Urban issues and challenges Flashcards
What is urbanisation
The process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to live in towns and cities
How does the rate of urban growth vary from HIC to NEE to LIC ?
HIC’s - Slow / declining
NEE- Rapid growth
LIC- Fastest rates of urbanisation
What is a mega city ?
A city with a population over 10 million
What are the main factors affecting urbanisation ?
Speed of economic development
- Economic growth drives urbanisation
- The faster the growth of secondary and tertiary
employment sectors, the faster the growth of urbanisation
Rate of population growth
- Economic growth needs a supply of labour
- This demand can be met in two ways:
This demand can be met in two ways:
- Natural increase in an urban population: A slow way of
meeting demand
- Rural-urban migration: This is the more important source of labour as it attracts a wider pool of people into the urban region
Natural increase
- Accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth
What are push factors ?
The push factor is the reality of the current situation for the migrant; it is what makes the person consider moving from the place of origin
What are pull factors ?
The pull factor is the perceived outcome; it is what the migrant imagines the move will bring to the place of destination
Examples of push factors ?
- Unemployment
- Inaccessibility
- Crime
- Poverty
- Health
- Climate
- Drought
- Famine
Examples of pull factors ?
- No hazards
- Job opportunities
- Better healthcare
- Better living conditions
- Education
- Higher wages
What are the opportunities of urban growth ?
- The growth of urban industrial areas which increases further economic development
- Industrial development increases job opportunities and higher wages
- Increased market share through industries selling their goods overseas; this increases company profits and taxes paid to their country
- Better access to services such as education, healthcare, and the internet
- Access to resources such as clean water, sanitation and electricity
- Improved living conditions with a safer environment through street lighting and policing
What are the challenges of urban growth ?
They are unplanned and unregulated housing (informal settlements) with little sanitary facilities, freshwater or reliable energy sources
In developing countries, about a quarter of urban inhabitants (1.6 billion) live in these impoverished squatter settlements and by 2030 the UN estimates that 1 in 4 people on the planet will live in some form of informal settlement
Some cities have ‘mega-slums’, these are very large, overcrowded areas usually within megacities
These unregulated housing present serious risks such as fire, flooding and landslides
Other challenges are:
- Dealing with the amount of waste produced as the city grows
- Air pollution from burning fossil fuels, factories and car exhausts
- Sewage and toxic chemical pollution of waterways
- Congestion on poorly managed/planned road systems
- Lack of public transport
- Lack of qualified doctors, teachers etc.
- High levels of unemployment and crime
- Informal employment and child exploitation
What is migration ?
Migration is the movement of people across an official boundary, either internationally or nationally, with the intention of creating a permanent place of residence
What are the positive impacts of migration ?
- Skill gaps are filled
- More low-wage workers
- Birth rates increased
- ## Culture is enriched
What are the negative impacts of migration ?
- Pressure on services
- Overcrowding & congestion
- ## More competition for jobs
What are the social opportunities from urban change ?
Cultural mix: Ethnic diversity due to the migration of people both with national and international migration
Recreation and entertainment: More opportunities for restaurants and leisure facilities
What are the economic opportunities from urban change ?
Cultural events: Notting Hill Carnival, Chinese New Year etc. are becoming popular in cities which attract tourists to these events, boosting local revenues
New jobs in construction and tourism create a multiplier effect
CBDs are centres of finance, but also attract shoppers to new shopping centres
Increase in hi-tech jobs and research, many universities have science parks on urban fringes
What are the environmental impacts of urban change ?
Integrated transport systems such as ‘park and ride’ reduce pollution and congestion within urban areas
Greening of urban areas to help with urban heat and pollution but also open parks and places for recreation
Decline in industries across cities resulted in wasteland/brownfield sites. Urban developers regenerate these areas into cycle and pedestrian routes around the city to improve the environment
What are the advantages of building on brownfield land ?
- Helps revive old and disused urban areas
- Reduces the loss of countryside for agricultural or recreational use
- Services such as water, electricity, and sewage, are already in place
- Located near to main areas of employment.
- Reduces the risk of squatter settlements developing
What are the disadvantages of building on brownfield land ?
- Often more expensive because old buildings must be cleared, and land made free of pollution
- Often surrounded by rundown areas so does not appeal to more wealthy people
- Higher levels of pollution
What are the advantages of building on greenfield land ?
- Healthier environment
- Close to the countryside, leisure, and recreation
- The layout is not restricted by the existing layout
- Relatively cheap and rate of house building is faster
- Access and infrastructure easier to build
What are the disadvantages of building on greenfield land ?
- Valuable farmland lost
- Encourages further suburban sprawl
- Wildlife and habitats lost or disturbed
- Recreational space and attractive scenery lost
- Lacks access to public transport
- Development causes noise and light pollution in the surrounding countryside
- Cost of installing services such as water, electricity, sewage etc.
