Urban environments

Revision

List the case studies you will need to know for this unit of work.

Case study Description

Define the following terms:

Term Definition

Urbanisation

Suburbanisation

Counter-urbanisation

Re-urbanisation

Agglomeration

Conurbation

Dormitory settlements

Commute

Causes of urbanisation:

HIC LIC

Mega-cities

Mega-city

Why have mega-cities grown?

Economic development

Population growth

Economies of scale

Multiplier effect

Problems associated with rapid urbanisation:

Term Description of problem Why it occurred?Congestion

Crime

Education

Sanitation

Employment

Transport

Housing

Health

Environmental Quality

What policies can you think of to cope with the problem of rapid urbanisation?

How and why is urban land use divided up?

Urban areas are classified into different zones of similar land use. Each of these areas has a function and purpose.

The Burgess Model

The Hoyt Model

Define the following terms:

Central business district

Urban land market

Peak land value

Ghetto

The segregation of people in cities

What are the reasons for and the consequences of segregation between ethnic groups or socio-economic groups?

Why do people become segregated within the city? (Causes, reasons, consequences and problems)

Shanty towns

Shantytowns (also called slums, squatter settlements camps, favelas), are settlements (usually illegal or at best unauthorized) of poor who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials—often plywood, corrugated metal, and sheets of plastic. Shanty towns, which are usually built on the periphery (edge) of cities, often do not have proper sanitation, electricity, or telephone services

Explain the reason for the land use pattern (from the above model).

The advantages of the growth Disadvantages of growth

Even the informal sector in many shanties pays more money than being a farmer in the rural areas and is seen as better than the life of a landless peasant farmer.Growth of urban areas eases the pressure on the rural area so there are more jobs available and less people to feed.

The high expectations of life in urban areas are not fulfilled.They do not usually have the skills needed to carry out the well-paid jobs in the cities.Therefore they do not have enough money to buy a home or to go back to the rural area. Shanty towns become the residence of many. These are small, makeshift homes with one or two rooms only. They are made of wood, corrugated iron and cardboard found lying around the area. The favelas have no electricity or clean running water.The rivers running through the city are polluted with sewage and waste from the favelas.Agricultural production in rural areas might decrease as so many of the young adults have moved away.Shortage of housing.

The results of rapid urbanisation

1. Inadequate housing and services. 40% live in shanty towns or favelas.2. The shanty town services are non-existent or incapable of maintaining a basic standard of living. The lack of basic services like a clean water supply, rubbish collection and sewerage disposal mean that the risks of disease are very high. In storms sewers block and flood.3. Shortage of affordable formal housing.4. The shanty town is likely to be found on inappropriate land. Maybe it is prone to flooding or is very steeply sloping, increasing the chances of a landslip. It could be on a piece of land that has been badly polluted by a neighbouring industry. The shelters made of wood and high population densities increase the risk of fire.5. Because the growth is so rapid, the government does not have enough money to maintain the existing facilities, let alone improve them.6. Increasing levels of pollution. Pollution of air, land and water is a major problem. Air pollution is second only to Los Angeles. Laws to protect the environment are either non-existent or rarely enforced. The back street workshops of the informal economy add to the problem7. Increased volume of traffic on poorly maintained roads.8. The informal economy employs over half the city’s workforce. This is partly due to these people lacking the education but partly to the lack of jobs.

Case study of a shanty: Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro

How are the edges of HIC cities changing? What is the Greenfield v brown field debate?

Brownfield GreenfieldDefinition Definition

Advantages Advantages

Disadvantages Disadvantages

What is the rural-urban fringe and what activities might one find here (HIC)?

Push and pull factors for the rural-urban fringe (HIC)

Push factors Pull factors

Describe each of the following non-residential developments on the rural-urban fringe:

Retail parks

Industrial estates

Business parks

Science parks

Southampton – case study

Outline:

Deprivation and poverty in HICs

Poor living conditions are not only synonymous with LIC cities. As the pictures above highlight deprivation and poverty are found right on our doorstep.

The multiple deprivation index has been developed to assess the level of deprivation across a country. The following life indicators are used:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Using the above map describe where deprivation is within the capital.

What are the symptoms of deprivation and poverty?

Physical environment:

Human characteristics:

Define the following:

Redevelopment

Deindustrialisation

Gated communities

Gentrification

Regeneration

Re-imaging

Rebranding

Cycle of poverty

What happened to the inner cities (HICs) in the first half of the twentieth century?

Re-branding and re-imaging: London Docklands Canary Wharf