Urban issues and challenges (London)

Question 1

brownfield site

Answer 1

Land that has been used, abandoned and now awaits some new use. Commonly found across urban areas, particularly in the inner city.

Question 2

dereliction

Answer 2

Abandoned buildings and wasteland.

Question 3

economic opportunities

Answer 3

Chances for people to improve their standard of living through employment.

Question 4

greenfield site

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

inequalities

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

integrated transport systems

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

megacity

Answer 7

An urban area with a total population in excess of ten million people.

Question 8

migration

Answer 8

When people move from one area to another with the intention of settling there.

Question 9

natural increase

Answer 9

The birth rate minus the death rate of a population.

Question 10

pollution

Answer 10

The presence of chemicals, noise, dirt or other substances which have harmful or poisonous effects on an environment.

Question 11

rural-urban fringe

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

sanitation

Answer 12

Measures designed to protect public health, including the provision of clean water and the disposal of sewage and waste.

Question 13

social deprivation

Answer 13

The degree to which an individual or an area is not able to access services, decent housing, adequate income and local employment.

Question 14

social opportunities

Answer 14

Chances for people to improve their quality of life, for instance access to education and health care.

Question 15

squatter settlement

Answer 15

An area of poor-quality housing, at times lacking in amenities such as water supply, sewerage and electricity, which often develops spontaneously on land not owned by the occupants.

Question 16

sustainable urban living

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

urbanisation

Answer 17

The process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to live in towns and cities.
Rapid urbanisation occurs in many LICs and NEEs.

Question 17

traffic congestion

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

urban greening

Answer 18

The process of increasing and preserving open space such as public parks and gardens in urban areas.

Question 19

urban regeneration

Answer 19

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).

Question 20

urban sprawl

Answer 20

The unplanned growth of urban areas into the surrounding rural areas.

Question 21

waste recycling

Answer 21

The process of extracting and reusing useful substances found in waste.

Question 22

What is the importance of London in the UK and the wider world?

Answer 22

regional - centre of government
national - generates 1/3 of UK’s GDP
- 5 million jobs, opportunities
- universities attract students
internationally - global tourist
destination
- stock exchange is
largest in the world
- attractive to migrants
from around the world
- global companies have
chosen their HQ there

Question 23

Impacts of national and international migration

Answer 23

National migration - youthful population, growth of population
–> more social spaces, services associated with universities

International migration - more of a cultural mix
–> range of eateries and shops e.g. Caribbean restaurants in Brixton Market
–> make the economy larger
–> 8 million immigrants in the UK (40% live in London)

Question 24

How has urban change created social opportunities?

Answer 24

multicultural mix - array of food/music, exposure to religions, languages and cultural parties
recreation and entertainment - natural history museum, national gallery, British museum, west end, Wimbledon, restaurants etc

Question 25

How has urban change created economic opportunities?

Answer 25

employment opportunities - productivity is 40% higher than UK average, total London workforce was just under 5.2 million people in 2017

integrated transport systems - public transport accounts for 25% of London’s journeys

Question 26

How has urban change created environmental opportunities?

Answer 26

urban greening - creating rooftop green spaces (700 green roofs in central London alone), use of canals, rivers and river jetties as significant water bird breeding roosts, range of green spaces (Queen’s park, Hampstead heath etc)

Question 27

How has urban change created social challenges?

Answer 27

integration - ability to speak English and converse with others
preventing ghettos - preventing economically poorer cultural groups living in the same parts of the cities

Question 28

How has urban change created economic challenges?

Answer 28

inequality in housing, education, health and employment
- 16% Londoners are in the poorest tenth nationally, whilst 17% are in the richest tenth
- top tenth of employee’s in London earn around four and a half times as much as the bottom tenth

Question 29

How has urban change created environmental challenges?

Answer 29

• sprawling cities consume land, and this displaces animals from their habitat
• pollution, due to dense road network and high buildings, meaning central London tends to be one of the most polluted places in the UK

Question 30

What are the impacts on the rural-urban fringe due to urban sprawl, and the growth of commuter settlements?

Answer 30

Extra cost to tax payer - the public help to pay for infrastructure such as roads and water works to allow building developments to go ahead.

Increased Traffic – extra people in these areas means that cars are used more often, which means that there is more traffic on the roads, and there is also more air pollution and more accidents

Health Issues – people in these areas often have to commute to work which means that they often travel by car. This can have negative impacts on people’s health such as high blood pressure.

Impact on Social Lives – people in sprawling communities can often live further from their neighbours, this can cause isolation.

Question 31

Example of, and main features, on an urban regeneration project.

Answer 31

East London, Borough of Newham
Needed due to:
deindustrialisation, urban deprivation, environmental degradation