Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
Urban growth
The increase in total population of a town or city
Urbanisation
The increase in proportion of people living in urban centres
Urban expansion
Increase in size or geographical footprint of a city
De-industrialisation
The long-term decline of a country’s manufacturing sector
Factors of deindustrialisation
- Reduced need for labour
- Globalisation
- Increases costs
- Reduced demand
Decentralisation
The movement of industry away from the inner city
Factors of decentralisation
- Competition for space
- Rent
- Opportunity
Causes of the rise of service sector economy
- Increased demand
- Tourism
- Growth in research ana development
- Rise of knowledge economy
- Growth in corporate headquarters
Cultural and heritage quarters
Presence of cultural production to encourage growth - revitalise local economy in creative industries
Gentrified areas
-conversion of previously working-class inner city areas to more middle class areas Or - renovation of run down properties by individuals - more valuable
Edge cities
- settlements -emerges beyond city boundary and developed
- usually in outer suburbs - near main roads
- often have mixed offices, residential and leisure spaces
Fortress developments
- landscapes designed for security - can involve segregation of people - keep others safe
- e.g cctv, street lighting, mosquito alarms
Town centre mixed developments
- commercial, residential, cultural, institutional, industrial uses combined
- connected physically and functionally
- can include multiple functions
Characteristics of a post modern city
- Cities planned in fragments - focus on aesthetic not social needs
- Multi-nodal urban structures containing high tech corridors
- Service sector based economy that focuses on niche markets - a globalised economy where telecommunications dominate
- Architecture - expression of art not for function - +greater use of heritage
- Ethnic diversity - highly fragmented culturally - can be solar polarisation in some cases
- Public and private sectors work together with services provided by market
London as a postmodern city
- ethnically diverse
- skyscraper motif
- south embankment is post-modern space
- e.g TUAM building in Camden Locks
Cultural diversity
Existence of a variety of cultural/ethnic groups within a society
Diaspora
Group of people with similar heritage/homeland settled not at home
Urban heat island
Urban areas are warmer than rural surroundings
Venturi effect
The effect of squeezing the airflow, usually increases as buildings get taller
Albedo
The reflectivity of a surface
What are the two types of air pollution
- Particulate - release of particles and noxious gases into the atmosphere
- Photochemical - creates smog
London’s Pea Souper
- 12,000 people died
- soot from chimney and exhausts creates smog
- power stations near city centres - more pollution
- cheap coal has high amounts of sulphur
- 1956 Clean Air Act Introduced
What are suds
Sequences of water management practices designed to drain surface water in a sustainable way
Types of suds
- Swales - wide, shallow drainage channels e.g grass ditches
- provide temporary storage
- facilitate filtration or pollutants (if vegetation) - Permeable pavements/roads - use of porous block paving and concrete
- water can infiltrate subsoil or be stored underground - Infiltration trenches - gravel filled drains/reservoirs
- excess solids removed by stones
- stormwater run-off direction here - Wetlands - acts as holding ponds for water storage
- can hold variations of water
- algae and plants filter + biodiversity increases
