Urban Environments Flashcards
What is urbanisation?
The increase in number of people living in towns and cities. Moving from a rural area to urban.
Describe the growth of urbanisation using statistics.
1950 = 80 cities w/ over a million people Now = Over 300
Growth dominated by rapid urbanisation in LEDCs.
Why did MEDC urbanisation increase rapidly after the Industrial Revolution and what happened?
They were looking for work in factories.
Terraced houses built for workers expanded into cities.
After, shops & offices replaced factories in city centre –> CBD.
What are the 4 developed zones of MEDC land uses called as a result of urban growth, from middle to outermost part?
Central Business District, Inner City, Suburbs, Rural-Urban Fringe.
Outline the Hulme Inner City Challenge case study.
Inner city in Manchester. Redeveloped in a slum clearance programme in 60-80s bc bad conditions; 5k homes owned by council where unfortunate residents had to live, low lvl of families, too many single-person homes.
In 90s, CC plan: 3k new homes, malls, roads, schools, facilities. Housing development (streets, squares, 2 storey houses, high rise flats in crescent shape –> poor design/maintenance).
50ha land recovered, 600 new homes, 400 refurbished, Asda added, crime decrease, social mix, water conserving homes, energy efficient, Briefly Fields (business park), sport centre, great link to CBD.
Outline the London Docklands Inner City case study.
East London along Thames. Jubilee Lime extended into it. Used to be largest port after WW2, closed in 70s bc ships couldn’t fit into port –> 10k jobs lost. Brownfield & no space in CBD so this was more space. Development in 80s to look like New York (grid layout). Incentives for business to set up.
Urban Dev. Corp. aim to improve areas of decline. London Docklands Dev. Corp. set up by Gov. –> 20k homes, 8k refurbished, facilities, jobs, railway, link to main road, luxury flats (expensive for some), 130k h of greenspace, 40k pop. increase.
Define Central Business District and Inner City.
CBD: Concentration of shops, offices, restaurants, venues etc. Often busiest.
Inner City: 19th century terraced housing, high rise council flats, abandoned industry, derelict land being redeveloped.
Define Suburbs and Rural-Urban Fringe.
Suburbs: Council estates, semi-detached houses, private homes.
R-U F: Transition zone between city and countryside. Modern houses, industrial estates, out-of-town malls.
Outline the Birmingham CBD Decline case study.
In 80s, jewellery/engineering factories closed to set up elsewhere for more value. Shoppers, businesses left, crime. 4 revitalised elements brought back the CBDs popularity:
- Bullring Centre - Demolished 2000, 2003 reopening, 140+ shops, 3k park spots.
- Moor St. Station (railway) - Improved access, linked w/ London.
- Brindley Place - Pedestrianised, canal side development (trendy bars, cafes etc).
- Mailbox - Was sorting office, now 2k shops,restaurants & luxury apartments.
Outline the BedZED Sustainable City case study.
Design: 82 homes.
- Energy Efficient: Face south for solar gain, triple glazed, high insulation.
- Water Efficient: Rainwater collected & reused.
- Low Impact Materials: Building mat.’s from renewable, recycled sources w/in 30 miles to reduce transport.
Transport: Partnership w/ car sharing operator instead of car ownership, on-site vehicles available.
Local authority sold land cheap to make sustainable economic development possible.
Problems: Biomass boiler no longer operates so had to use gas boiler, water recycling/cleaning facility insufficient & costly, bad heating from sunspaces, ecological footprint is 1.7 planets (aim of 1).
What is urban growth?
Expansion of towns and cities into surrounding countryside.
Describe the 2 reasons urbanisation in LEDCs increased in the 20th century.
R to U Migration - Poor harvest, lack of money/services etc pushed people from countryside. Employment, education, healthcare etc pulled them to cities.
Population Growth - Higher in LEDCs. Large families & better healthcare cause this.
Outline the Curitiba Sustainable City case study.
Aim for sustainability, helping environment & better quality of life.
- 70% litter recycled, paper recycling saves 1k trees a day, food & bus tickets for recycling where litter collection is hard, every 4 kilos litter = 1 kilo veg.
- No cars, bus every min (80km bus routes) used by over a mill., cheap bus fare, 200km bike paths.
- Greenspace rose from 0.5m^2 to 52, 1k parks w/ useful land prone to flooding, over a mill. trees planted, tax breaks for builders if they include greenspace.
Very successful; 99% happy residents, $600mill budget per yr, lowest pollution lvls in Brazil, less new resources needed.
Outline the Kibera Squatter Settlement case study.
Nairobi, Kenya. 60% in densely populated slums. 1m space each.
Housing: Kept clean, welcoming, built from available material (corrugated metal/cardboard), no water/legal electricity, narrow paths, sewage.
Living Cond.: little transport, sleep on floor, no loo, no lights, litter, crime, disease, no school/jobs, good community spirit.
Improvements
- Site & Service: Land divided. Water, sanitation, electricity supplied before building.
- Self Help: Local authorities offer loans, grants, installations.
- Replacing materials to brick/concrete etc.
What are the 4 developed zones of LEDC land uses called as a result of urban growth, from middle to outermost part?
Central Business District, High-Quality Housing, Upgraded Squatter Settlements, Squatter Settlements.
