Changes of the Urban World Flashcards
Brownfield site
Land that has been used, abandoned and now awaits some new use. Commonly found across urban areas, particularly in the inner city.
Greenfield site
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.
Inequalities
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.
Integrated transport systems
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.
Mega cities
An urban area with a total population in excess of ten million people.
Migration
When people move from one area to another. In many LICS people move from rural to urban areas (rural-urban migration).
Natural increase
The birth rate minus the death rate of a population.
Rural urban fringe
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.
Social deprivation
The degree to which an individual or an area is deprived of services, decent housing, adequate income and local employment.
Squatter settlement
An area of poor-quality housing, lacking in amenities such as water supply, sewerage and electricity, which often develops spontaneously and illegally in a city in an LIC.
Sustainable urban living
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.
Traffic congestion
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.
Urbanisation
The process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to live in towns and cities. Rapid urbanisation is a feature of many LICs and NEEs.
Urban regeneration
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 (ie demolishing existing buildings and starting afresh).
Urban sprawl
The unplanned growth of urban areas into the surrounding countryside.
