Contemporary urban envrionments Flashcards
What is urbanisation
increase in proportion of people living in urban environments
why might an urban area be important
political power
social and cultural centres
economic production
3 main causes of urbanisation
natural increase
rural - urban migration
industrialisation
what is a pull factor
reason for someone to be attracted to a place
what is a push factor
reason for someone to leave a place
key mega city trends
more common in LIC
what is a world city
a city that has political power and financial influence over the world
factors helping define a world city
tourism
transport
development
uni
trade
factors of a world city
support prosperity and create jobs
declining population
middle class suburbs
economic growth
what makes world cities so productive
high levels of education leading to smarter population
advanced transport makes it easier for people to commute
what is a satellite city
city on the outside of another e.g leeds bradford
what is deindustrialisation
reduction in the use of factories and primary industries and movement towards use of technology and tertiary industries decline in manufacturing
what is decentralisation
process of redistributing peoples functions or power away from the city center to the edge
what is urban resurgence
process whereby previously declining or neglected urban areas experienced renewed growth and development
characteristics of a suburban area
- commuter settlement
- edge of large urban areas
- housing
- greener than city center
- good transport links to urban areas
- quieter
- suburbs poorly connected to eachother
effects of suburbanisation
- intro to green belts
- segregation of class and culture
- inner city areas decline
- traffic congestion
- loss of green space due to building of houses (greenfield land lost)
Effects of counter urbanisation
- decline in city
- loss of services
- new firms
- loss of greenfield land
- social conflict
- congestion
- ## increase in house prices
how to improve a city
- old factories to buildings
- new shopping centres
- reduce cars
- pedestrianise streets
- reduce crime
- host events
what is the multiplier effect
as more people are attracted back to a city it will lead to further improvements and bring economic investment back
what is gentrification
refers to change in neighbourhood compensation low income groups are displaced by wealthy individuals improving and regenerating an area causing a rise in house prices
what is a pre industrial city
city that’s unaffected by industrial development and retained urban layout and characteristics
what is a modern city
similar activities and people grouped together leading to areas being dominated by social groups
what is a post industrial city
more loose structure with many smaller zones
what is urban form
physical characteristics making up a city including size shoe and population density and how the city is arranged
mega city characteristics
urban sprawl
high population density
environment issues
car dominated
residential differentiation
what is urban morphology
refers to the spacial structure and organisation of an urban area
what is the doughnut effect
business and houses and services are all dotted around a city rather than just in the center
what is a fortress city
landscape design around security protection servalence and exclusion
what is an edge city
caused by urban sprawl, settlements in the edge of large urban areas e.g LA
properties of an edge city
- developed close to major roads
- close to airports
- near lots of services
- residents of edge cities will rarely go into city center
- poor infrastructure but will have essentials
what are cultural quarters
attracts culture to a place
what’s a mix used development
blends residential commercial and cultural industry education interconnected physically and functionally
what is economic inequality
wealth gaps between people who have and people who don’t have in society
factors affecting life ex
- access to healthcare
- wealth
- living conditions
- sanitation
- employment
- crime
- health
- education
- hiding services
what does IMD stand for
Index Multiple Deprivation
definition of poverty
defined as 60% of median household income after housing costs
(AHC) after housing costs
causes of poverty
- lack of jobs
- cost of living
- inflation
- rising house prices
- aging population
- lack of education
- poor living conditions
- lack of infrastructure
- stress on services
what is the median household income
£30,000
what’s the poverty line (60% of average household income)
£18,000
what are multicultural societies
characterised by people of different races ethnicity and nationalities living together in same communities
why might people self segregate
(internal factors)
- similar people
- similar mindset
- family
- protection against racial abuse
external factions to self segregation
- discrimination
- hostile environment
- money
- cheap labour easy jobs
what is the urban heat island effect
(UHI)
urban area that’s a lot warmer than rural areas surrounding it
what is urban microclimate
human activity chemically and physically altering air and weather characteristics over and around urban areas making it different from air and weather in rural areas
what is microclimate
climate within a small areas that differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area
why is the urban heat island effect concerning
- produces lightening storms
- climate change
- bad for ecosystems
- excessive heat
- access to clean water is hard in LIC
effects of urban heat island effect
- risk of dehydration
- heat rash and stroke
- air con is bad for environment
- discomfort
- strain on water supply
- low wind speed means hard for hot air to escape
strategies to mitigate UHI
- cool surfaces
- green roofs
- urban greening
- colour of materials
what is the albedo effect
- colour and reflectivity with a scale of 0-1
0 = not reflevtive
1 = reflective
what is brise solie
method used on buildings to stop the reflectivity
what the climate like in urban areas
- intensified rain
- warmer
- exposed to smog and flash flood
- higher temp
what is urban hydrology
- precipitation can fall in greater amounts and intensity in urban areas
causes of urban flooding
- impermeable surfaces
- clearance of vegetation
- drainage systems reduce risk of flash floods but increase river discharge
issues with urban river catchment management
- sediment
- salts
- pesticides
- viruses
- oils
what is a storm hydrograph
Used to measure rivers flow and show changes in discharge over short period of time after a storm
what is river discharge
volume of water flowing through a river total volume flowing through channel at any given point and measured in cubic meters per second
factors affecting hydrographs
- total rainfall
- intensity of rainfall
- wetness of ground already
- rock type
- ground cover
- slope angle
what does municipal solid waste mean
amounts of waste is high due to the high population
why does waste need monitoring
- recycling
- lots of resources
- contaminated water
- air pollution
- risk to human health
what is a leachate
contaminated liquid that is generated from water percolating through a solid waste disposal site, accumulating toxic substances
pros of landfill systems
good use of abandoned quarries
easy to manage
methane can be vented and used as fuel
cost effective
cons of landfill systems
flies and scavenging animals
wind can blow material causing litter
organic waste buried can cause anaerobic decay
leachates
methane
smell
pros of incineration
produces energy
steam and ash can be used as resources
long life span
cost effective
safer
cons of incineration
chimney emmisions
greenhouse gasses
not all msw is combustible
emmisions need managing
pros of recycling
resource recovery
organic waste can be composted and sold to enrich gardens soil
wheelie bin collection is safe
different bins help separate and segregate materials
more recycling = less landfill
cons of recycling
public collection points generate litter
tips are expensive
human error with segregating materials
public resistance if separately charged
