Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
3.1 GLOBAL PATTERNS OF URBANISATION
Define urbanisation and explain its importance in human affairs.
Urbanisation: the increasing percentage/proportion of people living in urban centres.
Urban centres are important for:
- the organisation of economic production (e.g. concentration of financial services (London is a finance hub))
- the exchange of ideas and creative thinking (e.g. universities)
- social and cultural centres (e.g. theatres and national stadiums)
- centres of political power and decision-making (e.g. seat of government)
3.1 GLOBAL PATTERNS OF URBANISATION
Describe global patterns of urbanisation since 1945.
1945: less than 1/3 of the world’s population lived in cities or urban areas
2006: more people lived in urban areas
3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Urbanisation.
urbanisation: an increase in the proportion/percentage of people living in a town or city
3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Suburbanisation.
suburbanisation: the decentralisation of people, employment and services towards the edges of an urban area.
- urban sprawl is closely linked to the development of transport networks (esp. roads and the extension of the London underground)
3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Counter-urbanisation.
counter-urbanisation: the population movement from large urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas
- as a result of push and pull factors
3.2 FORMS OF URBANISATION
Define Urban resurgence.
urban resurgence: population movement from rural back to urban areas
- associated with upwardly mobile young people/Uni students pulled to ‘24-hr city’
- this influx of youth and new wealth encourages a revival of CBD and inner city areas
3.3 MEGACITIES AND WORLD CITIES
Explain the emergence of megacities and outline their role in global and regional economies.
- 1970: 3 megacities existed
- 2014: 28 megacities existed
- highest growth rates in the last decade have been in the medium-sized cities rather than the megacities
3.4 MEGACITIES AND WORLD CITIES
Explain the emergence of world cities and outline their role in global and regional economies.
- world cities are different from megacities as they have the greatest flows of money, e.g. New York and London are AAA rated (highest rating), and not necessarily the cities with a population of over 10 million
- both huge global financial hubs which are vital for global trade
3.5 URBAN GROWTH IN BENGALURU
Explain the economic, social, technological, political and demographic processes associated with urbanisation and urban growth, with reference to Bengaluru.
ECONOMIC
- globalised economy which relies on people and their skills rather than manufactured goods
- Bengaluru is the largest job-creating city in India + is capital of aeronautical, automotive biotechnology, electrics and defence industries
SOCIAL
- trickle-down effects of urbanisation => growing divide between middle-class and dalits (bottom of social class system)
- more skilled labour pulled in from outside Bengaluru
3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain Deindustrialisation.
urban change means that cities are living, open systems (what goes in, comes out)
- rapid mechanisation
- reduced need for unskilled labour, e.g. Cadbury World deindustrialised (robots + machines)
- reduced demand for manufactured goods due to increased preference/demand for experiences and service industry, e.g. Alton Towers, hospitality sector
- globalisation of manufacturing –> outsourcing labour cheaply, e.g. Coca-Cola, Nike
- increased costs due to protectionist trade blocks (like EU) put taxes on imports from outside of EU
- leads to decentralisation
3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain Decentralisation.
urban change means that cities are living, open systems (what goes in, comes out)
- decentralisation often happens in Western cities
- business pulled out of CBD, e.g. Blythe Valley (mini town centre with everything a centre would have), Los Angeles (lots of edge cities, no clear centre)
- adds to urban sprawl (not sustainable)
- leads to the rise of the service economy
3.6 URBAN CHANGE
Explain the rise of the service economy.
urban change means that cities are living, open systems (what goes in, comes out)
- growth in corporate HQs: attracting HQs to a city, e.g. HSBC
- rise of knowledge economy, such as the development of producer services, e.g. management consultancy, legal + financial aid; services are therefore at the heart of a city and what it has to offer
- research and development (R&D): businesses set up where there is the know-how (e.g. next to unis)
- consumer demand for services related to leisure and QOL, e.g. GoApe, and people are starting to be trained in these sectors, such as hairdressing
- property development, e.g. the cube in Bham
- increase in tourism => successful city (London = #1 city in UK for tourism, Bham German Christmas Market brings in £350 million per year (running since ‘97)
3.8 URBAN POLICY AND REGENRATION IN BRITAIN SINCE 1979
Outline urban policy and regeneration in Britain since 1979.
- 1979-1991: conservative gov in power: top-down power, forced change (e.g. London Docklands) that didn’t consider the desires/views of the people (Docklands redevelopment was against the desire of the locals)
- 1991: first time the gov was considering the views of the people: City Challenge policy where an emphasis was changed from unelected boards towards partnerships with the private sector and local communities
- 1997-2010: labour gov in power: more focused on the needs of the people, e.g. Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) such as Lee Bank -> Park Central (locals asked what they want to see change and gov acted on it to suit both the interests of the gov and the people (reduced crime, green spaces, peppper-potting of houses etc.), increasing number of QUANGO initiatives (individual projects aimed at individual areas) and a move towards sustainable communities
- 2010-2015: coalition gov (liberal democrats shared power with conservatives): adopts a decentralised and localist policy agenda, i.e. gave local areas the power to make decisions since (as opposed to Thatcher who exercised top-down power) they knew what policies were needed for their areas, e.g.) Midlands got Andy Street as their mayor
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Pre-industrial cities
reasons for urban form:
- largely unaffected by industrial developments and have retained much of their urban layout and characteristics
- elite groups tended to locate in the centre, surrounded by lower socio-economic groups, incl. artisans who worked from home and lived with others who were sharing in the same trade
functional zones:
- historic buildings such as castles and churches likely to dominate the centre
- high class residential zone(s) near centre
- less clear delineation of residential and commercial districts as today
examples:
- York
- Carcassone, France
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Modern (or industrial) cities
reasons for urban form:
- similar activities and similar people group together
- led to homogenous areas with each area being dominated by a particular land use or social group
- arrangement of areas strongly determined by the general decline in land values outwards from the city centre
functional zones:
- dominant CBD
- residential zoning
- industrial zone likely to be manufacturing-based
examples:
- Birmingham
- Chicago
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Post-industrial cities
reasons for urban form:
- urban mosaic - more chaotic and looser structure with many smaller zones rather than one or two dominating
- post-suburban and peripheral developments with high tech corridors or zones
functional zones:
- multi-nodal structure
- less dominant CBD
- higher degree of social polarisation
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Public transport orientated (PTO) cities
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Motor-based cities (MBC)
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
African cities
3.9 URBAN FORM AND CHARACTERISTICS
Compare and contrast the following different urban forms, giving the reason for this urban form, functional zones and examples:
Socialist cities
