Urban Environments (6.1-6.3) Flashcards
Covers urban environments and issues around them. Paper 2 (Human Geography) Section A (Urban Environments)
Urbanisation
Process whereby an increasing proportion of the population lives in towns in cities, resulting in their growth and the economy depending increasingly on manufacturing and providing services.
Common features of urban areas (4)
- Economies based mainly on manufacturing and services rather than agriculture
- Larger in population than rural areas
- High density of people and buildings
- Busy way of life
State some push factors away from rural areas for those in developing countries
- Difficult to improve one’s standard of living beyond basic sustenance
- Farm living dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions and in times of drought, flood etc survival is difficult
- Farms becoming mechanised puts many out of work so forced to leave and try to find employment
- Little education/specialised services available
- Disease may be rife
- Government not supportive of those in rural areas
State some pull factors to urban areas for those in developing countries
- Government often offer people living in slums of cities eg Rio de Janeiro the chance to improve their own living conditions
- There are good basic services eg big hospitals and schools and other specialised services in city
- Big city appeal- rich people live there, wealthy city, good night-life
- Higher wages available in more lucrative/range of sectors eg manufacturing (better jobs)
- Fortune can be made + social mobility possible
- High populations -> more diverse social opportunities -> find your community
- Old people move to cities to find speicalised hospitals etc to cater to health needs
Why is rate of urbanisation much slower in developed countries?
In developed countries, a large proportion of the population already lives in towns and cities.
But the built-up areas of towns and cities continue to grow.
Due to modern transport and communcation the urban way of life spreading into rural areas- countryside and settlements experiencing rural dilution.
Suburbanisation simple definition
the growth of areas on the fringes of cities.
Suburbanisation explained
- Typically areas of low density development
- However as rural space is being eroded by urbanisation today governments keen to make more use of suburbs
- Vacant, open building plots and open spaces being developed and large detatched houses replaced by flats and maisonettes
- Suburbs no longer protected just as residential areas
- Shops and other services located in suburbs
- Non-residential land use increases with construction of business and retail parks, universities etc
- local service centres and high streets upgraded so suburban denisities now raised to urban levels
Push factors from cities causing suburbanisation
Congestion of cities
Population density of cities
Pollution due to industry and high traffic
High housing prices
Lower quality of life in cities
Pull factors to suburbs causing suburbanisation
Lower land prices
More open space/closer to nature
Improvements in transport so easy movement from suburbs to city centre
Lower crime rate
Less pollution
In Us where do more poeple live citeis or suburbs
Suburbs
Counter-urbanisation
Migration of people from major urban areas to rural ones
Causes of counter-urbanisation
- Good-quality housing in villages
- M3/A3 gives easy access to London & South Coast so easy commute
- Employment opportunities including Surry Research park home to IT and space centered business
- Social reasons eg people believe countryside is more suitable for families or have friends there
- Rural areas unpolluted and offer greater space and community spirit
- Out-of-town industrial and business parks make it easier to shop
- Improvements in rural transport infrastructure and increased car ownership means you can commute to work
- growth in telecommunications means can work from home
- small villages eg Lightwater and Chobham have excellent schools and beautiful scenery
Consequences of counter urbanisation
- house prices pushed up as migrants sell expensive city properties and earn higher city wages so young people leave village as they cannot afford a house
- public transport goes into decline because new residents are car owners, big problem for people without their own transport eg elderly
- traditional rural services begin to close as new population reliant on services of urban environment eg supermarket. Means loss of livelihood for rural shop owners
- Shops and services must change to meet needs of new population eg pub becomes restauranat
- as large percentage of migrants commuting to work, traffic congestion increases. Problem exacerbated by fact that they will be driving on narrow country roads
Megacity
city that contains over 10 million people
Name 5 megacities
- tokyo
- Shanghai
- sao paulo
- mexico city
- cairo
Are there more megacities in LICs or HICs?
LICs (in 2000 only 2 of the top 10 cities in HICs)
What are the world cities?
Tokyo
London
New York
Explain in terms of economic development why cities develop into megacities
- Economic growth drives urbanisation
- Growth of secondary and tertiary sectors
Explain in terms of population growth why cities develop into megacities
- Economic growth requires an increasing supply of labour
- Demand for more workers can be met either by natural increase or rural-urban migration
- Young people are drawn to the ‘buzz’ of cities
Explain in terms of economies of scale why cities develop into megacities
- There are advantages to concentrating services into a small number of megacities
- This is because distances within a megacity are less than distances between a number of smaller cities
- Financial savings are made eg in terms of transport and communication
Explain in terms of the multiplier effect why cities develop into megacities
- Once a large city is prospering, it gathers momentum which helps it grow and become even more prosperous
- There are more jobs, so more people move into the city, which means more poeple require goods/services
- This creates more jobs and so the cycle goes on
Describe the distributions of megacities before and after 1975 across the globe (4 marks)
Before 1975, the megacities were mostly in north and south america with one in asia. Also, half were in HICs. After 1975, almost all megacities eg Shanghai and mumbai are in LICs such as India. Only 2 new ones are in HICs. Megacities after 1975 are concentrated in Asia (more than 50% are now in that continent)
Problems with rapid urbanisation
- Housing
- Traffic congestion and transport
- Access to water and electricity
- Health
- Employment
- Pollution, traffic, noise and waste
- Crime
Explain housing as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Rapid growth in cities means that demand for housing cannot meet supply, especially given that generally the migrants want low-cost housing.
Millions live in shanty towns/squatter settlements
Even if you have money housing demand exceeds supply and as a result housing is expensive relative to wages
In general due to poor transport most sought after housing is in city centre
Explain traffic congestion and transport as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Provision of proper roads and public transport is another aspect of city life that lags behind the growth in population
As a result transport systems are overloaded and overcrowded and traffic congestion is a major problem for all, wealthy or poor.
High numbers of vehicles also cause high levels of atmospheric pollution in cities eg smog
Explain access to water and electricity as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Often provision of basic services does not keep up with population growth.
As a consequence, not all parts of a built-up area will be provided with running water, sanitation or electricity
Many people rely on fires for cooking and lighting and on polluted streams for water and sewage disposal
Explain health as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Often there are not enough doctors, clinics or hospitals to deal with the rapid increase in population.
When large parts of a mushrooming city have little to no access to clean water or sanitation, diseases and infections eg typhoid and chloera spread quickly.
Atmospheric pollution leads to widespread breathing problems.
Explain employment as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Although people are attracted to cities for work, many are unable to find proper paid work in the formal sector.
Instead, they are either unemployed or become a part of the massive informal sector, surviving as best they can.
This includes selling goods on the street, working as a cleaner or shoe-shiner, cooking and selling food from home or by the roadside.
Even where there is paid work in new factories, these are often many kilometres away from where the newomers live
Explain pollution, traffic noise and waste as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Traffic, indsutry and housing are among the worst polluters of air and water
But there is also noise pollution (eg from road traffic, canned music in public places) and visual pollution (eg unsightly advertising, graffiti)
Cities produce large quantitites of waste and waste disposal is another cause of environmental pollution
Also a spreading urban area causes environmental damage to the surrounding countryside
Explain crime as a problem with rapid urbanisation
Given the crowded and unpleasant environment in which so many city dwellers live, it is not surprising that they also suffer from high crime rates.
Murder, rape and robbery are three common crimes.
The poorest areas are often inhabited by violent street gangs involved in drug trafficking
Benefits of rapid/general urbanisation
Specialised services = multiplier effect
Human rights
Living conditions
concentration of industry
Local government
Family-owned business
Explain specialised services as a benefit of rapid/general urbanisation
Once a particular city reaches a certain size, it gains the threshold population needed for certain services eg hospitals or sports stadiums to be built.
In turn this creates more jobs and attracts more migrants
Known as multiplier effect
Explain living conditions as a benefit of rapid/general urbanisation
Although recent arrivals in the city may live in poor conditions, these living conditions may be an immediate improvement on life in the countryside they have left behind.
Explain concentration of industry as a benefit of rapid/general urbanisation
Urbanisation allows a concentration of industry and finance where there is both a ready market and access to external markets and labour.
Explain local government as a benefit of rapid/general urbanisation
Potential for strong local government based in grass-roots organisations of shanty towns which, if respected by national governments, can be very advantageous eg the Chawls of Bombay
Explain family-owned business/cottage idustries as a benefit of rapid/general urbanisation
Small family-owned businesses located in shanty towns allow close interaction of houshold and informal economies so people are more able to make a living
Dual city
City whereby there are two categories of people: a highly paid elite versus the low paid, low skilled jobs typical of both formal sector manufacturing jobs and the informal sector and this gap is widening
Why do land use patterns exist?
The main reason why urban areas are divided into different zones of use is due to the urban land market.
As with any item, a particular site within the built up area will normally be sold to the highest bidder.
The highest bidder will be the activity that can mkae best use of a site (usually retail shops can make best financial use)
Land values explained
Land values generally decline outwards from the centre.
however relatively high land values are also found along major roads leading from the centre and around ring roads.
Small land value peaks occur where radial and ring roads cross each other
Businesses pay extra for sites in these location because they have good accessibility
Locational needs and accessibility why agglomeration
Similar activites or land uses come together because they have the same locational needs (these may be large amounts of space or being accessible to customers and employees) and they can afford the same level of land values
Name some economic challenges facing developed cities
Deindustrialisation
Globalisation
service provision
Explain deindustrialisation and globalisation as economic challenges facing developed cities
It is more efficient and effective for industries to move to developing and emerging countries where labour and materials are cheaper and there are less regulations on health and safety so it is generally cheaper (globalisation).
This leads to deindustralisation in developed countries. However, this leaves former manufacturing workers in developed cities with the wrong skills and they cannot find jobs as the remaining employment requires skills they do not have.
These are often former factory workers in the inner city, causing unemployment, poverty and deprivation there.
This means they need government benefits etc and often leads to issues eg alcoholism
Name some social challenges facing developed cities
Social services and housing
Poverty and deprivation
Ethnic segregation
Quality of life
Ageing population
Terrorism and crime
Name some environmental challenges facing developed cities
Ecological footprint
Pollution and waste disposal
Resources: energy, land, water
Green space
Hazard risk
Sustainability
What are inner cities like? 3
Areas of decline in terms of population and employment
Areas of deprivation ie they are rundown, poor environmental conditions, unemployment is high
Areas of collective despair ie people cannot help themselves and little is done to change things
Why has the inner city declined in 6 steps
- Factories close and businesses move out to suburbs and rural-urban fringe
- Unemployment
- shops and services close. Retail moves to suburbs
- Further unemployment
- Migration and poverty. People move out to suburbs
- Decline
What is deprivation in developed cities definition
When a person’s wellbeing falls below a level generally thought of as an acceptable minimum
Index of Multiple Deprivation meaning
Index developed to assess level of deprivation across whole country
IMD qualities of life indicators (7)
- Income
- Employment
- Health
- Education
- Access to housing and services
- Crime
- Living environment
Where are the highest levels of deprivation in England?
Mostly inner city because cheapest housing is here so poverty will be concentrated here
Highest levels of deprivation in London?
East London
Inner city
Also edge city locations eg Croydon + Southall
List some social consequences of inner city deprivation
- Poor health and malnutrition
- High levels of crime
- Poor housing conditions
- Urban decay
- Lack of open space
- Overcrowding
- Few people can afford own home (socio-economic)
- High unemployment (socio-economic)
- Segregation
List some economic consequences of inner city deprivation
- Loss of business
- Poverty (food, money, fuel)
- Few people can afford their own home
- High unemployment
List some environmental consequences of inner city deprivation
Derelict buildings
Urban decay
Lack of open space
air pollution
Ethnic segregation
Where different ethnic groups congregate in certain areas of the city
List some of the challenges created by having multiple ethnic groups in london
Not able to speak english:
- difficult to access some services eg medical advice or education
- may struggle to get a job -> lower income -> worse quality of housing
Lack of integration into community- women particularly tend to stay at home so never learn English so feel isolated from wider community.
If large influx of one particular ethnic group into an area, people of other groups tend to move away so reduce ethnic diversity
Different ethnic cultures can clash and racial tensions build leading to violence and crime
Socio-economic segregation definition
Where people are separated due to factors eg wealth and income
Explain socio-economic segregation
Usually comes down to income eg more affluent groups can afford better housing and more deprived income groups have far more limited options.
Forced to occupy what they can afford: in most cases overcrowded and possibly poorly maintained rented houses, often in inner city.
Leads to other problems eg health
Figures on deprivation
- 16% of Londoners in poorest tenth nationally
- 17% of Londoners in richest tenth nationally
- Richest 10% of people in London have 60% of all assets, whilst poorest 80% share just 20% of all asset wealth in london.
- In 2020 28% of Londoners (2.5 million people) lived in poverty
- huge diff in wealth cause diff in acccess to and success within housing, education, health and employment
Housing (issue w london)
Housing prices and rents higher in london than any other part of country
More people rent rather than own their house in London and those that rent pay more than half their weekly salary in rent
Average London house price wenit above £667,000 in 2020 as opposed to national average £232,000
Huge gap: some people in most expensive properties in world, some people in poor quality small rented accommodation.
Education london
Children across London do not get equal exam grades
But some of schools in London’s poorest boroughs are amongst fastest improving schools in the country
Generally schools in poorest areas score lowest number of gcse points per pupil
Health London
People in wealthy areas tend to live longer than those in poorer areas of London
Census 2011 showed that % of people reporting themselves as in ‘not good health’ was also highest in areas of lowest income
Employment London
Despite huge wealth found in London unemployment remains a major issue
London’s employment rate was just 75.7% in 2020, similar to average of 75.6% in the UK
The unemployment rate was 5.3% compared with 4.8% for the UK in 2023
Figures food London
- 400,000 children in London experience food insecurity
- 1 in 5 Londoners experience food insecurity
- 1.5 million rely on food banks
- Only 55% of food eaten in the UK is domestically produced -> high food miles -> large emissions of CO2 and methane -> pollution
- 890,000 tonnes of food thrown away per year in London, 540,000 of which is avoidable
- 50% of Londoners are obese or overweight
Which place is worst affected by food london case study
Newton and Croydon both have around 10,000 children in food poverty.
62% of people in Hillingdon are obese
Figures transport London
- 3 million Londoners use the london underground per day, and many more use buses
- The expected population increase in coming years will therefore put more pressure on public transport
- Among poorest 10% in Britain, car ownership is 18% in London vs 25% nationally
- 4000 deaths per year due to air pollution
- 2 million Londoners live in areas of pollution above international pollution limits