London Flashcards
What is London’s physical characteristics?
Largest urban area and capital of the UK, covers 610 square miles (3.6 times bigger than Mumbai), port on the river Thames which splits it in half (contains tributaries and canals)
What is London’s climate?
Variable and area has no distinct wet and dry seasons, temperature increase towards the CBD due to the urban heat island effect, average winter temperatures can range from 8 to -7 degrees Celsius and summers are usually 20-30 degrees Celsius with an all time high of 37.9 degrees
What is the main physical/natural hazards that London face?
Flooding (next to river Thames which is tidal)
What is London’s population?
Around 8.8 million (2.5 times smaller than Mumbai’s), 2011 census found 48% was Christian, 20% was no religion, 12% Muslim, 5% Hindu, Jew, Sikhs, and Buddhists
What is London’s age population?
Most popular age is 30-34 (over 10%), lowest is 70+, very few pensioners/elderly compared to younger, working population
What history makes London a PMWC?
Classical architecture, diverse culture, increasingly postmodern
How has London become post modern? Buildings:
New buildings (skyscrapers in the city), the shard, gherkin, Walkie-talkie, cheese grater building, MI6 building (fortress development), whilst older structures like water treatment works at the Isle of Dogs
What is London population in terms of wealth?
Smaller gap between wealthy and poor, no squatter settlements, primarily made up of high rise flats or terraced housing in the inner city, 2013 mean income was £51,700 but median income was £39,000 showing a big gap between top 1% and lowest percent earners
How is London a PMWC? Culture
Variety of culture, arts, ethnicities
What is wealth distribution in London?
Wealth distribution is very unequal with 50% of London’s wealth owned by richest 10% households, bottom 50% onky own 5% of its wealth, someone in the top 10% also has wealth 295 times greater than someone in bottom 10%
What do Londoners earn?
Earn 23% more than UK average
What is London’s house price?
House price went above £500,000 in 2013 compared to national average of £249,000
What wealth does London get from tourism?
Highest tourist spend in the world with £21 billion spent in 2011, 2/3 pd all visits are from Europeans
How is London an economic hub?
One of the worlds largest financial centres, home to more than 100 of Europe’s top 500 largest companies, home to 15 of the head offices of the 250 largest companies in the world
What did the London fairness commission report?
2015, for every £1 of wealth owned by the poorest 10% of households, the top 10% owned £172, maybe because well paid jobs are only available for highly skilled workers, less skilled workers are stuck with low paid/minimum wage jobs so are unable to get on housing ladder due to the highly inflated London house prices
What event drew attention to the housing quality gap in London?
Grenfell tower fire in early 2017, 72 people died, wealthy residents in Chelsea also complained about the appearance of neighbouring high rise block of flats home to working class families
What is the challenge of water pollution in London?
Agricultural chemicals sprayed in parts of Hillingdon ran into the river thames, large number of car parks and driveways mean rainwater and pollutants run off easily (impermeable surfaces eg. Concrete), domestic water from sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, and toilets all run in the same pipe (accidental leak in rivers), incorrect plumbing, aging infrastructure, effluent from industries
What is the challenge of air pollution in London?
Over 900 Londoners die early every year due to toxic air, 50% of air pollution comes from road transport (40% from diesel), people in deprived areas are 2 times as likely to die from lung disease than people in affluent areas, 24% of primary schools are in areas that breach the legal limit for air pollution
What is the challenge of dereliction in London?
Drop in industrial jobs leaves old factories derelict, 250 hectares of brownfield sites (looks ugly and discourages investment, size equivalent to Hyde Park), not in line for development, higher crime rates, pollution from old buildings, knock on effect on local businesses as visitors discouraged to go
How is London solving the water pollution problem?
Highly regulated water disposal, better understanding and dealing with sewage, updating of Roman/Victorian sewerage system (Roman system designed to overflow into Thames including waste), two pipes separate made from sturdy plastics, plumbing is done correctly, reducing flood risks by use of SUDS
How is London solving the air pollution problem?
Ultra low emission zone in April 2019 (higher charge on older/diesel vehicles), T-charge (toxicity charge, £10 to older polluting vehicles in London), stricter emissions standard for diesel vehicles, expected to reduce emissions by about 50% in central London, £300 million is being spent to transform the buses and create 12 low emission bus zones (benefit school children)
How is London solving the dereliction problem?
Brownfield sites often already have access to water, electricity, gas (cheaper to build on them), 24% rise in proportion of new developments on brownfield sites, eg. Stratford: Olympic park 2012 has 370,000 visitors, £9.3 billion invested, Westfield shopping centre 2011, 47 million visitors, £950 million in sales
