Pressures of urban change London and Mumbai Flashcards
Problems with traffic congestion and atmospheric pollution in London
- 18% of children in east London have a diagnosis of asthma
- Losses in economy (e.g. to delivery companies/couriers)
- The 10 most congested roads in the country are in London
- Within the first 8 days of 2016 the EU pollution limit was broken, with 1/3 of this being contributed to by exhaust fumes
- The cost of congestion to the London economy was $8.5bn in 2013, and would rise to $14.5bn in 2030
- In 2011 London drivers spent 66 hours in traffic
- Population of London is 8.539 million, traffic congestion affects such a large number of people [1.07 million people were estimated to enter central London on an average weekday between 07:00 and 10:00]
- Increasing diseases (asthma, bronchitis, cancer)
- Acid rain (damages buildings)
- Creation of urban micro-climate
- Smog and photochemical smog
- Lost days at work
- Cost of cleaning buildings
- Lower sunshine hours cause depression http://www.londonwaste.co.uk/
Management of traffic congestion and atmospheric pollution in London
● Levels decreased with introduction of the law; Clean Air Act, de-industrialisation and strict controls on vehicle emissions. Challenge is to lower levels further
● Inspection and maintenance checks on vehicles (MOT)
● Movement of sources (heavy industry to MEDCs)
● Technology (more recycling of water, air or reusing EG waste water for watering plants)
● Congestion charging (2006) resulting in a 125 decrease in nitrous oxide and fine particle, 65,000 fewer daily car journeys, a 12% increase in cycle journeys and 29,000 more bus passengers during rush hour. All revenue raised (£148 million from 2009-10) is invested into improved transport ensuring the management of traffic congestion.
● Santander cycles (£2 per bike to hire), a bank card can be used to operate it and the bike can be returned to any docking station in the city
● Legible London signs put around the city to make navigation on foot around the city easier
● Hybrid bus development to expect a 20,000 tonne decrease in 1 year
● Using regeneration brakes on trains saving up to 25% of electricity
● Source London scheme (2011) city-wide electric vehicle charging network
What are the problems of managing increasing volumes of waste in London.
● Main problem is how to dispose of increasing amount of domestic waste (3 million tonnes per year)
● There are 725 landfill sites in the UK
● 8.6 million residents in London produce waste equivalent to their own body weight every 2 months
● 40% of waste was incinerated from 2012-13
● landfill taxes costing Londoner’s about £300m
● London’s average recycling rate of only 34% of its household waste
● Landfill sites (creates methane leading to global warming and can leach into groundwater)
● High cost of collection
● Vermin issue (rats and insects)
● Smell and visual pollution
● Risk of disease outbreak
How is waste managed in London?
● Clear It Waste and Southwark Reuse and Recycling Centre are two of the many areas where London residents can recycle their waste
● Municipal Waste Management Strategy (MMWMS) [improve reuse and recycling rates and reduce household and business waste in London, activities to capture unwanted furniture and IT equipment for reuse, which could boost third-sector involvement in the waste sector and reduce the costs to businesses of disposal] Most properties linked to sewage system, all others have sceptic tanks. The London Reuse Network: its aim is to significantly increase the reuse of items that would otherwise be discarded to go to landfill
● London Waste: regulated facilities recycle materials, compost organic waste and recover energy from waste - enough to power 72,000 homes throughout the year recycle organic waste into quality compost for use in agriculture, allotments, community growing projects and gardens across North London
● City of London waste strategy (opportunity for residents to donate items they no longer need, and take items they do need, all for free). A commingled recycling service, and where practical, a food waste collection service, textile recycling and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling services. Through the commingled recycling service residents can recycle paper, cardboard, glass, mixed plastic, tetra pak, foil, plastic bags and cans.
● Piped sewage
● Dumped offshore or dried and recycled as fertiliser
What are the problems of managing the growing demand for services such as water and sanitation (NHS is not meeting Londoner’s expectations with high levels of illness) In London
- The population of London is growing.
- We have a high birth rate and an ageing population.
- Different communities have distinctive lifestyle patterns, creating different health needs.
- As we live longer, people are more likely to develop long-term conditions, requiring ongoing health and care.
- Some of our biggest health problems are getting worse: obesity, dementia, diabetes.
- Our health and care services need to radically change to better meet the needs of modern Londoners.
● Almost 10% of people do not have central heating in inner London
What are the problems of water supply in London?
: everywhere has piped water however there is difficulty in supplying water (8.5 million population)
● London is one of the driest places in the UK (594mm per year but 164 days a year have under 0.1mm of rainfall)
● Sinking groundwater table
● Frequent leaks of old pipes
● Reservoirs (e.g. Lee Valley) water transfers, Thames and wells
What are the strains on the NHS in London?
Ambulance demand has been rising at a rate of around 6.5% per year
● High levels of consumption (8.2 million people and is growing at a faster rate than any other region in England due to increased births (an additional 7,000 a year since 2008) = problems for maternity services
● The rate of acute sexually transmitted diseases in London is higher than any other national region by over 50%
● The number of people with multiple conditions is predicted to rise from 1.9 million in 2008 to 2.9 million by 2018 costing the NHS and social care an additional £5 billion. The number of people with a long-term condition is estimated at 1.5 million
● Obesity is a bigger problem in outer London, although inner London has higher rates of early death from heart disease and cancer
● Ageing population (over 65 year olds are typically the most significant users of health services)
How urban change can create areas of dereliction Give an example of dereliction in London.
● Redundant docklands and industrial sites (An increase in the size of the ships meant that the docklands were too narrow and shallow, an increase in London’s traffic lead to access roads and aterial routes being congested, a progressive decline of the upstream docks resulted in closure and dereliction, many industries, which used to be around the docks moved to other areas where there was more space e.g. along M1, North Circular Road, M25, new docks were developed downstream at Tilbury and at the channel ports.)
How can urban change can create areas of dereliction? In London
● cheaper to abandon factories than improve them
● Outmigration of inner city residents leaving abandoned housing due to less money/disposable income caused by unemployment. Abandoned houses leads to area becoming less desirable for investment, higher crime and a poor image
● Toxic contamination
● Concentration of low income groups
● Ageing of buildings with time
● Maintenance costs exceed income from property
● Counterurbanisation (movement of urban activities to fringe -> cheaper and more accessible)
● Building design doesn’t suit modern uses (EG open plan offices)
● Changes in technology (building and process technology)
● Regeneration schemes (e.g. Canary Wharf, 2012 Olympics sites)
Where has urban change created areas of dereliction in London?
● Extensive use in inner ring e.g. Canary Wharf. Problems include risks of contamination and reconsidering if gardens are brownfield sites
● Chingford and Wapping due to the closure of businesses
● London is a city that attracts lots of investment, but the UK government has tried to decentralise some of its functions.
● Lack of urban planning in the past. Narow streets cause traffic congestion and can force people and investment away. (London Docklands where traffic into and out of the Docklands was initially limited for security reasons, and later became a reason for lack of investment because of poor communication)
Problems with traffic congestion and atmospheric pollution in Mumbai.
● Low car ownership and distances to work can be vast.
● Population of 18.4 million
● Roads heavily congested (591 per km)
● Causes of pollution: industries in eastern suburbs and New Mumbai, garbage burning and insufficient control over emission levels from vehicles
● Over 6000 deaths per year by traffic
● January 2016- air pollution level was 193
● High incidence of chronic respiratory problems due to extreme air pollution. Increasing diseases (asthma, bronchitis, cancer)
● Pedestrians and hawkers moving on the roads, is restricting road movement.
● In morning peak hours, the commuters travel mostly from various suburban areas to south Mumbai and vice versa in the evening peak hours. During these hours, the issues faced on road are excessive pollution, reduced mileage of vehicles and a loss of natural resources due to traffic jams.
● Acid rain (damages buildings)
● Creation of urban micro-climate
● Smog and photochemical smog
● Lost days at work
● Cost of cleaning buildings
● Lower sunshine hours cause depression4
● Delays, stress, discomfort during journeys, intangible professional costs, accidents and the potential for physical injuries.
Management of traffic congestion and atmospheric pollution in Mumbai
● A control centre managed by the police to observe busy junctions (such as the Haji Ali) with cameras. Signals can be adjusted from the control centre (such as altering traffic light colours) to manage the flow of traffic (real time adjustments)
● Kinglong buses and double decker buses (Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport)
● Mumbai Suburban Railway
● The Mumbai Metro (a train can be filled up to 1.4-1.6 times its seating capacity and on roads, there should not be a complete traffic halt (apart from exceptional circumstances) and traffic movement should maintain a minimum of 25-35 km/h)
● 90% commuters use public transport (suburban trains, ferries, buses) as it is cheap and reliable.
● Low car ownership
● Increased pedestrianisation (Metropolitan Regional Development Authority has reported that up to 52% of total trips are made via walking)
● Floor Space Index (FSI) incentive that encourages developers to build more parking lots.
● There is little management, so the Mumbai government should propose schemes such as congestion charging or park & ride schemes
What are the problems of managing increasing volumes of waste in Mumbai.
● Landfill sites (creates methane leading to global warming and can leach into groundwater)
● High cost of collection
● Vermin issue (rats and insects)
● Smell and visual pollution
● Risk of disease outbreak
● Pedestrians and hawkers moving on the roads, is restricting road movement. It is estimated that every resident in the metropolis now generates about 630 grams of waste daily
● The corporation allows compactor trucks to collect mixed waste and fails to penalise buildings that do not segregate waste
● Concerns for high-level emissions of greenhouse gases from the city’s unsanitary landfills and the growth of bacteria that cause life-threatening diseases
● Deonar, Mulund and the recently created Kanjurmarg are the landfill sites. Kanjurmarg is in litigation for illegal dumping on wetlands and coastal regulatory zones
● There is a culture of dumping the garbage away from one’s house, disassociating and expecting someone else to take it away,
● Squatter settlements set up on wastelands (such as Dharavi), open sewers and street toilets
● Children and women are paid £1 a day to sift through waste for valuables
● Difficulty in selecting sites to dump waste (such as Deonar)
● >5000 tons of solid waste produced each day. Municipal coorporation in charge of disposal cannot cope. Much is dumped by roadside and left to rot = smell, health risks
Management of increasing volumes of waste in Mumbai.
● A plan for a biomethanation plant at Mulund dumping ground (converts waste to energy) which could produce manure for crops
● Garbage burning
● 80% of waste is recycled
● There is a recycling point at Dharavi
● Garbage is collected from slum areas through community-based organisations (CBOs) under the Slum Adoption scheme
● Informal recycling of poor areas collecting and selling reusable waste (e.g. paper, plastic and cardboard) EG in Dharavi slum (est 80% plastic recycled) [rag-pickers], NGOs and recycling companies, citizens
● A waste management framework (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, informal rag-pickers and recycling
● Greater Mumbai Cleanliness and Recycling laws (2006) – maintaining general cleanliness, fixing fines and monitoring
● Street sweeping schemes (33% by private contractors and the remaining by municipal staff) in the Island City area
● Collection (83% collection bins, 13% from house to house collection)
Describe the problems of managing growing demand for water in Mumbai.
● Present supply outstripped by increasing demand; 60% of the 18 million inhabitants live in slums and many don’t have access to safe, piped water.
● Rely on lakes which can be contaminated (Pilar, Verna, Rumder in Nuvem, Calapur in St Cruz, Raitollem and Curtorim lakes are polluted and due to the high amount of poverty [lack of sanitation infrastructure in slums such as Dharavi: 1/3 of people don’t have access to safe water] people are forced to use this water)
● Demand exceeds supply
● 62% of Mumbai citizens live in slums
● Unreliable in dry season
● Shanty areas rely on rain (no piped water)
