Urban environments Flashcards
Urban settlement examples
Towns and cities
Rural settlement examples
Villages and hamlets
Difference in economic activity in urban and rural areas
- urban areas = secondary and tertiary industries - manufacturing and services
- rural areas = primary industries such as agriculture
Difference in size between urban and rural areas
- urban = generally larger in terms of population and spatial extent
- rural = generally smaller in both
Difference between urban and rural areas in density of people and buildings
- urban = higher
- rural = lower
Define urbanisation level
The percentage of a country’s population living in towns or cities
Define urbanisation rate
The speed at which a country’s level of urbanisation is increasing
Define urbanisation
An increase in the percentage of a country’s population living in towns or cities
Examples of developed countries
UK, USA, Japan, Australia
Examples of emerging countries
India, china, Mexico, Brazil
Examples of developing countries
DR congo, Nigeria, Nepal
How does level of development affect urbanisation levels
- more developed countries have better economy
- higher % of population are attracted to live in towns and cities (increasing urbanisation levels)
(Less developed countries = higher % in rural areas bc of economy based on agriculture)
How does the spatial extent of a country affect levels of urbanisation
smaller countries have higher levels of urbanisation as there’s less land that has to be urbanised, (increasing urbanisation levels) whereas this is the opposite in bigger countries
How does physical geography affect urbanisation levels?
If a large proportion of a country has a harsh, uninhabitable terrain, then population is forced to concentrate into towns or cities, increasing urbanisation levels
Where can you find lowest level of urbanisation?
Less developed regions = sub-Saharan Africa , south-east Asia
Where can you find highest levels of urbanisation?
More developed regions = North America, Western Europe and Oceania
What regions have low urbanisation rates and why?
Developed countries have low rates of urbanisation as they have high levels of urbanisation - if a large % of pop. already lives in towns and cities it’s harder to increase from this as there’s not much left to be done
Which regions have high urbanisation rates and why?
- Developing countries have high rates of urbanisation as they have low levels of urbanisation
- if a small % of pop. lives in urban areas, there is potential for rapid growth via economic development, industrialisation and shift from primary to secondary and tertiary industries
- high rates of natural increase in developing cities
What are the four stages of the urbanisation curve?
- stage 1 = developing - early urbanisation
- stage 2 = emerging - accelerating urbanisation
- stage 3 = developed - mature urbanisation
- stage 4 = developed - counter-urbanisation
Countries become more urbanised as they develop more
3 reasons for high rates of urbanisation in developing and emerging countries
- rural-to-urban migration
- natural increase
- economic development
How does rural-urban migration affect urbanisation rates
- movement of people from rural to urban areas
- this is due to push factors of rural areas and pull factors of urban areas
Pull factors of cities and towns
- job availability
- more investment in social services
- bright lights effects
Push factors of rural areas
- high unemployment
- lack of investment in social services
- lack of exciting opportunities
How does natural increase affect urbanisation rates
- emerging and developing countries have high natural increase rates (due to lots of young adults)
- tend to migrate to cities for better life + job + education
Agglomeration
The concentration of people and their activities at particular locations
Rural to urban migration
The movement of population from rural areas e.g villages to urban areas e.g cities
Suburbanisation
The expansion of an urban area by the construction of Low density housing developments on the rural urban fringe
Urban sprawl
When a city expands out into the surrounding rural area
Conurbation
When neighbouring urban centres can merge together to form a large urban area
Counter-urbanisation
The movement of people and employment from major cities to smaller cities and towns, as well as to rural areas
Urban regeneration
Investment of capital in the revival of older urban areas by either improving what is there or clearing it away and building new
Urban re-imaging
Changing the image of an urban area and the way people view it
Urbanisation of the suburbs
When the suburbs get mor urbanised as a result of increased population density
Order of processes of urbanisation
Agglomeration, rural-to-urban migration, suburbanisation, commuting,counter urbanisation, urban regeneration, urban reimaging, urbanisation of the suburbs
Megacity
A city with a population of 10M or greater
Millionaire city
A city with a population of 1M or greater
Global city
A city that is recognised worldwide as a place of great prestige, status, power and influence
Advantages of megacities
- increased wealth and better quality of life
- greater business profits
- economic development of city
- increased participation in global economy
Disadvantages of megacities
- may grow at the expense of other regions of country
- pressure on accommodation = shanty towns and high house prices
- congestion and traffic
- pressure on healthcare and services
Problems with rapid urbanisation- housing
- rural to urban migration = more ppl
- not enough accommodation as they all want cheap housing
- millions then go to shanty towns
- even for rich ppl there’s struggle bc of high house prices and wages aren’t high enough
Problems with rapid urbanisation- education
- school provision hasn’t kept up with rapid growth
- most cities have primary education but not all kids go to secondary school
- children may need to work to support family and school is expensive
Problems with rapid urbanisation- traffic
- proper road and transport provisions are lacking + can’t keep up w growth
- high pop density means that transport systems like road become congested easily
- unproductive for economic development
- smog is produced a lot
Problems with rapid urbanisation- social problems
- cities in developing countries+ emerging countries have high crime rates
- murder,rape and robbery is common
- sometime ps controlled by violent drug-trafficking gangs which police struggle to control
Problems with rapid urbanisation- access to water and electricity
- provision of basic services cannot keep up with growing population
- not all parts will be provided with water and electricity
- many ppl rely on fire for heat and light and polluted streams for water and sewage disposal
Problems with rapid urbanisation- health
- not enough Doctors, clinics and hospitals for the growing population
- large areas of city don’t have access to clean water + sanitation
- disease and infection is coming (e.g typhoid, cholera)
- pollution leads to breathing problems+ respiratory diseases
Problems with rapid urbanisation - employment
- influx of R-T-U migrants can’t match the number of formal jobs available
- unemployment isn’t an option so ppl work in the informal economy (food, shoe-shining, rickshaw)
- however this lacks security as there’s no pension system, no regular hours + wages or tax
- formal employment such ass factories are often too far from shanty towns with poor transport
Urban land zones in order (inside to outside)
Arranged in a concentric circle fashion :
- core
- inner city
- suburbs
- urban fringe
Describe the core of a city
- CBD = central business district
- oldest part pf city
- land uses = commercial, entertainment and transportation
- usually has the highest-rise buildings
Describe the inner city layer of a city
- found immediately outside core
- mostly Victorian era (19th century) buildings
- original function was industrial but most are now derelict or converted to flats
- lots of terraced housing for factory workers still remains
Describe the suburbs of a city
- lies outside inner city layer
- mostly dates from 20th century
- main land use = residential
- people became more affluent so moved away from chaos of city , gives good work life balance and they can live in more pleasant areas
- larger houses = more detached and semi-detached houses w/ front and back garden
Describe the urban fringe of a city
- found on edge of urban area, where town merges into countryside
- wide range of land uses : new housing developments (residential), out-of-town superstores and retail parks (commercial), industrial estates (industrial) and business parks and golf courses (commercial and leisure respectively)
What are the 3 things that can be notice as we move away from the core?
- age of the buildings decreases
- density of development decreases
- architectural style changes
Advantages of multiculturalism
- wide range of restaurants
- cultural events
- diverse music industry
Disadvantages of multiculturalism
- tension between different ethnic groups
- xenophobia
- risk of ‘ghetto-isation’ (deprived inner city areas with high ethnic minority concentration)
Why is immigration to most UK cities in the inner city?
- cheaper housing
- lots of jobs in services and manufacturing
- family member have already migrated + settled in the area
- similar cultures + languages + religious groups
What is white flight?
When a large migration of ethnic minorities migrate into inner city region causing the original white working class families to leave for outer suburbs
Economies of scale
Cramming as much as possible into one megacity rather than spreading it out across a number of smaller cities
Multiplier effect
- Pop growth
- greate demand fro goods and services
More jobs created
Rural to urban migration
Name 5 urban challenges in Singapore
- food
- energy
- transport
- waste disposal
- concentrated resource consumption
Urban challenges in Singapore - food
- with little farming land, Singapore imports over 90% of its food
- local farms only produce 13% of veg, 9% of fish and 24% eggs consumed in Singapore
- danger of food supply running short due to mass imports reliability on other countries
- supply problems caused by political changes in neighbouring
Urban challenges in Singapore + energy
- 95% of energy come from fossil fuels which is a finite resource
- natural gas supply comes from Indonesia + Malaysia so Singapore is geopolitically vulnerable to problems affecting gas supply in neighbouring countries
Urban challenges in Singapore - transport
- densely populated + affluent population = hard to build more infrastructure to account for large pop. + lots of congestion on the roads alr in place
- high congestion = high air pollution so exposure to pollution is 80% over the WHO safe level
- air pollution exacerbates respiratory illnesses therefore resulting in over 2000 annual deaths
- time lost in traffic jams reduces economic output and productivity
Urban challenges in Singapore - waste disposal
- high disposable income + consumer lifestyles in Singapore = lots of waste produced
- only half of solid waste produced is recycled
- 94% of plastic waste is incinerated + ashes are taken to a man-made island 8 mi offshore to dump on
- food waste is a major problem with over 700,000 tonnes produced
Urban challenges Singapore - concentrated waste consumption
- average person consumes 8542 kWh of electricity per year
-only 0.24% of this comes from sustainable sources - 1.6B L of water is used every day + 1B of this water is drawn from Malaysia’s Johor river every day
- Singapore has reclaimed land from the sea to increase its area by 25% over 50 years = destruction of marine ecosystems
Urban challenges Singapore - segregation
- home to more than 300,000 low wage workers from, India and Bangladesh
- their right to live in Singapore is tied to their job + employer provides accommodation
- this results in poor conditions for workers, with up to 20 ppl per dorm (ethnic segregation)
- second most unequal country in Asia = highest conc of millionaires in the world but also lots of ppl w less than $5 a day (social polarisation)
Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal system CAMBIO VERDE
- Cambio verde (green exchange) program allows ppl to exchange 4Kg of rubbish for 1kg of fresh produce
- allows government to recycle 70% of solid waste
- increased food security for poor residents + guaranteed sale of produce for farmers
Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal GARBAGE THATS NOT GARBAGE
- allows residents to separate organic and inorganic waste = saves time + money for government
- this money can then be invested into healthcare + education for poor communities
Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal GARBAGE PURCHASE SCHEME
- targets waste collection in the favelas
- ppl are encouraged to fill bags with waste and take them to a container on the edge of the city
- they are rewarded with a bus token for each bag they give
- reduces problem of waste in favelas + increases mobility of poorest member of society
Urban challenges Curitiba- transport BENDY BUSES
- BRT = bus rapid transit system
- bendy buses have designated roads for them through main points in the city
-85% of ppl take them to a - reduces air pollution and congestion
- less people on the roads as buses are high capacity = less air pollution as less buses on roads bc of this
- ticket prices are equal regardless of distance + time of journey = more accessible for all members of society
Who is the man who ‘designed’ Curitiba?
Jaime Lerner
Urban challenges Curitiba- employment
- CIC was built 10km away from the city + attracted 550 factories as there was a highly educated and skilled workforce = 50,000 jobs made
- waste from the ‘garbage that’s not garbage’ scheme is segregated by homeless population + recovering addicts = isolated groups are integrated into economy
- lighthouses of knowledge = free education centres dotted around the city w free internet access + libraries + job training = helps to educate the workforce
Urban challenges Curitiba - health
- 64m2 of green space / resident
- 35 parks and wooded areas are strategically placed in flood prone areas of the city to prevent favelas from coming there
- green space soaks up water = lower flood risk = less stagnant water so less waterborne disease
- 1.5M trees have been planted = better mental + physical health
Urban challenges Curitiba- education
- free uni for the environment = empowers the city + teaches them about sustainability = creates a sense of civic pride as they understand sustainable urban living
- lighthouses of knowledge
- educational books are sourced to poorer districts’ schools = increases access to educational resources
Urban challenges Curitiba- housing
- site + service schemes rehouse poorer residents displaced from flood prone favelas
- offered low interests loans to buy plots of land + free house design
- COHAB-CT = low-income housing authority provides affordable housing + 50,000 new homes have been build on outskirts of city for poorer ppl
- 98.6% of people are connected to the public water system = running water in even poorest regions
What is sustainability in terms of urban living?
A situation in which urban residents can enjoy a high quality of life today, but in a way that doesn’t compromise the ability of future generations to do the same
What are some land uses of the urban rural fringe?
- retail parks
-industrial estates - business parks
- science parks
- new housing estates
What are the pull factors of the urban rural fringe?
- cheaper land = lower development cost
- higher availability of land so higher footprint building can be built
- good accessibility = easier for people to reach the site
- attractive environment
What are the push factors of the city centre?
- very expensive land closer to PLVI
Low availability of land - traffic congestion
- les green space = worse experience for ppl when they come
Greenfield site
A site that has never been previously developed on or built. They are common on the urban rural fringe
Brownfield sites
A site that has previously been built on or developed, but may now he derelict
Green belt policy
A ring of land around some UK towns and cities in which strict planning laws make it very hard to develop on the land - designed to stop urban sprawl
Four interconnected reasons for the growth of megacities
- economic development
- economies of scale
- multiplier effect
- population growth
