Urban challenegs - London Flashcards
Green transport
Aim that by 2041 80% of all londoners trips will be made by foot, cycle and public transport
- All new double decker buses will be hybrid, electric with 0 exhaust emissions
Toxicity charge
10 pounds toxicity charge for older polluting vehciles - making it clear that those vehiclesa are not welcome in London
London super-cycle highways
The London Super Cycle Highway are bicycle paths extending from external parts of London into central London (e.g. one runs from White Hart Lane, Tottenham to Liverpool Street station). They ensure safer, quicker (whilst reducing congestion ) and travels within the city.
The project aims to increase cycling by 400% in 2025 by improving cycling conditions for existing riders and encouraging new riders, by increasing accessibility e.g with more bike lanes.
This will help reduce air pollution caused by people who would otherwise drive and will therefore prevent thousands of lung-related diseases.
However, only half the routes have been fully completed and the scheme has cost over 2 billion pounds (significantly more than what was planned.
Boris bikes
will provide 800 docking stations and 12000 bikes to hire around London, this is a popular scheme (there have been more than 100 million hires ) as it is very affordable
Urban greening
Urban greening is the process of increasing the amount and proportion of green spaces, that are essential to human life, within a city.
important in reducing flooding: as it will slow down the flow of rainfall into drains and sewers (the branches and leaves will soak up the water and transpire some of it back into the atmosphere).
Urban greening methods such as pocket parks between buildings help increasing biodiversity as Gardens and green areas encourage more insect and bird life in cities. Bio diversity is important in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and supporting humans (e.g it can help with soil fertilization).
An example of another urban greening method is living green walls (vertical structure of greenery covering the side of buildings). These is very important in improving air quality (environmental benefit): Vegetation such as trees act as filters that take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing air pollution and its effects on people, such as lung related diseases. T
An increase in green spaces can contribute to the development of local businesses and industries, providing areas for leisure activities and entertainment, while also increasing the value of real estate and guaranteeing economic returns. Additionally, cities with higher levels of green spaces are seen as more attractive and livable, contributing to increased tourism, job growth, and general economic prodperity
Benefits of Urban growth in London
- Urban greening
- More diversity : over 300 languages spoken in London which is moe than any other city in the world
- Integrated transport system ( Boris Bikes + Cycle superhighway)
- Various skilled employment + a range of different jobs
Problems with Urban growth
- Lack of employment
- Air pollution enivronmental impact
- Social deprivation / poor housing
Environmental impact of urban growth
An increase number of vehicles leads to more
Co2, nitrous oxide and particulate matter. This is seen as 99% of londoner still live
In streets which exceed Who Guidelines. This has lead to an increase in lung related Diseases e.g athsam.
+ has also lead to severe congestion
Waste problems
- Only 1/2 of the boroughs recycle their waste properly
-Newham only recycles 14/7% - much is flats and there is no proper access to recycling bins
- 18 million metric tonnes of waste is produces
-Leads to high incineration rates which will only increase air pollution - 560,00 tonnes of co2 due to incineration
ULEZ
ULEZ have made a 44% reduction to roadside Nox and
There are almost 50,000 fewer polluting vehicles
Deprivation
Some areas of London are very deprived. For example, in Newham over 50% of people are receiving benefits.
Life expectancy is an indicator of deprivation. In London if you travel from West Ham to Knightsbridge on the Jubilee line life expectancy increases from 78 years to 90 years – that’s 12 years difference just depending on where you live
Housing demand
London must create over 60,000 homes a year to keep up with the demans
This means that more land is being developed on greenfields - destroying wildlife habits and increasing urban sprawl and the congestion etc it brings
An increase in housing price
Solutions to waste problems
local authorities and counncils are creating initiatives to bring the recyling rate higher to 65%.E.gthrough campaigns like recycle for london
Problems with Stratford (Infrastructure)
Stratford’s transportation links were very poor, meaning it was disconnected from most of London. This meant that many residents were unable to travel further to access higher paying jobs, leading to lower income and furthering economic deprivation within the area.
How was regeneraiton succesful in improving this ?
Olympic delivery authority invested in improving transport links within Stratford.
Improved transportation by building on existing infrastructure, creating the Stratford international station from what used to be a railway freight terminal.
Other bus routes and new local stations were built in proximity to the new Olympic stadium.
Moreover, since waterways and railways crisscrossed the site, bridges were built to link the area together.
This improves connectivity and will in the long term help people access more jobs (economic) and will also reduce congestion and air pollution as less people will need to use their cars as regularly (environmental benefit).
Problem with Stratford (environment)
Prior to the Olympics, Stratford had lots of derelict and overgrown land contaminated with chemicals.
Waterways and the river Lee was also heavily contaminated, leading to flooding.
Lower life expectancy - 7 years lower than kensignton and chelsea which is only 7 miles away
Solutions to environmental problems
They did this through urban greening and decontaminating the soil and waterways. regeneration schemes helped empty the River lee of contaminants. They also created more open space: playing fields, a nature reserve, allotments and a landscaped park with natural habitat for people. This will help improve the quality of life as the vegetation will remove co2 from the air, reducing air pollution.
Problems with housing
Pooor, derelict and disused housing
Solution to housing problem
By 2030, another 5 new communities were planned, with a new further 8000 homes.
Problems with regeneration scheme
. However, as a result of this regeneration many people were forced to move out of their homes, tearing up communities. They were offered money worth 110% of their house, yet this would not be enough to buy housing in Stratford once it had been regenerated, forcing them to move out of Stratford altogether. So whilst it was regeneration for many (improving their quality of life by making the city more attractive and livable) it was gentrification for others ( as it was demoralising, displaced current inhabitants and hurt communities).
Sustainable community - Bedzed
Zero carbon
- Close proximity to transport networks
- Majority of heavy building materials e.g bricks and concrete were locally sourced
-Used recycled materials in building
- 300 mils thick windows so that they don’t need insulation
-each home has a garden with lots of green surfaces - reducing exposed concrete and thus flooding
Bedzed success statistics
Thick insulating windows have reduced energy demand for heating by 90%
Energy efficient lighbulbs + solar panels reduced electricity demand by 25%
Reduced water consumption by 50% through recycling water - recycled via a membrane bioreactor which kills bacterua
