World cities Flashcards
What is a millionaire city?
An urban area with over a million residents e.g. Budapest in Hungary. There are more than 400 with an increasing number in the developing world.
What is a mega city?
An urban area with a population of over 10 million e.g. Mumbai, India. There are more than 20 mega cities, over two thirds are in countries that are considered as developing. There are some clear contrasts in megacities across the world for example in Asia megacities host an opportunity for growth whereas in Africa they remain very poor with lots of shanty towns and disease endemics.
Why have cities developed into mega cities?
- Colonia influences, creation of coastal cities by invaders, the Spanish and Portuguese created Lima and Buenos Aries
- Ports and trading cities, developed for the late 1600s to export specific products, Shanghai grew through the export of cotton
- Reassignment of a city as a capital
- Declining mortality rate, moving along the DTM
- Rural to Urban migration, push and pull factors
- Location of international production into urban areas, TNCs, low cost workers
What is a world city?
A city that has influence over the whole world. They are centres for trade and business and also tend to be hubs of culture and science e.g. London, New York and Tokyo.
World cities tend to be in developed countries however over time it is likely that more cities in developing countries like China and India will become world cities.
A world city is a modernised centre hosting financial developments, economic diversity, political influence and cultural heritage.
What is an example of a world city?
New York
- largest CBD in the USA, 5th Avenue
- United nations HQ
- Broadway
- Wall street
- World banking centre
- Good Morning America, New York Times
- Tourism, statue of liberty, empire state
- Sports, Yankees
How does economic development and change relate to urbanisation?
Most MEDCs have experienced rapid urbanisation in the past after their own industrial revolutions. Growth in these cities has stabilised and in some cities has gone into decline. Globalisation of industry has seen sectorial changes to the tertiary and quaternary sectors reducing the need for such a large workforce living in the city. As people have become wealthier in these countries like the UK, there has been an increase in the movement of people out by suburbanisation and counter urbanisation. people can now afford to live in larger houses with more space and have the ability to transport in and out of the cities when needed, so the advantages of living in the city centre are no longer relevant.
Urbanisation is a more recent process for LEDCs and NICs. Newly industrialised countries have experienced urbanisation as investment was provided into their manufacturing industries, moving from agriculture. Whereas in some LEDCs urbanisation occurs with a absence of industrialisation usually resulting with many living in poverty. The cities can become overwhelmed by the amount of people leading to a poor quality of life and some serious planning and management issues.
What is URBANISATION?
The growth in the proportion of a country’s population that lives in urban areas.
What are the causes of urbanisation?
Urbanisation is caused by rural-urban migration and a natural increasing population. People migrate to urban areas causing the population to rise, these people are usually of reproductive age so have children, further contributing to the growth in population.
Push factors - reality
- Desertification, if land becomes unproductive it cannot provide enough food to support the population and people have to move away
- Crop failures may cause farmers to lose their land especially if they have taken out loans to improve yields
- Conflict and war may cause people to flee their homes, if lots f people are killed there will be less people to work on the land which could lead to food shortages
- Natural disasters damage land which people can’t always afford to repair
- Changes in land use e.g. farmland may be flooded when dams are built to generate hydro-electric power
- Mechanism of agriculture means that fewer people are needed to work the land so there is a lack of jobs
Pull factors - perception
- More jobs available in the urban areas
- Better paid and more stable jobs
- Better access to health and education
- often a perception of a better quality of life in the city which is not always the reality
What are the impacts of urbanisation?
As the urban population increases there is an increase in the demand for space, resources and services. If these demands cannot be met it can lead to a poor quality of life. In many developing countries they cannot afford to meet these extra demands or keep up with the rate of urbanisation and therefore it has a negative effect.
Shanty towns develop in urban areas where migrants build their own homes in unregulated slum. In shanty towns often:
- houses are poorly built from cheap materials
- built on unsuitable land, hillsides, risks of flood or landslide
- lack basic services like clean water and waste disposal - This means that there is a high chance of diseases such as Typhoid and Dysentery.
- Children don’t usually have access to education or have to work for a young age to support their family
- lack of permanence so little encouragement to self-improve
- social problems may arise between the inside and the outside
- residents sometimes have to work in the informal sector or accept low ways and poor working conditions in the formal sector
However shanty towns do offer employment and areas to live on low wages. There is a strong community ad most shanty towns have some access to gas and electricity. In some shanty towns there is thriving businesses.
What are the solutions to shanty towns?
- Building formal housing - cheap to rent and often high rise, issues with construction pace and cost, destruction of community and the informal economy
- Core housing scheme - basic provisions of services such as sewerage and clean water
- Aided self help - basic materials are provided, bricks, cheap loans and building advice
4 Do nothing - natural consolidation
Case study - SHANGHAI
Problems and management - people and space
Problems
- relaxation of rules in 1980 have introduced a “floating population”
- housing shortages and overcrowding have resulted in 50% of the population living on 5% of the land with sometimes 4 generations living in one shack
- the government are still promoting urbanisation as a means to improve natural living standard but this is resulting in poor construction and competition for land
Management
- the state are shifting from “cradle to grave” to people having to buy their own home and medical insurance
- widespread family planning, work permits, education initiatives and new housing schemes in less dense areas have been introduced
- there is continued decentralisation to satellite towns such as the eco city Dongtan
- as life expectancy increases and the population becomes older pressure will be imposed on social security, pensions and health care
Case study - SHANGHAI
Problems and management - Transport
Problems
- low capacity road systems struggle with 9 million bikes and over 1 million cars
- predictions suggest that there will be 2.5 million private cars by 2020
Management
- Overall aims are to increase mobility, to reduce congestion and improve air quality
- Underground system to reach capacity of 10 million by 2020
- 40% increase in capacity of elevated highways
- car-limiting policies had limited success
- plans to reduce inefficient taxis
- cycling is viewed as dangerous and a competitor to public transport so is not encouraged
Case study - SHANGHAI
Problems and management - Brown agenda
Problems
- less than 60% of waste water and 40% of sewage water are treated and disposed of
- landfill for solid disposal is near capacity, 30,000 tonnes of building waste a day
- highest cancer mortality rate in china
- air pollution from traffic and the coal industry, environmental impacts are predicted to kill 400,000 people per year
Management
- the situation is said to have been improved greatly and made remarkable progress
- almost all houses have access to piped water, electricity and waste disposal
- in 2002 3% of GDP was invested in environmental projects
Case study - SHANGHAI
Problems and management - Socio-economic
Problems
- communist system means there is less of a two class structure
- growing problems of wages for poor and rich
- rising affluence is leading to a rising wage for the middle class
Management
- reached economic level of a middle income country
- it is hoped that by 202 shanghai will have transformed into a modern metropolis / economic and financial centre
- moving beyond manufacturing to advanced services
Case study - SHANGHAI
Problems and management - Coastal flooding
Problems
- combination of monsoons, cyclones, rising sea level and natural subsidence
- sank by up to 2.6 m between 1921 and 1965
Management
- 70 million dollars invested in rebuilding and strengthening key parts of the city
Case study - MUMBAI
Urbanisation
Mumbai is India’s biggest city, a mega city, located on the western coast with a population of over 22million. Mumbai is a major port on the Indian Ocean, India’s financial centre and a hub of industry and services.
Migrants are the main cause of rapid population growth from 5.9 million in 1971 to 22 million in 2014.
The city has struggled to cope and more than half the population live in slums. Dharavi is one of the largest slums and is home to over a million people. it provides accommodation for low skilled workers and is home to mall workshops that produce cheap pottery and plastic toys. The recycling industry accounts for 80% of industries in Dharavi and employs 10,000 people. However the quality of life is rapidly decreasing.
Case study - MUMBAI
Urbanisation - Impacts
- Living conditions in the slums are poor, houses are cramped and poorly built, there is often little or no sanitation and clean water, lack of toilets and sewerage facilities has led to disease in such confined areas
- Healthcare services cannot meet the needs of the population, it is estimated that it only reaches 30% of the urban poor, outbreaks of disease are common and infant mortality rate is high
- Mumbai’s water system is dependant on the monsoon and in dry years has to be strictly rationed
- The road network cannot cope with the level of traffic, congestion, air pollution
- The increasing population produces more waste, lots of waste is burnt which has a large impact on health problems
Case study - MUMBAI
Urbanisation - Management
- in 2004 the government first announced a redevelopment project to clear slums of Dharavi and create new independent townships, including new apartments, a hospital and schools. However some residents are strongly against this plan as residents are worried it will destroy their livelihoods and the community spirit of the area
- the slum sanitation programme was started in 1995 by a group of NGOs, it built 330 new communal toilet blocks in slums across Mumbai
- rainwater harvesting systems are compulsory on all new residential buildings, since 2007 only half of eligible buildings have installed the system
- uses of alternative transport to avoid being stuck in traffic and reduce journey times
- the public transport system is being upgraded, a metro system with over 140km of new rail lines is being developed in the city, it is hoped to be completed by 2021
What is SUBURBANISATION?
The outward growth of development and movement of people from city centres to outskirts of the city, the suburbs
What are the causes of suburbanisation?
Push
- Housing in cities is poor quality, in the UK in the 1940s many houses iin the inner cities lacked basic services like indoor bathrooms and central heating
- Governments often clear low quality housing in the city centre and provide new houses outside the city, slum clearance took place in much of England in 1950 and 1970 where people were moved to council estates on the outskirts of urban areas
- Deindustrialisation in city centres leads to people losing their jobs
- Unemployment increases in the city so there is less money meaning that shops and services might have to close, there are fewer local services in the city
Pull
- Planning laws may be more relaxed than city centres so its easier to build houses. In the UK until 1950s developers took advantage of relaxed planning laws and built new housing estates on the edge of urban areas offering larger spacious environments
- Improvements in public transport, roads and increasing car ownership means that people can live further away and still commute to the city for work
- As businesses and shops move out of the city centres to take advantage of cheaper rent on the outskirts, more jobs and services become available in the suburbs
What are the impacts of suburbanisation?
On the city centre
- as people move out buildings in the city centre are abandoned and may become derelict and the urban area then becomes run down
- unemployment increases in the city centre which leads to lower living standards and poverty
- wealthier middle class people move to the suburbs where there is a better quality of life, the poorer people are left behind and are often immigrants - ethnic and economic segregation
- people still commute into the city centre which increases population
In the suburbs
- New housing estates are often built on open countryside which affects wildlife
- as urban areas spread more ground is concreted, this can increase surface run-off and the risk of flooding
- the number of cars on the road increases air pollution and congestion
How can suburbanisation be managed?
- Redevelopment schemes - encourage the movement of people and businesses back to the city centre y improving brownfield sites
- Many urban areas are surrounded by a greenbelt to prevent urban areas getting too large to protect the countryside form development
- Some schemes have aimed to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre
- Some towns have improved their flood defence schemes
Case study - Suburbanisation - LOS ANGELES
Reasons for growth of LA and reason for growth of the suburbs
Reasons for growth of LA
Transport - transcontinental railway in 1876 saw the arrival of half a million people in 40 years, LAX airport is the 6th largest in the world making LA very accessible
Employment - aircraft industry and discovery of oil- job opportunity
Image - Hollywood
Greater affluence - given people and greater choice where they live
Reasons for growth of the suburbs
Quality of life is better - more space, pools and schools
Transport improvements - electric tramways in the 1920s and 30s, freeways, car ownership and cheap petrol, the 1980s saw growth as far as 2 hours travelling from LA
Urban push - crowded housing, congestion, poor housing and services, pollution, declining jobs, high rent, safety
Suburban pull - low density housing, better services, shopping centres, accessible, cheap land, safer, few planning restrictions
Case study - Suburbanisation - LOS ANGELES
Problems with suburbanisation in LA
Urban smog - increased urban pollution and congestion from travel gets trapped due to the high pressure system above LA - poor public transport, 1.7 million journeys per day compared to 12 million in London which has only 60% of the population
Donut city - businesses follow people out as they have money, industries have to close due to competition overseas, inner city areas declined leaving segregation - “the city that turned itself out”
Social segregation - few wealthy left in the city in secure blocks surrounded by deprived areas - migrants have settled on the edge in ethnic enclaves
Water - piped from 350km away, increased demand is causing disputes with neighbouring states
Waste- 50,000 tonnes produced a day
Energy - heat waves often cause power station blackouts
Case study - Suburbanisation - LOS ANGELES
management of Suburbanisation in LA
Progressive Los Angeles Network - proposal for a sustainable city - by improving the city they hope to pull people back from the suburbs or stop them moving out
- increased urban parks
- promote clean fuel vehicles and green energy
- require developer to build affordable housing
- ban new retail developments which undermine local retailers
- improve public transport
- attract food markets and community gardens
- promote safe walkable neighbourhoods
What are the causes of counter-urbanisation?
Push factors
- many people move out of urban areas to escape the air and noise pollution of towns and cities
- suburbs and city centres often have problems with congestion and parking
- as suburbs become more popular house prices rise and people feel like they are not getting their value for money and move further from the city, in Surbiton £300,000 would only buy a two bedroom house but in St Ives it would buy four bedrooms
Pull factors
- houses in rural areas are often less densely packed, bigger and have more outside space
- people think living somewhere quieter and with more open space will improve their quality of life
- improved communications makes it easier for people to live in rural areas and work from home
- technological improvements also mean that some companies no longer need to be in the cities and can move to rural areas where land is cheaper - this creates jobs in the rural areas
What are the impacts of counter-urbanisation on the rural area?
Positive
- some services see an increase in business because newer residents are often professionals or retired people who will have a higher disposable income
- in some villages the existing houses are improved as farm buildings are renovated and upgraded, farmers are able to make money by selling unwanted land or buildings for housing developments
- some rural schools have to close due to a lack of pupils, but if families move to rural area then more schools may be needed in the areas and existing residents can continue to go to school in the area
Negative
- development can affect the characteristics of the rural settlements
- some rural shops and services may close as wealthier residents who own cars are more likely to travel to larger shops and services in urban areas
- rural roads and infrastructure may struggle to cope with additional traffic, this could cause increased congestion and air pollution
- schools may close if new residents are old people rather than families
- there is more demand for houses so prices increase, younger people may not be able to afford to buy a house
How can counter-urbanisation be managed?
- Developments in some areas are only allowed if they are in keeping with the rest of the area
- Some companies offer mobile services that visit the areas e.g. NatWest bank has mobile banking units that visit rural communities in Cornwall, Devon, Cumbria and South Wales.
- In some rural areas there are local occupancy clauses on houses, in parts of Cumbria some relatively low-cost houses can be brought by people who have lived in the areas for at least three years
Case study - Counter-urbanisation - ST IVES
Background
St Ives, Cambridgeshire, is about 70 miles north of London, a town that has grown through counter-urbanisation. In 1961 its population was 3800 but by 2012 it had reached 16400. It has good road access and rail links to Cambridge and London and is home to many daily commuters.
Case study - Counter-urbanisation - ST IVES
Impacts
- Traffic congestion particularly during rush hour on the A14, the main commuter route to Cambridge
- The average price of a detached house rose for £130,000 to £291,000 between 2000 and 2010. Commuters often have higher wages so are able to afford the higher price
- St Ives is on the River Great Ouse and has a history of flooding problems. As the demand for housing has grown new developments have been built on the floodplain. This puts more residents at risk of flooding, 1000 properties are at risk of flooding from a 1 in 100 year event
- There are now more shops and services in the town, in addition to everyday food stores there are now clothes and antique shops as well as more cafes and restaurants
- The original ageing population has changed with an influx of families, there is now more people under that age of 16 than over the age of 65. This has put pressure on schools as more places are needed.
Case study - Counter-urbanisation - ST IVES
Management
- In 2010 plans were approved to build 200 new homes in St Ives, at least 75 of which will be affordable housing aimed at people on lower incomes e.g. social rents and low-cost ownership
- There are plans to expand primary schools to make 240 more places available
- Flood protection works costing £8.8 million were completed along the Great Rive Ouse, this included ne embankments and flood walls
- A £116 million guided bus way which links St Ives to Huntingdon and Cambridge has been built. it is hoped that this will reduce congestion as commuters no longer need to use the A14. There are also plans to extend the bus way to a new train station in Cambridge from which journey time to London will be quicker to reduce the number of commuters using Huntingdon station
