Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
What percentage of the world live in urban areas?
More than 50%
80% of the UK population live in urban areas
Name one reason urbanisation is faster in LIC’s
More people are moving because of better work and health opportunities. Which is better available in cities. Also better services and life expectancy.
Which demographic tends to move into cities?
Young people - looking for work and better opportunities
What is the definition for suburbanisation?
“Suburbanisation is the outward growth of urban development where people move to the suburbs.”
Suburbs are the outlying areas of the city which are close enough to the CBD for easy access for commutes.
What is counter-urbanisation?
Is when large numbers of people move from urban areas into rural areas or surrounding countryside.
What is the definition of a mega city and how many mega cities are there in the world.
A mega city is a city is a metropolitan area in which the population is greater than 10 million people. There are 35 in the world. 1. Tokyo 2. Delhi 3. Mumbai 4. Mexico City
What changes do cities face over time? What does this often lead to?
Deindustrialisation, rise of the service economy, decentralisation.
This normally leads to urban polices and regeneration schemes.
Name one example of a regeneration scheme. Name one positive element and one negative of this change.
London Docklands
- was a derelict site but after regeneration and rejuvenation it is now a hotspot for professionals with very expensive housing.
Strength
Changed a once derelict area into a thriving business hotspot
Weakness
Unaffordable for people once living there.
What is the definition of urban forms?
Physical characteristics that make up built areas. Including shape, size density and configuration of settlements.
Name one consequence of urban growth.
Urban sprawl - leads to overcrowding and stress on services and resources.
The spatial patterns of land use in urban areas are said to follow the burgess model. Describe this model.
The centre of the model is this CBD: where commercial business and international exchange occurs.
The next ring is the inner city: which has a mix of poor housing and older industrial housing.
The third ring is the suburbs: which represent residential housing, often cheaper than the CBD.
The final ring is the rural-urban fringe which is the edge of a city where there urban and rural uses.
Name three negative consequences of urbanisation.
- Economic inequality
- Social segregation
- Cultural diversity
These can then lead to racism, hate crime and abuse.
Name three social problems of urban areas and solutions.
- Shortage of good quality housing
- Run down CBD’s
- Traffic congestion
These issues can be fixed by renewal schemes such as creating new towns like Milton Keynes which was made in 1970.
What is urban climate and how does urbanisation affect it?
Urban climate refers to climatic conditions within urban areas.
Urbanisation changes the form of the landscape and consequently produces change in the air quality.
Surfaces also become impermeable which impacts water drainage.
What is the urban heat island effect?
An urban heat island, or UHI, is a metropolitan area that’s a lot warmer than the rural areas surrounding it. Heat is created by energy from all the people, cars, buses, and trains in big cities like New York, Paris, and London. Urban heat islands are created in areas like these: places that have lots of activity and lots of people.
How and why does precipitation vary in urban areas compared to rural?
As the darker surfaces of the city absorb more heat energy, the warmer temperatures will mean there are greater rates of evaporation.
State a consequence of urban precipitation.
Urbanisation can damage rivers and the water cycle through contamination and pollution.
This can be solved through water conservation and development of sustainable urban damage systems.
Name four environmental problems in urban environments.
- Atmospheric pollution
- Water pollution
- Dereliction
- Urban Waste (biggest problem)
What is the definition for sustainable living.
Sustainable living involves meeting the needs of today without affecting people in the future.
What are the four pillars of sustainability.
- Natural
- Physical
- Social
- Economic
For a project to be sustainable it must address these three pillars.
Name 5 ways a city can be sustainable.
- Schemes to reduce waste and safely dispose it.
- Conserving natural environments and historic buildings.
- Building on brownfield sites
- Building carbon neutral homes. E.g BEDZED 🌱
- Creating an efficient public transport system.
Name an example of a sustainable city.
Curitiba in Brazil 🇧🇷
What is are the aims for Curitiba and there population.
Curitiba has a population of 1.8 million.
The planners aim to improve the environment, reduce pollution and waste and improve the quality of life of its residents.
20 marker practice for sustainable living.
- Name 3 ways your chosen place has achieved sustainable living.
Curitiba - Brazil
- Reduced car use:
- there is a good bus system that transports 1.4 million people per day.
- There are 200km of bike paths - Open spaces and conserved natural environments
- there are over 1000 parks and residents have planted 1.5 million trees - Good recycling schemes
- 70% of rubbish is recycled
How much has the urban population grown from 1950 to 2014?
1950 - 746 million
2014 - 3.9 billion
And the expected growth from 2014 to 2050 is 34%
Name a two causes of urban growth
Natural population growth - These migrants who move are in their fertile years and
so the rates of natural increase are higher in cities than in the surrounding
rural areas.
Rural to urban migration
Name three strategies to improve shortage of housing in LIC’s (slums)
- Eradicate slums - Knocking down the slum housing. This simply moved the problem somewhere else.
- Self help or site and service schemes - These schemes acknowledge the presence of slums and
provide help in the form of materials or services. For example ownership of land - Slum upgrading programmes - More recent initiatives that seek to improve slums in partnership with local Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and development organisations.
Name and describe an example of Shortage of housing in higher-income cities
Example- London
In some parts of London there was a 50% rise in average house prices between 2010 and 2015. This was fuelled partly by in-migration, gentrification and by the purchasing of properties by wealthy foreign investors.
London is a major global hub and oversea investors buy properties there
to diversify their international portfolio. This causes house prices to rise.
Waste disposal: Rubbish is also seen as
an opportunity to make money in other cities.Name and describe an example of this.
Example - Nairobi, Kenya Recycling is an important part of the everyday economy.
old car tyres are cut up and used to make cheap sandals
washing machines doors are used as kitchen bowls, and the drums as storage units
glass bottles are collected and returned to stores for refilling
food waste is collected and fed to animals or composted for use on vegetable plots
tin cans and old oil drums are used to make charcoal stoves, lamps, buckets and
metal tips for ploughs.
What is the definition of a meta-city?
A conurbation of over 20 million people
What is the definition of homogenisation?
The process of people, products and places becoming the same (in this case city landscapes which have become indistinct from one
another.)
What is the definition of under-employment?
When a person is not doing work that makes full use of their skills and abilities. This may occur when a migrant moves to a new city.
What is the city challenge scheme? Give an example and describe it.
Example : Manchester
Competitive scheme. Cities with the ‘best’ schemes were awarded government regeneration grants.A local authority led scheme which formed partnerships between the private sector, local communities and the local authority.
Strategies focused on tackling social, economic and environmental problems in run-down parts of the city.
What is Urban Development Corporations (1980s)
Give an example and describe it
Example: London Docklands
Urban Development Corporations (UDCs) were set up in the 1980s primarily to regenerate inner-city areas. Boards were
mostly made up of people from the local business community. These were directly funded by government.
What is New Deal for Communities (2000s) give an example and describe it
NDC Partnerships were established to carry out 10-year schemes designed to transform the 39 most deprived neighbourhoods and improve them.
Example: Devonport Regeneration Company
What is Devolution
The transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central
government to local or regional administration.
What is urban policy?
Strategies chosen by local or central government to manage the
development of urban areas and reduce urban problems.
What is a World City?
This is a city with a global influence and impact e.g. because of their financial status or global
commercial power
What are the four typesof hubs? (World cities) breifly describe them.
Hubs of business, transport and trade: They dominate global trade and consumer activity with headquarters for Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
Production hubs: although most manufacturing and production of goods is carried out in developing countries and Newly Industrialising Countries
many of the decisions about marketing and production are made by TNCs, most of which have headquarters in world cities.
Political hubs: world city politicians often dictate trading and economic links between countries.
Migration hubs: world cities have influence because they attract large numbers of qualified talented people who are globally mobile
Describe what is meant by a Fortress Landscape (New Urban Landscapes)
This refers to landscapes designed around security, protection, surveillance and exclusion/
In the UK simple strategies have been adopted to reduce crime in urban hotspots e.g. city
centre and inner city estates.
for example - CCTV, Mosquito alarms in order to prevent young people loiterring etc.
Describe what is meant by an Edge city?
These are self-contained settlements which have emerged beyond the
original city boundary and developed as cities in their own right and they are
most common in North America.e.g LA
The core city is about 30 km wide with a population of under 4 million. However this is surrounded by a metropolitan area of nearly 18 million
people more than 100 km at its widest.Within this area there are more than 20 edge cities
Describe the concept of the “Post-modern Western City”
The term postmodernism is used to describe the changes that took place in Western society and culture in the L20th century. Both fortress landscapes and edge cities have been viewed as features of the postmodern western city.
What is a PLVI or a Peak Land Value Intersection?
The most expensive location in a town or city.
E.g: Chelsea or Knightsbridge in London
Or
Calabasas in LA