Urban environments

Question 1

How do urban settlements differ from rural ones?

Answer 1

Economy, size, density of people and buildings, and way of life.

Question 2

Why do high rates of urbanisation occur in developing and emerging countries?

Answer 2

-Most new economic development in these countries is concentrated in big cities.
-Push-pull factors are leading to high rates of rural-to-urban migration.
-Cities are experiencing high rates of natural population increase.

Question 3

What are the stages of urbanisation?

EAMC

Answer 3

1. Early urbanisation
2. Accelerating urbanisation
3. Mature urbanisation
4. Counter urbanisation

Question 4

What is agglomeration?

Not just people

Answer 4

Concentration of people and economic activities at favorable locations like river crossings or in proximity to a mineral source.

Question 5

What is suburbanization?

Answer 5

The process by which towns expand outwards as they grow. Suburbs.

Question 6

What is the creation of suburbs encouraged by?

Answer 6

Improvement in transport
Overcrowding and rising land prices in the older parts of town
Decline in quality of the residential areas near the centre
Arrival of more people (mainly from rural areas) and new businesses

Question 7

What is urban regeneration?

Answer 7

Re-using areas in the old parts of cities. Allows re-imaging of whole cities. London Docklands.

Question 8

What is the urbanization of suburbs?

Answer 8

When suburbs become more than just residential. There’s less building density so there’s more space for shops and other services.

Question 9

Which factors affect the growth of megacities?

Answer 9

Economies of scale, multiplier effect, population growth, economic development

Question 10

What are economies of scale?

Answer 10

Saving money due to more efficient transport and communication because everything is in one city.

Question 11

What is the multiplier effect?

Answer 11

The cycle of economic growth increasing population growth and vice versa.

Question 12

Why can megacities have a negative effect on the country?

Answer 12

Because it prospers at the expense of towns, cities and regions in other parts of the country.

Question 13

What are some problems of rapid urbanization?

Answer 13

Housing, access to water and electricity, traffic congestion and transport, health, education, employment, social problems, environmental issues.

Question 14

What is the order of the rings in the concentric zone model?

Answer 14

Core, inner-city ring, suburban ring, urban fringe.

Question 15

What is the core in the concentric zone model?

Answer 15

The older part of the city. Contains the CBD and some of the oldest buildings.

Question 16

What is the inner-city ring in the concentric zone model?

Answer 16

Early suburbs, old housing and some non-residential land-use.

Question 17

What is the suburban ring in the concentric zone model?

Answer 17

Present suburbs with housing as dominant land use.

Question 18

What is the urban fringe in the concentric zone model?

Answer 18

Countryside being ‘eroded’ by the outward spread of built-up area to provide space for housing and some non-residential uses.

Question 19

Name some economic challenges in the developed world.

Answer 19

Food supply, globalization, energy supply, deindustrialisation, transport and traffic, service provision.

Question 20

Name some social challenges in the developed world.

Answer 20

Social services and housing, poverty, ethnic segregation, aging population, quality of life, terrorism and crime.

Question 21

Name some environmental challenges in the developed world.

Answer 21

Ecological footprint, pollution and waste disposal, resources, green space, hazard risk, sustainability.

Question 22

What are some urban challenges in the developing and emerging world?

Answer 22

Squatter settlements, the informal economy, urban pollution and low quality of life.

Question 23

What are some push factors for urban growth and change on the urban fringe?

Answer 23

-Housing is old, congested and expensive
-Environmental pollution
-Companies find that there’s a land shortage so any unhoused land is costly

Question 24

What are some pull factors for urban growth and change on the urban fringe?

Answer 24

-Land is cheaper, houses are bigger
-Factories can be bigger and have more parking space
-Closeness to main roads allows for quick and easy customer contacts
-New developments on the outskirts are favored because they’re easily accessible by car

Question 25

What are the key non-residential developments in the urban fringe?

Answer 25

Retail parks, industrial estates, business parks, science parks

Question 26

What are brownfield sites?

Answer 26

An old industrial or inner-city site that is cleared for a new building development.

Question 27

What are Greenfield sites?

Answer 27

Areas of land that have not been developed previously.

Question 28

What are some advantages of building on brownfield sites?

Answer 28

It reduces loss of the countryside. Helps revive old and disused urban areas. Services are already in place and the sites are near main areas of employment.

Question 29

What are some advantages of building on Greenfield sites?

Answer 29

Relatively cheap and faster building rates. Layout is untouched so more versatile. Healthier environment, proximity to the countryside.

Question 30

What are some disadvantages of building on brownfield sites?

Answer 30

Often more expensive because old buildings have to be cleared.
Often surrounded by rundown areas so less appealing to some people.
Higher levels of pollution.
May not have good access by road.

Question 31

What are some disadvantages of building on Greenfield sites?

Answer 31

Valuable farmland, recreational space and scenery lost.
Development causes noise and light pollution.
Wildlife and habitats lost.
Encourages further suburban sprawl.

Question 32

How can urban living be made more sustainable?

Answer 32

Using energy more efficiently
Using renewable energy sources
Public transport instead of private
Improving physical infrastructure (clean water and sanitation)
Improving social services and access to them
Improve quality of life

Question 33

What are some external input actions to make living more sustainable?

There’s 4

Answer 33

-Conserve natural resources
-Ensure efficient use of resources
-Protect biodiversity
-Respect the environmental capacity

Question 34

What are some external output actions to make living more sustainable?

Answer 34

-Minimise emissions and pollution
-Restrict use of Greenfield sites
-Provide leisure and recreational opportunities

Question 35

What are some internal actions to make living more sustainable?

Answer 35

-Recycle waste
-Create a fairer society
-Encourage wide participation in decision-making
-Make living space healthy and secure
-Provide ‘green’ infrastructure
-Reduce brownfield sites
-Make cities more compact
-Reduce use of private cars

Question 36

What are the 5 different slum-management options? Where are they used?

Answer 36

1. Bulldoze and clear away - Zimbabwe
2. Clear away but relocate - Brazil
3. Redevelop - Brazil
4. Improve by self-help or site and services schemes - Philippines
5. Ignore - India, Bangladesh

Question 37

Who are the local stakeholders in slums and their management?

Answer 37

-Slum residents
-Residents living nearby
-Utility suppliers (waste disposal, water, electricity)
-Representatives in parliament
-City councils
-Landowners and property developers
-Employers
-Planners

Question 38

Who are the national stakeholders in slums and their management?

Answer 38

Government, national charities

Question 39

Who are the international stakeholders in slums and their management?

Answer 39

-International charities (Oxfam, CAFOD, Christian Aid)
-Inter-governmental organizations (UNESCO, WHO, World Bank)