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Geography 🌏 > Urban environments > Flashcards

Urban environments Flashcards

1
Q

Urban settlement examples

A

Towns and cities

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2
Q

Rural settlement examples

A

Villages and hamlets

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3
Q

Difference in economic activity in urban and rural areas

A
  • urban areas = secondary and tertiary industries - manufacturing and services
  • rural areas = primary industries such as agriculture
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4
Q

Difference in size between urban and rural areas

A
  • urban = generally larger in terms of population and spatial extent
  • rural = generally smaller in both
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5
Q

Difference between urban and rural areas in density of people and buildings

A
  • urban = higher
  • rural = lower
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6
Q

Define urbanisation level

A

The percentage of a country’s population living in towns or cities

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7
Q

Define urbanisation rate

A

The speed at which a country’s level of urbanisation is increasing

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8
Q

Define urbanisation

A

An increase in the percentage of a country’s population living in towns or cities

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9
Q

Examples of developed countries

A

UK, USA, Japan, Australia

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10
Q

Examples of emerging countries

A

India, china, Mexico, Brazil

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11
Q

Examples of developing countries

A

DR congo, Nigeria, Nepal

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12
Q

How does level of development affect urbanisation levels

A
  • 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)
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13
Q

How does the spatial extent of a country affect levels of urbanisation

A

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

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14
Q

How does physical geography affect urbanisation levels?

A

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

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15
Q

Where can you find lowest level of urbanisation?

A

Less developed regions = sub-Saharan Africa , south-east Asia

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16
Q

Where can you find highest levels of urbanisation?

A

More developed regions = North America, Western Europe and Oceania

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17
Q

What regions have low urbanisation rates and why?

A

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

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18
Q

Which regions have high urbanisation rates and why?

A
  • 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
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19
Q

What are the four stages of the urbanisation curve?

A
  • 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
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20
Q

3 reasons for high rates of urbanisation in developing and emerging countries

A
  • rural-to-urban migration
  • natural increase
  • economic development
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21
Q

How does rural-urban migration affect urbanisation rates

A
  • movement of people from rural to urban areas
  • this is due to push factors of rural areas and pull factors of urban areas
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22
Q

Pull factors of cities and towns

A
  • job availability
  • more investment in social services
  • bright lights effects
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23
Q

Push factors of rural areas

A
  • high unemployment
  • lack of investment in social services
  • lack of exciting opportunities
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24
Q

How does natural increase affect urbanisation rates

A
  • 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
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25
Q

Agglomeration

A

The concentration of people and their activities at particular locations

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26
Q

Rural to urban migration

A

The movement of population from rural areas e.g villages to urban areas e.g cities

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27
Q

Suburbanisation

A

The expansion of an urban area by the construction of Low density housing developments on the rural urban fringe

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28
Q

Urban sprawl

A

When a city expands out into the surrounding rural area

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29
Q

Conurbation

A

When neighbouring urban centres can merge together to form a large urban area

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30
Q

Counter-urbanisation

A

The movement of people and employment from major cities to smaller cities and towns, as well as to rural areas

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31
Q

Urban regeneration

A

Investment of capital in the revival of older urban areas by either improving what is there or clearing it away and building new

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32
Q

Urban re-imaging

A

Changing the image of an urban area and the way people view it

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33
Q

Urbanisation of the suburbs

A

When the suburbs get mor urbanised as a result of increased population density

34
Q

Order of processes of urbanisation

A

Agglomeration, rural-to-urban migration, suburbanisation, commuting,counter urbanisation, urban regeneration, urban reimaging, urbanisation of the suburbs

35
Q

Megacity

A

A city with a population of 10M or greater

36
Q

Millionaire city

A

A city with a population of 1M or greater

37
Q

Global city

A

A city that is recognised worldwide as a place of great prestige, status, power and influence

38
Q

Advantages of megacities

A
  • increased wealth and better quality of life
  • greater business profits
  • economic development of city
  • increased participation in global economy
39
Q

Disadvantages of megacities

A
  • 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
40
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- housing

A
  • 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
41
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- education

A
  • 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
42
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- traffic

A
  • 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
43
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- social problems

A
  • 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
44
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- access to water and electricity

A
  • 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
45
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation- health

A
  • 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
46
Q

Problems with rapid urbanisation - employment

A
  • 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
47
Q

Urban land zones in order (inside to outside)

A

Arranged in a concentric circle fashion :
- core
- inner city
- suburbs
- urban fringe

48
Q

Describe the core of a city

A
  • CBD = central business district
  • oldest part pf city
  • land uses = commercial, entertainment and transportation
  • usually has the highest-rise buildings
49
Q

Describe the inner city layer of a city

A
  • 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
50
Q

Describe the suburbs of a city

A
  • 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
51
Q

Describe the urban fringe of a city

A
  • 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)
52
Q

What are the 3 things that can be notice as we move away from the core?

A
  • age of the buildings decreases
  • density of development decreases
  • architectural style changes
53
Q

Advantages of multiculturalism

A
  • wide range of restaurants
  • cultural events
  • diverse music industry
54
Q

Disadvantages of multiculturalism

A
  • tension between different ethnic groups
  • xenophobia
  • risk of ‘ghetto-isation’ (deprived inner city areas with high ethnic minority concentration)
55
Q

Why is immigration to most UK cities in the inner city?

A
  • cheaper housing
  • lots of jobs in services and manufacturing
  • family member have already migrated + settled in the area
  • similar cultures + languages + religious groups
56
Q

What is white flight?

A

When a large migration of ethnic minorities migrate into inner city region causing the original white working class families to leave for outer suburbs

57
Q

Economies of scale

A

Cramming as much as possible into one megacity rather than spreading it out across a number of smaller cities

58
Q

Multiplier effect

A
  • Pop growth
  • greate demand fro goods and services
    More jobs created
    Rural to urban migration
59
Q

Name 5 urban challenges in Singapore

A
  • food
  • energy
  • transport
  • waste disposal
  • concentrated resource consumption
60
Q

Urban challenges in Singapore - food

A
  • 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
61
Q

Urban challenges in Singapore + energy

A
  • 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
62
Q

Urban challenges in Singapore - transport

A
  • 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
63
Q

Urban challenges in Singapore - waste disposal

A
  • 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
64
Q

Urban challenges Singapore - concentrated waste consumption

A
  • 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
65
Q

Urban challenges Singapore - segregation

A
  • 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)
66
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal system CAMBIO VERDE

A
  • 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
67
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal GARBAGE THATS NOT GARBAGE

A
  • 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
68
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba - waste disposal GARBAGE PURCHASE SCHEME

A
  • 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
69
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba- transport BENDY BUSES

A
  • 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
70
Q

Who is the man who ‘designed’ Curitiba?

A

Jaime Lerner

71
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba- employment

A
  • 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
72
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba - health

A
  • 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
73
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba- education

A
  • 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
74
Q

Urban challenges Curitiba- housing

A
  • 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
75
Q

What is sustainability in terms of urban living?

A

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

76
Q

What are some land uses of the urban rural fringe?

A
  • retail parks
    -industrial estates
  • business parks
  • science parks
  • new housing estates
77
Q

What are the pull factors of the urban rural fringe?

A
  • 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
78
Q

What are the push factors of the city centre?

A
  • very expensive land closer to PLVI
    Low availability of land
  • traffic congestion
  • les green space = worse experience for ppl when they come
79
Q

Greenfield site

A

A site that has never been previously developed on or built. They are common on the urban rural fringe

80
Q

Brownfield sites

A

A site that has previously been built on or developed, but may now he derelict

81
Q

Green belt policy

A

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

82
Q

Four interconnected reasons for the growth of megacities

A
  • economic development
  • economies of scale
  • multiplier effect
  • population growth

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