Urban Environments Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
An increase in people living in towns and cities
What are the pull factors to the city?
Employment
Entertainment
Education
Better services
What are the Push factors from the countryside
Drought
War and famine
Poverty
When was there rapid urbanisation in UK
During the nineteenth century during the industrial revolution. Increase in farming machinery meant less workers on farms and there were jobs in the factories, shipping yards, and mines in cities
What percent of Britain’s population is urban
90%
Why are poorer countries urbanising quickly
high fertility rate and birth rates are higher than death rates because more young people are moving to the city
What are the four parts of the burgess model?
CBD - Central business district
Inner City
Suburbs
Rural - urban fringe
What is the CBD
The most accessible part of any urban area.
Buildings are tall as there is competition for land and land prices are expensive.
many high order functions such as banks and department stores as they need large amount of customers to make a profit.
Chunks are pedestrianised to make shopping a pleasant experience.
Westgate is an example.
Halifax has differing cultural zones denoted with a series of symbols such as the theatre zone (T) E.g. Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Manchester
What is the inner city?
This zone grew at start of industrial revolution
Factories were built around the CBD and the river Calder as the river also provided energy and water to clean the wool fleeces and factory.
Dean clough became a major employer
People quickly migrated and terraced housing was built to accommodate all the factory workers as they were cheap and easy to make.
E.g Queens road
Low order convenience stores are found here.
High density housing and streets are in a grid pattern.
This area has been redeveloped and renewed recently and you can now find high rise flats and modern industry warehouses such as b&q
What are the suburbs
With the development of cars people who had one could move away from the polluted inner city to live in a better environment.
Detached houses with gardens and garages many roads were col-de-sacs and pavements were bigger.
Lower house density
With the development of bus routes poorer people were rehoused from now slum houses in the inner city to council estates in the suburbs
E.g mixenden
What is the rural urban fringe?
Where urban area meets the countryside.
Difficult to build anything as you need planning permission.
This is to stop the urban area expanding.
Known as greenbelt land.
Lot of conflicts between industry, home owners, and farmers.
What are the problems with urban growth?
Sewage is dumped in the sea
land scarred by quarries
noise and air pollution from aircraft, cars and lorries
Acid rain endangers plant and animal life and corrodes buildings
dumping of household waste
pollution from factories
deforestation for development
cities sprawling into countryside
oil pollution
new roads built attracting more traffic
farming becomes more intensive using more fertilisers and pesticides
What kind of things are found in the core of the CBD
Department stores
Specialist shops
High rise office blocks
banks
what kind of things are found in the frame of the CBD
smaller shops
railway station bus and coach station
offices - insurance companies/solicitors
multi-storey car parks
car sales
services
theatres
cinemas
uni
What are the problems in CBD’s and whats being done to help them
Weather - Development of indoor shopping complexes - Westgate arcade, halifax
Anti social behaviour - A visible presence to deter poor behaviour - Street angles, Halifax
Traffic congestions & accidents - Pedestrianised zones, bus lanes, and park are ride schemes - Sheffield, York, Halifax
What are the issues with traffic?
Congestion
Noise and air pollution
What are the solutions to traffic issues
Accommodate the traffic encourage people to use public transport
Ring roads and bypasses to keep traffic out of centre urban motorways and flyovers to get people places faster
multistory/underground car parks
one way traffic systems avoiding pedestrian high streets
park and ride scheme (York bus, sheffield tram Nottingham tram)
bus lanes
cycle schemes (Boris bikes)
Congestion charge
car club - renting a car on a short term basis
What are the problems with housing caused by
total population increase total households increasing more people live alone
Where is there a greater need for housing in Britain
London and SE England due to a lot of migration to this area for work
What is the governments policy on housing
to use brownfield site to save the countryside and its greenfield sites reducing urban sprawl.
What is a brownfield site
run down areas within cities
What are greenfield sites
land never built on before
What are the benefits of building on brownfield sites
using old run down industrial parts of cities to build on
Easy and quick to get planning permission
Close to city centre for work shops and entertainment
Road and transport already there
Services (water, gas, plumbing etc) already there
What are the negatives of building on brownfield sites??
Land may be expensive to buy or rent
Site may be polluted and need cleaning
May only be small site
Surrounding areas not attractive
What are the benefits of building on greenfield sites?
Not been built on, quick and easy to prepare for building
Land cheaper
Area more attractive
Space to build large detached houses = large profit
What are the negatives of building on greenfield sites?
Countryside is lost Wildlife threatened
What is urban renewal
Doing up decaying houses
What is urban redevelopment
Building something completely different on an old industrial/housing area that has fallen into disrepair
What renewal has happened in Halifax?
Queens road:
Double glazed windows
Front gardens for safety (defensible space)
Walls sandblasted
Traffic restrictions
What redevelopments have happened in Halifax
Halifax grammar school - apartments
Old industrial - retail (the range) (Halifax)
Valley mills - Luxury apartments (Elland)
What are the social problems with the cultural mix in halifax
Differences in the age-profile of ethnic groups in halifax. 36% of asian population under 16 in 2001, white 29% black 23%.
The older population is mainly white non-whites over 65 = 3.9%
Over half the 16-74 asian population has no qualifications compared to under 40% of white people that age
High proportion of old asians have long term illnesses.
What are the economic problems with the cultural mix in halifax
unemployment is highest among asian groups, asian women follow traditional roles and rarely do any paid work.
What are the social solutions to the problems with the cultural mix in halifax
Charities such as Himmat help young asians to raise educational standards and appoint asian role models to mentor them.
A sure start centre opened in Queens road to help give guidance in child care and promoting health. The government has now stopped this.
Places such as Manchester promote the ‘curry mile’ which encourages other cultures to visit and sample asian food helping break the barriers between areas/people.
The current mayor of Calderdale is British asian which shows integration at the highest level of society.
What are the economic solutions to the problems with the cultural mix in halifax
Local businesses are being given cheaper rents and plots of land to set up in the Queens road area
recruit asian workers. DD Porter Builders is an example. However no British Asian applied for a single job.
What are the environmental problems in inner cities
Houses run down/derelict
Vandalised factories, warehouses, churches and flats.
Lots of wastelands
What are the social problems in inner cities
High number of pensioners, single parent families, ethnic minorities, and students.
Poor health, higher than average levels of drug abuse and crime
Difficult police - community relations
What are the economic problems in inner cities
Local employment declined as industries and docks closed
Higher than average unemployment especially young and ethnic minorities.
Low income and widespread poverty
*Is this a HIC city or LIC
LIC
What are the similarities and differences of HIC cities and LIC cities
they both grow outward from the centre and both have a CBD but HIC’s are more organised and don’t have slums
Where is Rio De Janeiro
Brazil on the East Coast in South America
Why did Rio begin to urbanise quickly
People migrated from rural areas looking for work 40 years ago
What are the names for the slums in Rio
Favelas
How much of Rio’s population live in the favelas
1/3
What is Barra and why has this place grown?
A city on the coast 20km from Rio.
People moved there because Rio was becoming overcrowded, land was available for building, crime in Rio was a problem as well as traffic congestion and air pollution
Why is Rio always going to struggle to solve its problems
crime is always going to be there, not a lot of money to give them. lack of education
What are the environmental problems in Rio
mudslides wash away peoples homes
No space overcrowded
Sao Paulo dumping mercury contaminated sludge into Rio Ocean
water contaminated by sewage and rubbish
Air pollution index triple the acceptable amount
Copacabana beach gets 480 olympic swimming pools worth or raw sewage ever and 40% increase in cars in last 10 years
Maracana river polluted
What are the social problems in Rio
lung capacity of children decreased due to lead pollution from cars
Murder rate has tripled in the last 15 years
What are the economic problems in Rio
not enough jobs more people in informal sector (not paying tax)
What are the environmental solutions in Rio
Bus Rapid Transit Corridor is being built which will produce less emissions
A new city (Barra) has been built
New roads into mountains to create more road space and less congestion
Local people take turns to dispose of rubbish
$650 million programme to improve sewage pipes and treatment plants
What are the social solutions in Rio
Police are solving crime with heavy handed tactics, 1 in 8 attempted arrests result in a death
What is the case study of rapid urbanisation
Cairo Egypt
What is the solution to the traffic congestion in Cairo
Cairo Metro has two lines operating carrying 2 million per day
What is the solution to the sewage problem in Cairo
The Greater Cairo Sewage Project. Extend sewers to the slum areas.
Zabbaleen, the official refuse collectors in the slums and recyclers of waste
What is the solution to housing problem in Cairo
Construction of new settlements capable of housing 15 million people e.g. settlement ‘15th May’
What are the economic problems in Rocinha
Jobs are low paid, informal, and people are self employed
What are the social characteristics of Rocinha
Much leisure takes place on roof tops (kite flying/martial arts)
Strong community spirit
Graffiti and vandalism, crime is a huge problem, highest crime rate in Rio
Houses built on dangerous undesirable land 120,000 people crammed on steep hills
What are the environmental characteristics of Rocinha
Poorly built, unregulated homes often built from scrap materials
Unclean water supplies often contain raw sewage.
57% of houses not connected to sewers
Graffiti
Houses on steep hills
What are the solutions to the problems in Rio’s favelas.
Self help schemes
Developing community/
TV ROC
favela tours
police pacification of the favelas
Developing minds
describe the self help schemes in Rio in more detail
local authorities provide favela residents with building materials (breeze blocks and cement) to build permanent accommodation. Residents build themselves which develops sense of community and ownership. Hopefully will lead to drop in disease and solution as amenities such as water and electricity can be provided
describe the Developing community in Rio in more detail
Rocinha has good infrastructure: - business - bank - chemist - bus routes - cable tv
Tv ROC promotes community projects and helps track down criminals
describe favela tours in Rio in more detail
tourists are escorted round the slums which allows residents to make a living being a tour guide and selling souvenirs.
describe the police pacification in Rio in more detail
UPP
Police make regular patrols of Rocinha to reduce crime and build trust within the community
describe the developing minds in Rio in more detail
build schools and promotes education trying to raise literacy rates which will result in good jobs and money which leads to a better standard of living.
*What are the characteristics of each house on this diagram
- scarp materials, no running water
- Running water, stronger construction (breeze blocks), electricity.
- indoor plumbing, larger, pitched roof
What is the plan for sustainable living in the UK.
Eco towns.
10 are planned for 2020.
They will have: low energy consumption
Carbon neutral
Built from recyclable materials
Green spaces that cover at least 40% of the urban area
safe walking routes and cycle lanes built into layout
What are the reasons to conserve historic features of cities
Improve appearance of areas and encourage visitors. e.g The Piece Hall, Halifax
What are the reasons to use brownfield sites
Improve appearance of the area reduce the loss of countryside make good use of run down areas E.g Dean Clough & Gannex Mills
What are the reasons to Reuse, reduce, recycle waste
Reduces amount of waste that has to be burnt or put in landfill sites E.g the different waste collection in Calderdale
What are the reasons to improve public transport systems
cut down on carbon emissions by reducing use of cars.
1 bus takes 60 cars off the road.
E.g park and ride scheme in York, tram in sheffield
What is BedZED
Beddington zero energy development. It is near Croydon south London
When did BedZED start
2002
What is BedZEDS aim
to be carbon neutral using less energy and transport then the average UK home
What are the features of BedZED
Solar architecture which captures light and heat from the sun.
Vents on the roof to keep air flowing and the house cool.
Thick walls keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.
Rainwater capture using seedam is used to flush toilet.
Built from recycled materials
Public transport is in easy reach by foot or bike.
ZED cars - car sharing club
Free charging points for electric cars.
Combined heat and power station (CHP) on site - local supply via solar and wind power, and burning wood chippings.
