Urban Issues & Challenges 🏙 Flashcards
Define the term urbanisation
A rise in the proportion of people living in urban areas
What is meant by sustainability
Sustainability is the looking after the needs of today without reducing opportunities for the future
What is a mega city
A metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people
Describe the location of Lagos
Lagos is in the country of Nigeria and is located on the south-west coast in the Gulf of Guinea
How is Lagos internationally important
It’s airport is now a hub for 80% of flights to Western Africa
Why is Lagos important on a national scale
Represents 80% of the industry in Nigeria
How is migration a cause of growth in Lagos
Access to the coast and TRADE - money
How is natural increase a cause of growth in Lagos
High fertility rate of 5.65 births per women
There is also access to better healthcare now
What percentage of children in Lagos are in education
25%
What percentage of people in Lagos have access to a running water supply
10%
What is the problem with electricity in a Lagos
It’s not reliable.
9th April 2022 there were reports of Nigeria’s national electricity grid crashing for the 2nd time in a month 
What percentage to people in Lagos have access to mains electricity
99.7%
What is Lagos’ GDP
$90 billion
What is the definition of a formal economy
Employees pay tax to the local or national government and are entitled to some workers rights
What is the definition of an informal economy
No tax paid, workers do jobs such a street vending
What percentage of Lagos’ workforce are in the informal sector
40% and accounts for 90% of Lagos’ jobs
What are one of the solutions Lagos is beginning to introduce to solve the overcrowding issue
Floating communities
What are the benefits of the floating communities in Lagos
Increases the amount of people Lagos can house
opportunities for work
cheaper method of building houses
able to adjust to sealevel rise
What percentage of houses in Lagos are connected to sewers
17%
How many hospitals does Lagos have and how many people do they have to supply
12 to supply a total of 20 million people
Describe the location of Birmingham
Located in central England in the midlands and east of the welsh border
What are the reasons for migration to Birmingham
1950s- migration for employment opportunities
1990s- migration to flee conflict
Also during the war due to a loss of men, Britain invited men from the commonwealth to rebuild out cities
How many tourists visited Birmingham last year
37.2 million which is up 9.4% from the year before
Why is Birmingham important in the Uk
2nd largest airport in the uk
Creates jobs
Attracts tourists
What are the possible negative impacts of migration to Birmingham
Occasionally tension between different groups of ethnic minorities
What are the positive aspects of migration to Birmingham
Improves the shopping industry
Opportunities for people to start their own businesses which boosts the economy
What are the benefits of cultural mixing in Birmingham
Balti triangle attracts many tourists
Fashion & religion leads to a greater variety of cultures and beliefs
How does the trams in Birmingham improve the transport system
Links the city centre to outlying areas & reduces congestion and traffic in the city centre
Lowers CO2 emissions
How does the trains in Birmingham improve the transport system
3 major train stations
HS2 is being put in place to connect London to Birmingham
Lowers need for parking
How has the pedestrianisation in Birmingham improved the transport system
Reduces amount of urban traffic and decreases levels of inner city pollution
What is being done to improve urban greening in Birmingham
Creating green walls and green roofs
introducing micro scale ecosystems
demolishing unused buildings in converting to open spaces or parks
What is social deprivation
The degree to which a person or community lacks the things that are essential for a decent life
What is the correlation between employment deprivation and ethnic minorities
Positive correlation between employment deprivation and the percentage of ethnic minorities in the population
Define dereliction
The state of having been abandoned and become dilapidated
Define greenfield
An undeveloped piece of land with proposed first time development
Define brownfield
A previously developed piece of land now available for redevelopment
What is urban sprawl
The spread of city buildings and houses into an area that used to be countryside
Why may green belts no longer be effective
There is a lot of pressure on councils to build houses due to housing shortage and growing population
What is a Greenbelt
Land where urban development is not allowed to prevent relentless urban sprawl
What indicates to someone that a place is a commuter settlement
Expensive housing
How has Barnt Green grown
The village is a project of the 20th century with most houses being built between the 1940s and 70s
What are the services that makes Barnt green a good commuter settlement
The railway station is on a cross-city line and the Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line.
Also close to junctions of the M5 and M42
What are the Environmental impacts of urban sprawl
Divides habitats of many animals
Adds pollution as commuters have further to travel
Road congestion
Social impacts of urban sprawl
Increased lack of affordable housing causes divide in classes and often segregation in race religion and wealth
Why was the redevelopment of the Grand Central needed
Needed a new ‘iconic railway station’
Dated and very energy intensive system of ventilation
Station being saturated and overcrowded
What were the main features of the grand central project
New 450,000 square-foot grand central shopping hub
many low or zero carbon solutions e.g. lifts& escalators, responsibly and legally sourced materials, and recycled materials where possible
How much did the grand central redevelopment cost and how long did it take
£750 million and took 5 years
What is the urban ecological footprint
The amount of land needed to sustain the cities population AND absorb its waste 
What are the 3 features for sustainable living
Waste recycling
water and energy conservation
green space creation 
Describe the location of Curitiba
A city in south-eastern Brazil
What is Curitiba known as
The ‘city of dreams’ and it’s called ‘a leading example for a stainable future’
What transport solutions have Curitiba invested in
BRT system (bus rapid transport) pedestrianisation
the road system ( 1 leading in, 1 leading out, 1 central lane for buses)
How have Curitiba invested in waste management
‘Equation for co-responsibility’
If slums are kept clean they will earn food
They are also given money for collecting recyclables
How have Curitiba invested in open spaces
Extensive network of parks provides area for leisure and is all natural 
How have Curitiba invested in education and industry
Residents of slums are being moved to an area with housing, electricity and roads
Residents are also being trained in trades and make up a large part of the workforce
What percentage of Curitibans say they are happy with the quality of life in Curitiba
99%
How many people are the BRT systems transporting every day in Curitiba
2 million
During peak hours how often do buses arrive in Curitiba
Every 60 seconds
How many square metres of Park are there in Curitiba
1.4 million ( 4 times the recommended space of urban greenery for a city)
Why could the Curitiba model not be applied to every city
Our cities are already so built-up and densely populated that many areas would have to be demolished in order to open up spaces for urban greening and transport systems 
