Urban Change in the UK

Question 1

Where do people live in the UK?

Answer 1

The UK’s population is unevenly distributed, 82% live in urban areas. A quarter of those urban dwellers live in London and in the south-east of England. Many highland areas are sparsely populated due to the harsh weather conditions and isolation.

Question 2

Reasons for the current distribution in the UK

Answer 2

During the industrial revolution, major cities grew near raw materials such as coal, e.g. Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Swansea and Birmingham.
Ports such as London, Liverpool and Bristol grew because the UK is and was an important trading nation.
Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff grew because they are the capitals.
Birmingham’s location is in the centre of the country was a factor in its growth as a centre of industrial innovation.
As the capital of the UK, London developed because of its political and administrative functions. It is now a global city and a financial centre.

Question 3

How might the current distribution change?

Answer 3

How might this distribution change?
 There has been a general drift towards the south-east and London – one of the world’s financial, business and cultural centres.
 Immigrants generally settle in larger cities where there are more job opportunities.
 There has been a recent growth in retiring people which chose to move to more rural areas for their retirement.

Question 4

Why is Bristol an important major UK city

Answer 4

 Education – two universities, attracts international students.
 Industry – the largest concentration of silicon chip manufacture outside California, global industries like aerospace and media, inward investment from abroad.
 Religion – a mix, including mosques and synagogues; Christianity is represented by two cathedrals, one Anglican one catholic.
 Culture and entertainment – several theatres and music venues, including the famous Bristol old Vic theatre. Home to Aardman, the animators who created Wallace and Gromit.
 Tourism – the UK’s eighth most popular city for visitors.
 Transport – good road and rail links, ferry services to Europe, two major docks and Bristol airport links to Europe and the US.

Question 5

Advantages of Bristol’s migrant population growth

Answer 5

Opportunities:

A hard-working workforce
Enriching the city’s cultural life
Mainly young migrants help balance the aging population.

Question 6

Disdvantages of Bristol’s migrant population growth

Answer 6

Challenges:
Housing provision has not kept up with the population growth – housing is expensive.

Teaching children who don’t have English as a first language

Integration into the larger community

Question 7

What urban change is there in Bristol

Answer 7

	Rapidly growing population
	More ethnically diverse population
	Under 16’s > pensioners
	More accessible due to network of motorways, rail and air
	Over 2mil people live within 50km away
	70min train journey to London

Question 8

Social opportunities

Answer 8

Entertainment – there are nightclubs, bars and a vibrant underground music scene. There are concert venues, and theatres. Migrants contribute to the music, art, literature and food.

Sport – sports teams are developing their stadium to provide a range of leisure and conference facilities. This often involves new stadium on the outskirts of the city.

Shopping – Bristol has seen may major changes. The retail park at cribs causeway affected the outdated Broad mead shopping development in the city centre. As a result, Cabot circus was developed.

Question 9

Examples of Bristol’s social opportunities

Answer 9

Cabot circus
 Opened in 2008 at a cost of £500 million.
 Shops and leisure facilities take up 2/3 of the floor space
 There are also offices, a cinema, a hotel and 250 apartments

Bristol’s harbour side
 Conversion of workshops and warehouses into bars, nightclubs and cultural venues
 Includes an art gallery, museum and the At-Bristol science centre
 The harbour side festival attracts around 300 000 spectators

Question 10

How has industry changed in Bristol?

Answer 10

The closure of Bristol port meant that its industry changed. Since then, major developments have been in tertiary (services) and quaternary (high-tech) sectors. This creates employment.

Question 11

Why have high tech businesses been attracted to Bristol

Answer 11

 A government grant of £100 million to become a super-connected city with broadband download speeds of at least 80 Mbps.
 Close links with the city council and universities.
 A large educated and skilled workforce
 Advanced research at the uni
 Different industries working collaboratively in research and development.

Question 12

Industries in Bristol: Defence procurement agency

Answer 12

employs over 10 000 people

supplies the army, air force and navy with everything from boots to aircraft carriers.

Established on a greenfield site

Created a demand for housing which contributed to the city’s urban sprawl.

Question 13

Industries in Bristol: The aerospace industry

Answer 13

Fourteen of the fifteen main global aircraft companies are found in the Bristol region including rolls Royce, airbus, and GKN aerospace.

Supply chains have grown up in the region to supply these hi-tech companies.

Question 14

Industries in Bristol: Aardman Animations

Answer 14

Became well known for using stop motion clay animation techniques

Entered the computer animation market

Won an Oscar and many other awards

Question 15

What plans are there to improve the environment opportunities in Bristol?

Answer 15

In 2015 Bristol become the first UK city to be awarded the status of European green capital. It also plans to increase the number of jobs in the low-carbon industries.
Other plans include
 Improve energy efficiency – reduce energy use by 30% and carbon dioxide emissions by 40% be 2020.
 Increase the use of renewable energy from 2% (2012)
 Reduce water pollution by improved monitoring and maintenance
 Establish and air quality management plan to monitor air pollution
 Increase the use of brownfield sites for new businesses and housing.

Question 16

Define An Integrated transport system

Answer 16

an ITS connects different methods of transport. It encourages people to switch to using public transport.

 The rapid transit network – three bus routes linking the railway station to park and rode sites.
 Electrification of the railway line to London – greener and more reliable journeys.
 Aims to double the number of cyclists by 2020.

Question 17

Define Urban greening

Answer 17

this is the process of increasing and preserving open space in urban areas.

 More than a third of Bristol is open space
 There are eight nature reserves and 300 parks in the city.
 Queen square was once a dual carriageway, but is now an open space with cycle routes.

Question 18

Environmental challenges in Bristol

Answer 18

Due to the changes in Bristol many environmental challenges have arisen. For example, may industrial buildings that are no longer used have become derelict and the demand for new housing has led to urban sprawl which means that new housing developments in rural areas on the edge of the city.

Question 19

Environmental Challenges in Bristol: Case Study

Answer 19

Stokes croft
 It is an inner-city area with housing once built for industrial workers.
 The housing has now become derelict
 There were problems with squatters, riots and antisocial behaviour.
o Bristol city council obtained lottery grants to help improve the area.
o Activists and artist want to revitalise the area with community action and public art, including graffiti.

Question 20

Effect of Urban Sprawl in Bristol

Answer 20

– Bristol needs new housing because of a rapidly growing population and the demolition of older slum dwellings. Urban sprawl has extended, particularly to the north-west of the city. The new town of Bradley stoke has extended the city to the north.
 Bristol is developing brownfield sites such as the Harbour side.
 Between 2006 and 2013 only 6% of housing developments were on greenfield.

Question 21

How is Bristol trying to create a clean environment?

Answer 21

The amount of waste produced per head in Bristol is 23% lower than the UK average but Bristol produces half a million tonnes of waste per year. It is among the worst cities in the country in terms of food waste.
Bristol’s population has grown by 9% since 2000 but the amount of household waste has reduced by 18%. This has been achieved by:
 Making technological improvements in recycling.
 Introducing specialised kerbside collections and facilities for recycling different kinds of household waste.
 Doing more to teach children about recycling.

Question 22

Environment Problems: Atmospheric Pollution

Answer 22

 Vehicle emissions are the main cause
 An estimated 200 people die prematurely each year in Bristol as a result of air pollution.
Actions to improve the air quality include:
 The Frome gateway, a walking and cycling route to the city centre
 A smartphone app with info about public transport services, connections and delays.

Question 23

Bristol - Social Inequality Case Study description

Answer 23

Filwood:
more than a third of people living in Filwood and over half of the children were in very low-income households.

Stoke Bishop:
A very affluent suburb to the north west of the city, has an area which houses many millionaires.

Question 24

Bristol - Social Inequality: Housing

Answer 24

Filwood
Many council houses built in the 1930/40’s to replace the slums and war damage, poorly insulated
Nearly 6% of houses are overcrowded
New, modern apartments are being built in Filwood park

Stoke Bishop:
Over 80% of housing is owned
Less than 2% of houses are overcrowded
Adequate parking is often a problem

Question 25

Bristol - Social Inequality: Education

Answer 25

Filwood:
35% of pupils receive free school meals
In 2013 only 36% of students got top grades in GCSE, including English and Maths

Stoke Bishop:
14% of pupils receive free school meals
94% of students got the highest grades in five or more GCSE’s
Nearly half of the population have a degree or equivalent

Question 26

Bristol - Social Inequality: Health

Answer 26

Filwood:
Life expectancy is about three years below the average in Bristol
Lowest participation in active sport and creative activities in the cities
Poor access to shops selling healthy foods.

Stoke Bishop:
Life expectancy is about 4 years above city average
Over 90% of population consider themselves to be in good health
Over half of population play sport at least once a week

Question 27

Bristol - Social Inequality: Employment

Answer 27

Filwood:
Over a third of people aged 16-24 are unemployed
Over a quarter of children live in a low-income family

Stoke Bishop:
Only 2% of the population is unemployed
Fewer than 3% of the children live in poverty.

Question 28

Effect of the green belt in Bristol

Answer 28

The green belt was set up to stop the merging of Bristol and bath and to prevent urban sprawl on the rural-urban fringe.

Question 29

Housing development on greenfield land in Bristol

Answer 29

A new development of 1200 homes has been built on land at Harry Stoke with 2000 more planned to be completed by 2017. Local people objected, they were concerned about traffic congestion, noise and poor air quality, loss of animal habitats and the effect on the local flood risk.

Question 30

Housing development on brownfield land in Bristol

Answer 30

Bristol Harbour side – when Bristol’s port closed down, so did several industries around the docks. Empty industrial buildings were regenerated for housing and cultural facilities.
 A very run-down area of the city has been redeveloped
 People still live in the centre
 Not everyone is happy about the architecture
 Renovation has been costly so the flats are expensive

Question 31

Why should run-down urban areas be regenerated?

Answer 31

 Existing buildings can be put to a range of uses on any one site
 The land is often disused or in a state of dereliction
 The site has already been developed so it reduces urban sprawl
 Using unsightly areas for building development improves the urban environment
 Sites are in urban areas, so building there may reduce are use

Question 32

Temple Quarter Regeneration: Overview

Answer 32

The Temple quarter needed regeneration as the area was very run down and it gave a bad impression to visitors driving in from the south or south-east, or arriving at the station.

Question 33

What are the separate areas of the Temple Quarter?

Answer 33

 Avon riverside – old industrial buildings used for light industries. Green spaces were created by demolishing a former diesel depot
 Temple Meads City Gateway – dominated by Temple Meads railway station. Cut off from the rest of the area by the dual carriageway built in the 1970’s
 Silverthorne lane – the remains of the Bristol ironworks and the city’s gasworks. Access is difficult because of historic railway arches
 Temple quay – a former industrial area, including rope works, timber yards and potteries.

Question 34

What general regeneration projects have taken in place in Temple Quarter?

Answer 34

A new bridge across the River Avon
Glass Wharf - new office development
Paintworks - new mixed use development
Temple studios - new technical and digital enterprises
Engine Shed - for high tech and creative businesses

The target is to create 17 000 new jobs by 2037, focusing on several key projects.

Question 35

How has the access from in and around Bristol improved?

Answer 35

 Electrification will shorten the rail journey to London
 Improvements to Temple meads station to encourage people to travel by train
 Improved road layout with links to the rapid transit network and the Bristol-bath cycle path

Question 36

Opportunites that have come due to the Temple Quarter Regeneration

Answer 36

Enterprise zone status – they encourage economic growth and creates jobs. They offer a range of incentives to businesses to move to the area, including business rate relief, low rents and easier planning procedures.