CUE 3237

Question 1

Define dereliction.

Answer 1

Dereliction refers to the state of buildings/ an area having been abandoned and become dilapidated.

Question 2

What are the causes of dereliction?

Answer 2

• ageing and decay
• outmigration
• loss of industry
• impact from past planning decisions

Question 3

Outline “ageing and decay” as a factor causing dereliction.

Answer 3

Buildings age and decay with time.
Pre-war buildings are expensive to maintain. Owners may be unwilling to pay for maintenance and tenants may move out.
Housing quality can also decline if there’s an increase in population density.

Question 4

Outline “outmigration” as a factor causing dereliction.

Answer 4

If skilled people move away, a lower skilled and less qualified population remain and the area will become less conomically active.

Question 5

Outline “loss of industry” as a factor causing dereliction.

Answer 5

Urban activities may move to better and more profitable locations.
In the UK, deindustrialisation led to many people leaving the inner city and industrial buildings being abandoned.
Services e.g. pubs and shops may become vacant as these areas become subject to urban decline.

Question 6

Outline “impact from past planning decisions” as a factor causing dereliction.

Answer 6

For example, narrow streets and a lack of infrastructure were among the issues that led to a lack of investment in the London Docklands until the LDDC developed the area.

Question 7

What are the impacts of dereliction?

Answer 7

• higher rates of crime and vandalism
• house prices fall
• out migration of residents
• health risks from contamination from industrial processes in an environment remains long after the industry that produced them is gone
• high costs involved in urban renewal often discourage authorities / individuals from renovation or rebuilding

Question 8

What are the strategies to deal with derelict urban areas?

Answer 8

Regeneration schemes. Government led schemes eg UDCs, City Challenge and New Deal for Communities have had varying levels of success.

The government focus on using brownfield sites for new building developments rather than greenfield sites which has been successful.
London had the greatest proportion of dwellings built on brownfield sites at 98%.

Question 9

Advantages of using brownfield sites in urban areas?

Answer 9

• improves physical environment
• existing infrastructure reduces costs & encourages faster occupancy
• preserves historical landmarks and heritage architecture
• revives older communities
• reduces urban sprawl and preserves greenfield land

Question 10

Disadvantages of using brownfield sites in urban areas?

Answer 10

• not all brownfield sites have the physical access necessary for residential development
• the neighbouring land may still be used for industrial purposes, making the brownfield site unsuitable for new homes
• most brownfield sites are in inner city areas, which have high levels of pollution, congestion, noise
• 1000s of brownfield sites may already have been contaminated by previous industrial uses and may present significant risks to human health and the wider environment. Decontamination is time consuming and expensive.

Question 11

What is land remediation?

Answer 11

The removal of pollution or contaminates from the ground.

This enables large areas of derelict former land to be brought back into commercial use.

Question 12

CASE STUDY: DERELICTION.

Answer 12

DETROIT.

• it was once the centre of global car production
• but globalisation increased and business moved to Asia
• population fell from 2m in the 1950s to 1m
• 1/3 of its land area was derelict
• BUT, between 1970 and 2000 150,000 buildings were demolished and larger commercial developments built to try to revitalise the area
• decline continued. Became known as “rust belt”
• HOWEVER community groups are now using the land for small, community based activities including urban farming
• by 2010 they had turned 7 hectares of unused land into over 40 community gardens and micro farms

Question 13

Define water pollution.

Answer 13

The contamination of water bodies or sources including rivers, lakes, oceans, aquifers, groundwater. It occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into the water without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

Question 14

When is water seen as polluted?

Answer 14

When it can no longer support human use eg drinking. Or there’s a shift in the ability to sustain aquatic life.

Question 15

Indirect sources of water pollution include…

Answer 15

Contaminants that enter the water from soils or groundwater and from the atmosphere via rain.

The high concentration of impermeable surfaces in urban areas increases runoff from roads and can carry various pollutants eg oils, heavy metals, rubber.

Question 16

How many people die due to water pollution?

Answer 16

14,000 people per day.

Question 17

Causes of water pollution in urban areas?

Answer 17

• surface runoff from streets carrying oil, heavy metals.
• industrial waste.
• untreated / poorly treated sewage which is low in dissolved oxygen and high in pollutants eg nitrates, bacteria.
• rubbish dumps, toxic waste which can all leak pollutants.
• intentional dumping of hazardous substances.
• air pollution can lead to acid rain, nitrate deposition and ammonium deposition which can alter the water chemistry of an area.

Question 18

Consequences of water pollution in urban areas?

Answer 18

• heavy metals from industrial processes can slow development, result in birth defects and may be carcinogenic.
• organic matter and nutrients can cause an increase in aerobic algae and deplete oxygen from the water. This can lead to the suffocation of fish.
• suspended particles in freshwater reduces the quality of drinking water for humans and the aquatic environment for marine life. They can also reduce the amount of sunlight penetrating the water, disrupting the growth of photosynthetic plants and microorganisms.
• microbial pollutants from sewage often result in infectious diseases that infect aquatic and terrestrial life through drinking water. Microbial pollution causes diseases eg cholera, typhoid which are a major cause of infant mortality in low income countries.

Question 19

What is the ideal way of managing water pollution?

Answer 19

Preventing pollutants from entering the water course in the first place but this cannot always happen.

Question 20

In most high income countries, water quality improvement focuses on two approaches:

Answer 20

1. The construction of water treatment facilities and waste water plants.
2. Regulations aimed ‘at point’ polluters such as industries which discharge water pollution into receiving waters or sewer systems that flow into treatment plants.

Question 21

What is the most difficult water quality challenge?

Answer 21

Dealing with ‘non point source’ pollution which is the result of precipitation runoff from a wide range of sources eg fertilisers and toxins from urban areas.

Question 22

Why is water quality standards lower in low income countries?

Answer 22

Because of a lack of money and inadequate technology.

Question 23

What are the key water pollution strategies?

Answer 23

• LIDs (Low Impact Developments).
• legislation, regulation and enforcement
• education and awareness
• improvements in sewage and waste water processing
• appropriate technology

Question 24

Explain LIDs as a strategy to control water pollution.

Answer 24

Low Impact Development is a storm water management approach that can help to reduce storm water runoff. This is done primarily through the use of vegetation and permeable surfaces to allow infiltration into the ground.

Permeable streets and pavements, green roofs, rain gardens and urban parks allow water to infiltrate into the soils rather than flow directly into sewers.

This strategy has been shown to reduce organic pollutants, oils and heavy metals by 90%

Question 25

Explain legislation, regulation and enforcement as an approach to control water pollution.

Answer 25

There are many different anti pollution laws and agreements in operation worldwide. However these laws need to be enforced.

Some cities have adopted incentive based approaches, charging polluters per unit. This creates an incentive to reduce discharge and purchase waste water treatment technology.

Regulation: factories are only allowed to discharge limited amounts of carefully controlled pollutants.

By slowly reducing the levels of permitted discharge, year by year pollution levels are reduced.

Question 26

Explain education and awareness as an approach to control water management.

Answer 26

The more people that know about the causes and effects of pollution, the more likely they will be adding to the problem.

In 2014, Wessex Waters used mobile billboards in hot sport areas, urging its customers to get behind a campaign encouraging people to bin wet wipes rather than flushing them down the toilet - as they do not compose like toilet paper and cause blockages.

Question 27

Explain appropriate technology as an approach to control water pollution.

Answer 27

One example is the Janicki omniprocessor - a small scale innovation aimed at providing aimed at providing clean water in low income countries.

It first boils sewer sludge during which the water vapour is separated from the solids.

The soils are then put in a fire. This produces steam that drives an engine which produces electricity for the system’s processor and for the local community.

Finally the water is put through a cleaning system to produce drinking water.

Question 28

CASE STUDY OF CONTROLLING WATER POLLUTION?

Answer 28

The Thames Tideway Tunnel

See notes

Question 29

Define water borne infectious diseases.

Answer 29

Infections/diseases caused by pathogenic micro organisms that are transmitted in contaminated fresh water.
Infection commonly results from bathing, washing, drinking.

Question 30

Define appropriate technology.

Answer 30

Technology that’s suitable to the social and economic conditions of the geographic area in which it is to be applied. It is environmentally sound and promotes self-sufficiency for those using it.

Question 31

What is the cause of air pollution?

Answer 31

Atmospheric pollution is caused by the release of particles and noxious gases into the atmosphere.

Question 32

In 2014, what did the WHO find out?

Answer 32

That urban pollution was 2.5x higher than the recommended levels in half of the urban populations being monitored.

Question 33

What is the effect of what the WHO found?

Answer 33

Urban air pollution being 2.5x higher than recommended levels means that urban dwellers are at serious risk of long term health problems including cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems.

Question 34

What causes air pollutants? But what can change this?

Answer 34

Human activities produce pollutants. But it is the weather that determines what will happen after they are released.

During wet / windy conditions, pollution concentration remains low - wither blown or washed away.

But during periods of still, hot (anticyclonic) weather, pollution can build up to harmful amounts called “pollution episodes”.

Question 35

Compared to rural areas, urban areas can have??

Related to air pollutant levels

Answer 35

• 10x more nitrogen oxide
• 200x more sulphur dioxide
• 2x more carbon dioxide
All of which can lead to an increase in the risk of smog.

Question 36

AIR POLLUTION CASE STUDY

Answer 36

BEIJING, CHINA: one of the most polluted cities for many years.
The first red alert was issued in Beijing as smog engulfed the city in December 2015. The alert began on Tuesday at 7 a.m. and, as a result, millions of factories and construction sites were shut down.
SOURCES OF POLLUTANTS:
5 million cars – this has risen.
Transport accounts for 86% of carbon monoxide in Beijing and, therefore, if air pollution is to be addressed, then changes to the emissions from transport is key to its success.
These pollutants threaten public health, reduce air quality and contribute to climate change
A key issue since 2000 is the recent increase in the number of cars: 2004 - 2 million, 2010 - 5 million.

Vehicle use was restricted during 8.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. on week days but had very little effect on pollution levels.
For the 2008 Olympics, a temporary road space rationing policy was introduced.
Cars with an even number were able to drive on roads on one day while cars with an odd last number on the licence plat e travelled on the next day.

2011 a new vehicle quota was introduced in a further attempt to reduce impact on air pollution.
240 000 new vehicle registrations were permitted in 2011 to 2013, through a vehicle lottery and this was reduced to 150 000 in 2014 with the aim of capping the total number of vehicles to
6 million by 2017.
The lottery system occurs on 26th of every month.