Urban Flashcards
What are the 4 land use zones on a map?
CBD, Inner City, Suburbs, Rural-Urban Fringe
How can you identify the CBD (Central Business District)?
Old churches
Tourist facilities
Expensive land
How can you identify the inner city?
Historically used for industry
Old tenement housing
The land is still expensive
Some services
Open space
Railway lines
How can you identify the Suburbs?
Newer areas
The land is cheaper so houses are bigger and spaced out
Semi-detached and detached houses
Local services
Open space
Lots of schools and leisure facilities
How can you identify the Rural-Urban Fringe?
Newest area
Cheapest land
Mixed land use
Low density
Open space
What are changes made in the CBD and the reasons for it?
Pedestrianisation of Buchanan
Street - Creates a safer shopping environment with fewer cars and lower emissions – and a more pleasant one that is easier to walk around.
Construction of M8 motorway around CBD - ‘Through traffic’ is diverted around the CBD, reducing congestion which makes access easier.
Indoor shopping centres such as Buchanan Galleries - a more pleasant experience in all weather conditions, which attempts to encourage customers back to the CBD from retail parks/online.
Improved access by suburban rail and more frequent trains from Edinburgh - Makes it easier to access the CBD without a car, meaning shops are accessible to more people.
New public attractions such as the annual Christmas market - Entice more customers into the city centre who might not normally visit - they then spend money in nearby shops and restaurants.
Local independent businesses are increasingly replaced by chain stores - Chains are more able to afford high rents compared to small local shops.
What are changes made in the inner city and the reasons for it?
Tenements were initially built in the inner city to house workers at the docks and factories.
By the 1950s, these became very overcrowded.
Inner city slum areas were prioritised for redevelopment based on their level of deprivation.
In the Gorbals, every single Victorian tenement was demolished.
Some people were rehoused in high-rise flats locally, others were moved out to new developments in the suburbs.
However, these high rises were not without their problems, with many being demolished since the 1990s.
What are changes made in the suburbs/fringe and what is good about it?
New housing developments have appeared on the fringes of Glasgow -> Quieter and less polluted, as it is less densely populated than the city centre.
Retail parks and shopping centres are opening in suburban/fringe areas -> Cheaper land means rental costs for shops and businesses are lowered.
Business parks and industrial estates are common sites in Glasgow’s rural-urban fringe -> Land is cheaper which means renting or purchasing land/buildings is also cheaper.
What is the issue with Rio de Janerios housing?
Houses can be overcrowded, with whole families sharing just two small rooms.
Houses built on steep hills, marshlands or areas for landfill.
It’s crowded so space is tight and houses are built higher.
Houses are made of scrap brick, metal…
What is the issue with Rio de Janerios Electricity?
Informal settlements are not provided with electricity to each home, as would be
done in the formal settlements in Rio. To combat this, residents created a system of wires
which illegally tap into the mains electricity supply.
