilitated by the growth of public transport systems.
In UK growth takes place along main roads, known as ribbon development. People move to the suburbs due to their desire for quieter, less congested and less polluted environment.
Negative impacts of suburbanisation
Environmental concerns - building on greenfield land
Can lead to social segregation as wealthier people are more likely to move to the suburbs → diversion of funding away from inner city
Counter urbanisation
Migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas. This causes differences between urban and rural areas to be reduced.
People want to escape from the pollution and crime of the environment, car ownership and public transport allow people to commute from such areas.
Counter urbanisation impacts - migration
Out-migration of young adults from rural areas seeking education and employment opportunities elsewhere.
Decline of elderly, village-born population
In-migration of young families
In-migration of affluent people, resulting in increased house prices
Urban resurgence
Economic and structural regeneration of an urban area after a period of decline
Prevalent in previously industrial UK cities - Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham have transformed into cities of culture and commerce. They have developed strong financial, business and consumer service industries and have also attracted young university students, migrant workers and young professionals
They still display the marks of industrial architecture
Urban resurgence causes
Redevelopment by government and private companies has led to transformation of some UK cities and encourages further investment
City living has become more attractive due to a range of leisure and entertainment facilities and proximity to employment
Globalisation and technological improvements have led to an influx of people e.g. parts of East London due to its reputation for digital start-ups
Major sporting events can act as a catalyst for resurgence
Deindustrialisation - urban change
The fall in percentage of secondary industry to an economy in terms of value of input to GDP and importance of an employment sector
Causes of deindustrialisation
Mechanisation - machines do jobs better than people
Competition from abroad - less regulations for businesses e.g. minimum wage
Reduced demand for traditional products - new materials and technologies have been developed
Impacts of deindustrialisation
People lack the qualifications to work in service sector jobs
Urban change - decentralisation
Process currently taking place in urban areas, where functions once centred within the central location or local authority are dispersed. In terms of power and decision-making or in physical shops or offices
Decentralisation of retail
Decentralisation of food superstores - UK 1970s to 1994
Development of retail parks like B+Q or Ikea
Development of regional shopping centres like clothing outlets and leisure opportunities
Positives of decentralisation
Increased employment for locals
More room for expansion
Designed to be consumer friendly - proximity to businesses
Improve status of a town
Provide a stimulus for CBD retailing to improve
Cheaper land prices
Negatives of decentralisation
Disadvantages less mobile people
Potentially building on greenfield sites
Lack character and architecture of traditional city centre
Decentralised town centres can lead to decline
Restricted shopping choice
Increased reliance on cars → increased pollution
UK Urban Policy and regeneration
Urban policy relates to the strategies chosen by local or central governments to manage the development of urban areas. Early strategies in the UK focussed on ‘top down’ economic regeneration, subsequent policies have recognised the need to adopt a more holistic approach, tackling problems from the ‘bottom up’
Urban development corporations
Set up to regenerate inner city areas. Board made up of locals and were encouraged to spend money on buying land, building infrastructure and marketing to attract private investment . Funding came from central government
City challenge - 1990s
City challenge was a scheme were cities had to compete with each other for government regeneration grants. Led by local authorities
New deal for communities - 2000s
NDC partnerships were established to carry out plans to transform deprived neighbourhoods. Focus was that communities were at the heart of the regeneration
Megacities + timeline
Metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Usually has population density of >2000 people/km^2
Often have regional or national influence
In 1950, there were 2 megacities, NY and Tokyo, 30 in 2016, predicted to be 41 by 2030
Why are megacities on the rise
Globalisation and economic competition between countries and cities has led to the rise of megacities. More rural-urban migration and natural increase has fuelled their growth. Government policies such as enterprise zones in China encourage greater financial investment
Benefits of megacities
Fuel political pressure for change
Average of 2.3% more GDP than other cities
Large population density means expanding services is economically efficient
Less environmentally damaging to provide transport, housing, electricity to densely populated areas
People have access to larger and diverse employment markets
Better levels of education and healthcare
Centres of innovation
World cities
Have large populations but are functionally different to mega cities. The reach of world cities are global. The top three ranking world cities are NY, London, and Tokyo. They are global service centres, specialising in advanced producer services such as finance, banking, accounting.
Magnets for highly educated, skilled workers, and home to world class universities.
They are hugely influential on a world scale in terms of economic, cultural and political factors e.g. the New York stock exchange
Slums
Informal settlements within cities that have inadequate housing and squalid, miserable living conditions.
They lack basic municipal services such as water, sanitation, waste collection and street lighting
Urban form
Relates to the physical characteristics that make up an urban area - shape, size, density of population
Urban model
A simplified view of a city
Urban zone
Part of a city with similar land use and buildings
Urban function
What happens in this zone (commercial/residential)
Urban landuse
What the land is used for
Urban morphology
Special structure and organisation of an urban area
Bid rent theory
The relationship between distance from the city centre and house prices. Rents are bid upwards close to the city centre as households attempt to minimise transportation costs
New urban landscapes - town centre mixed development
Many cities are encouraging the development of functions other than retailing to increase the attractions of the city centre. Including wide range of leisure facilities increased cinemas, theatres, cafes. e.g. Covent Garden
New urban landscapes - cultural and heritage quarters
Cultural quarter is where the is the presence of cultural activity, ideally both production and consumption of it. Could be developed in partnership or separately from heritage quarters, which focus on the historical uniqueness of areas based on small-scale industries.
Ouseburn Valley - National museum for children’s literature, art galleries such as the Biscuit factory, local breweries and pubs.
New urban landscapes - gentrification and reasons
The buying and renovating of properties often in more rundown areas by wealthier individuals. This can happen for a multitude of reasons; the rent gap (difference between between current rent price and potential rent of well developed land), community costs, ‘pioneer image’ - creative individuals moving into more ‘edgy’ neighbourhoods. e.g. Chapel Allerton, Leeds
New urban landscapes - fortress developments
Landscapes developed around security, protection, surveillance and exclusion. e.g. greater use of CCTV, railings and fencing, mosquito alarms, gated communities. e.g. Wythenshawe, Manchester
New urban landscapes - edge cities
When there is a concentration of firms, and entertainment and shopping centres in a previously known rural or residential area. Leads to a decline in CBD importance. e.g. Atlanta, Georgia
New urban landscapes - post modern western city
Introduced as a critique of modernist architecture in 1970s, buildings abandoned sharp edges. Often high-level/quaternary services. Fortress and edge cities viewed as features of post modern cities. e.g. London
Multicultural
Inequality
Differences in the levels of wealth, social opportunity or environmental quality
Social segregation
When populations are not equal throughout a defined space
Cultural diversity
The quality of different cultures and the extent to which they respect each others’ differences
Deprivation
A standard of living below that of the majority in a particular society that involves hardships and lack of access to resources
