Urban Issues and Challenges Flashcards
Brownfield site
Land that has been used, abandoned and now awaits some new use. Commonly found across urban areas, particularly in the inner city.
Dereliction
Abandoned buildings and wasteland.
Economic opportunities
Chances for people to improve their standard of living through employment.
Greenfield site
A plot of land, often in a rural or on the edge of an urban area that has not yet been subject to any building development.
Inequalities
Differences between poverty and wealth, as well as in peoples’ wellbeing and access to things like jobs, housing and education. Inequalities may occur in housing provision, access to services, access to open land, safety and security.
Integrated transport systems
When different transport methods connect together, making journeys smoother and therefore public transport more appealing. Better integration should result in more demand for public transport and should see people switching from private car use to public modes of transport, which should be more sustainable. It may also lead to a fall in congestion due to less road users.
Mega-cities
An urban area with a total population in excess of ten million people.
Migration
When people move from one area to another. In many LICS people move from rural to urban areas (rural-urban migration).
Natural increase
The birth rate minus the death rate of a population.
Pollution
The presence of chemicals, noise, dirt or other substances which have harmful or poisonous effects on an environment.
Rural-urban fringe
A zone of transition between the built-up area and the countryside, where there is often competition for land use. It is a zone of mixed land uses, from out of town shopping centres and golf courses to farmland and motorways.
Sanitation
Measures designed to protect public health, including the provision of clean water and the disposal of sewage and waste.
Social deprivation
The degree to which an individual or an area is deprived of services, decent housing, adequate income and local employment.
Social opportunities
Chances for people to improve their quality of life, for instance access to education and health care.
Squatter settlement
An area of poor-quality housing, lacking in amenities such as water supply, sewerage and electricity, which often develops spontaneously and illegally in a city in an LIC.
Sustainable urban living
A sustainable city is one in which there is minimal damage to the environment, the economic base is sound with resources allocated fairly and jobs secure, and there is a strong sense of community, with local people involved in decisions made. Sustainable urban living includes several aims including the use of renewable resources, energy efficiency, use of public transport, accessible resources and services.
Traffic congestion
Occurs when there is too great a volume of traffic for roads to cope with, so traffic jams form and traffic slows to a crawl.
Urban greening
The process of increasing and preserving open space such as public parks and gardens in urban areas.
Urbanisation
The process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to live in towns and cities. Rapid urbanisation is a feature of many LICs and NEEs.
Urban regeneration
The revival of old parts of the built‐up area by either installing modern facilities in old buildings (known as renewal) or opting for redevelopment (ie demolishing existing buildings and starting afresh).
Urban sprawl
The unplanned growth of urban areas into the surrounding countryside.
Waste recycling
The process of extracting and reusing useful substances found in waste.
London location
London is in the northern hemisphere, in NW Europe. London in SE England, on the River Thames.
Why is London important nationally?
London produces 22% of the UK’s GDP; this money is spent elsewhere in the UK; London also provides jobs for 800,000 people who commute into the city.
Why is London important internationally?
London is a global or world city - a globally important centre. 40 Higher Education institutions are located here - people come from all over the world to study in London.
what is causing the growth of London’s population?
Although internal migration is negative (50,000 or 25% more leave than enter), international migration is causing London’s population to grow. Natural increase is also causing London’s population to grow.
impacts of internal migration
Internal migrants are mostly aged 25-44 - London is a magnet particularly for 20-29 years olds (in 2015, 113,000 people of this age moved to London). This has changed the character of some areas, lowering the demographic, and making the area more creative e.g. Tech City in Shoreditch.
Impacts of international migration
-International migration has made London more ethnically diverse
-Cultural events such as the Notting Hill Carnival take place
-Londoners are generally very open-minded people.
Social opportunties
-Cultural mix - populations that come from every part of the world.
-Leisure and recreation
-Integrated transport network
Economic opportunites
Employment - London generates approximately 22% of the UK’s
GDP, the largest regional share. The economy of London is
different to that of the rest of the UK. It is dominated by financial
and insurance activities, mainly located in the City of London.
environmental opportunities
Urban greening - a process whereby the amount of green space within a city is increased.
social challenges
Urban deprivation - indicated by the built environment and life expectancy.
Inequalities in housing, education and health - London is more unequal than any other region of the UK.
economic challenges
Inequalities in employment - the number of low paid jobs in the capital has risen for the past 5 years and now stands at nearly 700,000. They pay less than the London Living wage (£10.75). The top tenth of employees in London earn around four times as much as the bottom tenth.
environmental challenges
Building on brownfield and greenfield sites; building on greenfield sites leads to urban sprawl. To protect undeveloped sites, a green belt can be used.
Air pollution - 4,000 premature deaths per year
Waste disposal - Just over 60% is recycled; one quarter still goes to landfill.
impact of urban sprawl
London: Increased traffic (commuters), environmental issues, health issues, economic impacts.
St. Ives, Cambridge: Population growth and altered population structure, increased house prices, increased flood risk.
regeneration
The revival of old parts of the built-up area by either installing modern facilities in old buildings (known as renewal) or opting for redevelopment (i.e. demolishing existing buildings and starting afresh.
why did the london docklands need regenerating?
-An increase in the size of the ships, coupled with the silting up of the Thames, meant that the Docklands became difficult to access.
-In addition to this, new, more efficient docks were developed downstream at Tilbury, taking trade away from the Docklands.
main features of the regeneration of the London docklands
-£10 million was spent on housing and 22,000 new homes were built.
-The environment was improved significantly, with 130,000 hectares of open space created and 160,000 trees planted.
-Financial and high-tech firms such as the Stock Exchange and ITV studios moved in, and between 1981 and 1996, businesses increased from 1000 to 2,400.
-the transport was improved; the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) connects the area to the Underground, and international visitors can arrive at City Airport.
impacts of regeneration of the London docklands
-The area has been transformed and because of Canary Wharf, a secondary CBD after the City, London has become an ‘Alpha ++ world city.
-However, a lot of the new housing is far too expensive
for locals, resulting in breakdown in the traditional Eastend community.
sustainable city
-An urban area where residents have a way of life that will last into the future.
-Social, economic and environmental sustainability are considered.
How is East Village sustainable?
-The East Village in Stratford, east London is sustainable because the development (the former Athlete’s Village for the 2012 Olympics) has 1,379 affordable houses.
-It also has independent shops, bars and restaurants meeting the needs of the resident, plus 10 hectares of green open space, a school and health clinic.
How can urban transport strategies reduce traffic congestion?
-Urban transport strategies focus on getting people out of their cars and on to public transport e.g. buses, the underground
-These modes of transport move large numbers of people around efficiently and have less impact on the environment than cars.
examples of urban transport strategies
-public transport - underground - better for environment - less air pollution - health benefits
-cycle hire scheme - santander bikes - 93 million hires - cheap and attract tourists - efficient
urban sprawl
the outwards growth of an urban area
