Urban Forms

Question 1

Define urban form. Describe the UKs

Answer 1

Physical characteristics of a built up area including shape, size and density of housing.
-UK has one large mega city region near London and has lots of small villages.

Question 2

Give 3 things impacting settlement location

Answer 2

-Wet points: Want to be near water supply. Needed for agriculture, sanitation and health.E.g. Abu Dhabi has to conserve water.
-Topography: Easier to build on flat areas than slopes. Slopes in Rio favelas are densely populated.
-Coast: For trade access mostly. Can restrict growth so upward growth has occurred in Mumbai.
Could also link to hazards and frequency.

Question 3

How will the population, environment, economy and technology change urban form?

Answer 3

-Pop: More migration is difficult to manage and thus put pressure on health/services/education
-Env (physical):Sewer systems need to develop to keep up with pace of urbanization
-Eco:Industry usually follows where people locate.
-Tech: High speed internet in cities. Hardware.

Question 4

Give 4 characteristics of megacities

Answer 4

High density living such as flats and high rise buildings
Environmental problems such as pollution and waste
Residential differentiation between socioeconomic groups
Edge cities

Question 5

Give 3 challenges to megacities

Answer 5

Sanitation. Difficult to provide clean water to everyone. Lots live in close proximity and some live in slums near landfill.
Housing: Large demand but limited supply. Homelessness or informal squatter settlements.
Traffic: Associated with fixed infrastructure and growing population. China had a 100km traffic jam for 10 days.

Question 6

Define infrastructure and give 3 examples

Answer 6

Usually fixed physical or organizational structures needed for society
Energy
Water treatment
Transport

Question 7

State 2 ways human activities can impact urban forms

Answer 7

-Wealthier countries can afford to build infrastructure that is reinforced and regulated eg env sustainable. In LICs, often rapid growth and informal settlements.
-Planning: HIcs often consider greenbelt land and recreational space to limit growth. Unplanned developments can be unsuustainable in LICs.

Question 8

LA: Describe the land use

Answer 8

-White midle class moved here to escape industrial cities like Chicago. Lots of suburbanisation. Expatriate communities
Hollywood is a high income area out of town.
Low density housing in Greater LA.
Coastal area.
Housing issues. Expensive land-use restrictions and Skid Row homelessness. Lots of parks and green spaces like Griffith Park.
-Relies on car culture so lots f congestion.

Question 9

LA: Describe economic inequality

Answer 9

-CBD suffered dead heart syndrome due to suburbanisation. Downtown LA has HQs.
-Few employment opportunities for low-skilled.
-People moved to Anaheim.

Question 10

LA: Describe cultural diversity

Answer 10

-Cultural melting pot. Mexicans Hispanics are the largest group. Lots of culture eg Chinatown and Little Italy. These groups have been left behind by suburbanisation. Lots of crime/unemployment.

Question 11

Mumbai: Describe land-use

Answer 11

-Coastal area. Expanded upwards. High-pop density. Overcowding. Bollywood.
-Most rapidly growing Indian city. Skyscrapers, shopping centres, high tech firms take advantage of skilled cheap labour. Luxury areas.
-10 mil live in Dharavi slums. Cancer issues due to poor medical care
_Public transport such as auto rickshaws. Lacks infrastructure.

Question 12

Mumbai: Economic inequality

Answer 12

-Poverty but Some areas of wealth eg South Mumbai. Dharavi slums adjacent to wealthy area. Slum Rehabilitation scheme though. Extreme inequality
-FDI here but low taxes leads to a lack of spending on infrastructure.
-Economy centred on finance. MNCs. Large proportion of indias income tax.

Question 13

Mumbai: Cultural diversity

Answer 13

-1k new migrants per day.
-Buddhism/hinduism for eg. Festivals

Question 14

What is town-centre mixed-use development? Give a local example that was privately funded? Impacts socially and economically.

Answer 14

L1 made in 2008. Privately funded. Encourage 24 hour city. Own the city feeling. Pedestrianise
Associated with urban resurgence.
A style of development that aims to create a town structure that has all the necessary features for a town to attract investment, tourist and revenue
-Luxury areas
-Public spaces/leisure
-Office centre,
+Regenerate derelict land, mixture of jobs/housing, less segregation.
-Might increase segregation due to prices of shops , small firms have to compete with chain stores which is difficult and rent is high. Though, small firms can still exist with TNCs if there is loyalty.

Question 15

Cultural and heritage quarters: What, local example, pros and cons.

Answer 15

-Royal Albert Dock Liverpool. Funded by EU in the 1980s. Previously UNESCO
-An approach to regenerating urban areas that focuses upon character of a city.
-Cultural quarter is one that has presence of cultural activity e.g. making objects, goods and products as well as cultural consumption e.g. venues, galleries and creative arts.
-Heritage quarters focuses on the historical uniqueness/ national reputation of areas based on small scale industries.
-Sense of PLACE.
+Less dereliction on brownfield, boosts tourism globally and multiplier, jobs.
-Day-to-day locals don’t benefit, often high prices in these areas due to tourism, high costs to maintain, too much emphasis on consumerism/tourism loses authenticity

Question 16

Fortress developements: What are they? Describe the changes. Give an eg. Pros and cons

Answer 16

-Small-scale, high levels of security for all eg CCTV, guards and high walls. S.Africa. US embassy which has 2 atrium floors (in case of robbery), trees to protect Gated communities for white due to fear of crime that gov aren’t interferign with.
-Historically, evident and supposed to be seen. Now, supposed to blend in and “design out crime.” Defensible. Don’t want to frighten people.
+Safety and embassy is aesthetic.
-Segregating ethnic/economic groups = tension.
-More entrepreneurial in these gated communities as they can access Wi-Fi Costly to install. Sense of exclusion and can visibly see security = feel like outsider.

Question 17

Gentrified areas: What are they? Give an example. What are the pros and cons?

Answer 17

-Process in which older socioeconomic declined near CBD urban zones are discovered and renovated by affluent influx of individuals who slowly move back into the inner city.

Portland road, Notting Hill, London. More alfresco dining and restaurants showing social change eg Julie’s wine bar. Tertiary jobs such as waitresses for high quality experience and tourism. Though, replaced vital service or local business people had strong sense of feeling to Virginia oil shop. Forced out by high rent. Alters genius loci as people had lived in 1950s social housing. 1956 rent act exacerbated this, forcing low income groups like Gypsies to north.
Average house values from 11k exponentially grown to over 2 million over relatively short (40 year) temporal scale. Get higher returns on housing sales. Maintain exterior Georgian look for culture and heritage. Renovate interior and reduced housing spare capacity boosts local tax revenue/multiplier if spent on local schemes. Though, polarized socioeconomic groups. 340k average housing price variation between north and south of road worsened by fact there is a traffic barrier in the middle (segregation).
Benefits are subjective. Good for heavy decline. To greater extent, often displaces community with topophilia.
Why? -Rent gap When a property has fallen below its real value (run-down)
-A perception of the suburbs being boring with uniform housing/overcrowding.
Characteristics:
-Demographic changes - growth in professional workers.
-Land use changes - closure of traditional shops/services and growth of high-end services and bistros.
-Cultural changes as the local population is squeezed out.
-Stark contrasts - housing that has been refurbished and derelict buildings in the same street.

Positives
-Increased investment in property reduces the run-down appearance of areas. But bad for historical.
-Old housing is refurbished rather than falling into disrepair and dereliction.
-Increased wealth in the area boosts local businesses and local authority revenue

Negatives
-Tensions
-Lack of place.
-Street parking of cars becomes a major problem
-House prices rise, rents rise

Question 18

Edge cities: What, example, pros and cons.

Answer 18

Eg LA Anaheim. Social issues in South Central.
-Larger scale.
Self contained, sustaining settlements
The concept of an edge city is associated with the urban landscapes of North America largely as a result of urban sprawl. They are settlements that have emerged beyond the original city boundary and developed as cities in their own right.
Edge cities in the UK are suburbs that have matured. DECENTRALISATION of people and services are the driving forces in their creation
-A wide range of amenities/shops.
-Close proximity to major roads or airports
+Employment closer to home, variety of housing for different affordabilities, convenient for locals to shop.
-Environmental pressure due to sprawl/congestion, inflated house prices and thus inequality and dead heart syndrome. Rich people here and poor in inner city.

Question 19

Give 3 ways to negate issues of gentrification

Answer 19

Affordable housing programs such as rent control; requiring developers to offer affordable units; or building new affordable public housing can give residents the opportunity to remain in their communities.

Historical preservation laws to preserve the original architecture and character of homes in the area can preserve the homes of low-income residents.

Finally, governments can invest in urban renewal projects before gentrification begins and provide original residents with more liveable communities. This can be done by developing and investing in community services in education and health. In turn, this investment can allow for wealth to grow within historically underprivileged neighbourhoods instead of seeking external investments which can be out of touch with the needs of the community.

Question 20

What is a postmodern western city?

Answer 20

Change in urban structure and architectural design to reflect changes in social or economic conditions in HICS. Philosophical

Question 21

Fragmentation: What is this? How does it link with fortification? Give Vegas example

Answer 21

Cities more ethnically diverse and inequalities socially or economically. Segregation linked to fortification.
Lake Las Vegas community 30 minutes away. Gated

Question 22

Globalization: Give example in cities

Answer 22

Less local businesses more TNCs.

Question 23

What is simulation? Describe Vegas example

Answer 23

Architecture that is copied or replicated. Landmarks in Vegas have been copied. Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty. Eclectic. For tourism. Along Vegas strip.

Question 24

What is beautification and give Vegas example

Answer 24

Expression of art as opposed to function. London Gherkin. More costly. Decorative ornamentation. Over the top consumerism in Vegas eg unnecessary rollercoasters on buildings.

Question 25

Gentrification /privatization: Give example of privatization

Answer 25

MGM citycenter. Costliest in US. 10 billion. Private development.

Question 26

Decentralization

Answer 26

Can see edge cities/suburban areas

Question 27

Information: What sectors dominate? Example in Vegas

Answer 27

Tertiary or private sectors dominate. R and D. Tourism in Vegas