Urban (Edinburgh) Flashcards
Need for Changes in Housing (Edinburgh)
In Leith
* Unemployment increase due to old industry disappearing.
* Undesirable place to live due to remnants of old industry.
In Westerhailes
* Flats were poorly built and damp meaning quality of life is poor.
* High unemployment which led to poverty, crime drug and alcohol abuse and high rates of teenage pregnancy.
* Although near Sighthill industrial estate the skilled jobs had moved here from Centre of Edinburgh so it didn’t provide job oppurtunities.
* Youths hanging around area made people feel unsafe.
General Edinburgh
* Growing demand for rental sectors (students, low earner) mean demand outweighs availability.
* Aging population mean houses are under-occupied.
* Rising house prices mean that people are forced out of the market.
* Air BnB’s mean that demand and house prices increase as second homes are being bought for business.
Strategies to Manage Housing
In Leith
* New Executive Housing Built - To encourage more affluent people to move in, more money spent improves the economy, greater social mix of people in area. eg. Platinum Point
* More Affordable Housing Built - people who were from Leith couldn’t afford executive flats, encourages greater mix of people in area, improves sense of community. eg. Allanfeild, Leith.
* Conversion of Old Whiskey Bond Warehouses into Flats - old industrial buildings looked derilict after closing, conversion improves overall appearance, encourages variety of residents. eg. The Cooperage.
* General Improvement - brings more people to the area, improves economy and provides jobs therefore encourages a wider mix of people to move to the area. eg. Ocean Terminal, Royal Yacht Brittania, Scottish Executive Offices.
* Private health club and new restaurants provide employment opputunities.
* Changes that have led to the demolition of historic sites have created campaigns eg. Save Leith Walk which has saved the demolition of historic sites so most improvments fit with the local heritage.
Effectiveness of Housing Strategies
- Over 17,000 new homes built in the docks area since 2006, average house price £40,000 higher than older tenements, Leith locals can’t afford house prices.
- Over 2400 properties available for social rent in Leith so it is now more affordable, 3 sheltered housing complexes so wide mix of people catered for, committed to developing the community as a whole.
- Fewer empty derelict and dangerous buildings, landscaping around developments improves environment, house prices have increased showing area is more desirable to live in.
- Royal Yacht Brittania experienced a 12% increase in visitor numbers between 2016-17.
Need for transport changes
CBD
* All main roads lead to CBD so it is a natural focal point for traffic.
* Historic small streets were not designed for modern transport.
* Grid Iron Street Pattern (lots of 90° turns) means traffic stops and starts.
* More people commute from the suburbs (Currie) and outlying villages (Musselburgh) they have to travel into work, thus increasing traffic.
* Strict parking means that streets are clogged with cars circling looking for a parking space.
* Bus, tram and taxis only on Princes Street so surrounding streets become busier with private cars.
Edge of City
* Decentralisation of business and retail to edge of city means more commuters are travelling to edge of city.
* Suburbanisation and counter urbanisation mean more people live outwith the city so must have to travel to get to it.
* Tourist attractions and retail parks (Dobbies, IKEA, Fort Kinnaird) lead to increased volumes of traffic.
* Increased car ownership has meant that more and more people are happy to travel to use facilities in the capital.
* People use the City Bypass to avoid going through the city so it has many cars going round Edinburgh. Can’t cope with volume of cars.
Other
* High noise and exhaust pollution.
* Gridlock on major roads leading to CBD.
* Permit parking restricts parking for visitors to CBD.
* Edge of city industry (Fort Kinnaird) means bypass is also congested.
Strategies for transport change.
CBD
* Encourage use of public transport through schemes such as buses with free wifi, Ridacard Passes being used on the tram and buses and offer cheaper fares when bought in bulk. This means less cars driving into the city cutting down on traffic congestion and air pollution.
* Parking restrictions to stop lots of cars parking on street edges blocking the road, which slows down traffic will improve traffic flow.
* Public transport only on Princes St to reduce volume of traffic and pollution from 2019.
* Multi-storey car parks (Omni Centre) keeps cars off the streets so improves traffic flow.
* Pedestrianisation of Cockburn St and Vic St in 2020 keep traffic out of the centre, reduces pollution and keeps pedestians safer.
Edge of City
* New motorway south of Forth Road Bridge to make it quicker to join up with M8 and A720.
* Queensferry Crossing opened in 2017 designed to improve traffic flow in and out of Edinburgh epecially at peak times.
Both
* Improved rail links (Borders railway) to cut down on the number of cars on the road.
* Park and ride (Sherrifhall, Ingleston) reduces number of cars entering CBD.
Effectiveness of transport strategies
CBD
* Don’t always go where people need (trams only cover small part of city), people like convenience of their own car, greenways mean buses don’t get stuck in traffic so are quicker and well used.
* Has stopped certain streets becoming congested, moved problem elsewhere as people have to circle to find a space, small traders lose out due to people being unable to park outside shops.
* Princes St is less congested but traffic has moved to nearby George St and Queen St.
* Less cars circling for space, long queues to get in creates congestion, very expensive (Castle Terrace £4.95 per hour).
* Successful for pedestrianised streets but surrounding streets become busier, cars circling at slow speeds increases C02 emissions.
Edge of City
* Successful as has eased traffic flow overall but queues still building up at rush hour, only improves traffic coming from North/Fife.
Both
* Regular trains have meant the service is well used, issues with Scotrail has meant that trains are overcrowded, not enough carriages so people are put off, 2020 1.7 journeys were late.
* Numbers using P&R have increased, cheaper than parking in CBD, inconvenient with lots of heavy bags, public transport doesn’t take you to direct destination, car is more comfortable.
