Opportunities and challenges creating urban changes in Birmingham

Question 1

What are the 3 types of opportunities?

Answer 1

• Social
• Economic
• Environmental

Question 2

What are the social opportunities in Birmingham?

Answer 2

• 5 Uni’s and over 50k students
• Transport links to the rest of the UK
• Lots of museums
• Wide range of cultures

Question 3

What are some economic opportunities in Birmingham?

Answer 3

• Increased development in brownfield sites.
• Largest number of businesses and start-ups outside of London.

Question 4

What are some environmental opportunities in Birmingham?

Answer 4

• Canals have been cleaned up.
• Paths upgraded to walk and cycle.
• Park and ride scheme encouraging the use of public transport, reducing pollution and traffic.
• Energy recovery facility that takes 350,000 tonnes of rubbish per year and converts it into electricity.
• Over 500 parks and more trees than any other city in Europe.

Question 5

What are some social and economic challenges in Birmingham?

Answer 5

• Urban decline
• Deprivation
• Inequalities in housing
• Education
• Health
• Unemployment

Question 6

What is urban decline?

Answer 6

Birmingham used to have a large manufacturing industry, which has been mostly lost due to competition from abroad. This has resulted in many manufacturing buildings becoming derelict.

Question 7

What is deprivation?

Answer 7

As the manufacturing industry declined, parts of Birmingham experienced economic decline, leading to deprivation.

Question 8

What are inequalities in housing?

Answer 8

Birmingham’s increasing population has resulted in pressures on housing. There is not enough good quality and affordable housing in the city.

Question 9

What is education?

Answer 9

The quality of education, especially in the inner city areas, was very poor; meaning children were having trouble succeeding.

Question 10

What is health?

Answer 10

People with poorer english language skills had problems accessing healthcare facilities.

Question 11

What is unemployment?

Answer 11

The closure of factories in the manufacturing industry lead to high unemployment.

Question 12

What are some environmental problems in Birmingham?

Answer 12

• Dereliction
• Building on greenfield and brownfield sites
• Waste disposal

Question 13

What is Dereliction?

Answer 13

Derelict buildings from the manufacturing industry are common in inner city areas.

Question 14

What is building on greenfield and brownfield sites?

Answer 14

• Building on greenfield sites is cheaper than building on brownfield sites.
• Building on greenfield sites makes urban sprawl worse.
• There isn’t enough brownfield land to build all new houses on brownfield sites.

Question 15

What is waste disposal?

Answer 15

• Only 30% of the waste in Birmingham was recycled.
• Birmingham has an energy recovery city, which converts rubbish into energy, although it creates lots of CO2.
• There are collection points for recyclables across Birmingham.

Question 16

What are the impacts of growing commuter settlements?

Answer 16

• More stress on transport networks.
• More traffic
• More air pollution

Question 17

What is the big city plan in Birmingham?

Answer 17

• Regenerate the city centre.
• Grow the population of the city.
• Redevelop brownfield sites.
• Create new jobs.
• Improve connectivity around the region.
• Transform the physical environment.
• Develop Birmingham with a sustainable economy and sustainable housing.

Question 18

What are they doing to make the big city plan work?

Answer 18

• Creating a sustainable neighborhood just west of the city centre, in Greater Icknield.
• Transform Bordesley Park into a large scale leisure and employment hub (just east of the city centre)
• Redevelop Longbridge (the old Landover factory) into a new community.
• Improve Selly Oak and South Edgbaston with an overhaul of the housing, a new hospital, and a new Birmingham university campus.