Urban form and characteristics

Question 1

What is an example of a Pre-Industrial city?

Answer 1

Bath

Question 2

What characteristics do pre-industrial cities employ?

Answer 2

Dominant CBD - industry based (people needed to be close to their workplace)
House prices were expensive as a result of the desire of people wanting to live in centre (elite located in centre
Clear socioeconomic divisions
Green belt to prevent expansion (unaffected by industrial development)
Often located to a body of water limiting expansion (Valley of river Avon)

Question 3

What characteristics do modern cities employ?

Answer 3

Dominant CBD -still industry based (people needed to be close to their workplace)
Steady decline in land values from the centre - (lower economic groups are forced to locate at the edge of cities)
Clear socioeconomic divisions
Often located to a body of water limiting expansion (Lake Michigan)
“Loose structure” - minimal urban form

Question 4

What is an example of a modern city?

Answer 4

Chicago

Question 5

What is an example of a post-industrial city?

Answer 5

LA

Question 6

What characteristics do post-industrial cities employ?

Answer 6

Developed along with technology (dissimilarly to modern and pre-industrial)
No recognisable CBD
Cars - decentralisation
Desire to live in centre less (house prices has decreased)
Internet - suburbanisation
‘Donut City’ - centre has become a “dead heart” - a place of power ethnic minorities
Divisions of lifestyle rather than economic groups (higher degree of polarisation) - experience problems that other cities don’t (graffiti, crime, congestion, gangs)

Question 7

What was LA’s population in 2017?

Answer 7

13 million

Question 8

What was LA’s population in the 1900?

Answer 8

100,000 people

Question 9

What is LA?

Answer 9

A megacity

Question 10

Where is LA?

Answer 10

Southern California

Question 11

Why did LA grow?

Answer 11

1994 Northridge earthquake led to widespread improvements in infrastructure and building quality
LA hosted 1984 summer olympics which produced investment and redevelopment of deprived areas
Expansion of the interstate highway system helped propel suburban growth

Question 12

Why is there urban tension in LA?

Answer 12

Race riots which took place in 1992, leading to 53 deaths

Question 13

What triggered the race riots?

Answer 13

A videotape of police officers beating Rodney King

Question 14

How much damage did the race riots cause?

Answer 14

$1.4 billion worth

Question 15

Why are LA suffering from environmental issues?

Answer 15

Because there are 10 million cars on the roads

Question 16

How many of LA’s population use public transport?

Answer 16

10%

Question 17

What has the growth of LA led too?

Answer 17

Suburbanisation, urban smog, ‘donut city’, social segregation

Question 18

Why was suburbanisation taking place in LA?

Answer 18

Pull factor of suburbs - ‘better quality of life’, more space, safer, quieter
Increase of car ownership

Question 19

Where was urban growth reaching in LA?

Answer 19

San Bernadino mountains and deserts (2 hour drive from LA)

Question 20

What have been the issues of Suburbanisation in LA?

Answer 20

Inner city has been left derelict, poor, crime-ridden

Question 21

What issues has urban smog caused in LA?

Answer 21

Congested freeways
Air pollution
Lack of use of public transport
Health problems like asthma

Question 22

What does LA’s ‘donut city’ mean?

Answer 22

Manufacturing industry declined causing job loss
Increased suburbanisation encouraged business to move as well as people - meant people no longer needed to commute to the CBD
More socioeconomic people left, poorer people were left in CBD

Question 23

What social segregation is happening in LA?

Answer 23

Poorer people are left in inner city as they cannot afford to move - lead to deprivation issues like crime

Question 24

What is postmodernism?

Answer 24

A philosophical movement that sees western world society as an outdated lifestyle that is impersonal.