Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
(38 cards)
Urban Growth Definition
The increase in the total population of a town or city
Urbanisation Definition
The increase in the proportion of the population living in urban centres
Urban expansion Definition
The increase in size or geographical footprint of a city
The importance of urban centres in human affairs
-The organisation of economic production, for example, concentration of financial services
-The exchange of ideas and creative thinking, for example, universities
-Centres of political power and decision-making, for example, seat of government
Statistical example of urbanisation + future prediction (1945, 2008, 2030)
-1945, less than 1/3 of the worlds population lived in cities or urban areas
-2008, more people lived in urban areas or cities
-2030. Proportion expected to rise by 2/3
-rn in the uk urban life is now nearly 85% of pop
Four main forms of urbanisation (aka cycle of urbanisation)
- Urbanisation: an increase in the proportion of a country’s population living in a town or city
- Suburbanisation: the decentralisation of people, employment, and services towards the edges of an urban area. This outward growth is closely linked to the development of transport networks, particularly roads and extension of underground (London)
- Counter-urbanisation: population movement from large urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas. Move as a combined result of push problems from the city and pull of rural life
- Urban Resurgence: population movement,ent form rural areas back to urban areas. Associatied with upwardly, mobile young people, including couples, uni students for 24 h city. The influx of youth and new wealth encourages a revival of some inner city and CBD areas.
Urban Resurgence: Ubisoft, Montreal
-Large computer animation firm
-Ubisoft argue that their staff work all hours and t was important that they located in the centre of a 24-hour city where employees had good access to shops and services.
-Employees recruited from nearby areas, as Ubisoft do not want a long commute - many walk or cycle to work
-Ubisoft needs little floor space - the power engines are desk-sized laptops and PCs - therefor can afford the higher downtown land prices
Megacity definition and example
A city with a population over 10 million
-Tokyo-Yokohama was the second city in history to be a megacity
World City definition and examples
Cities which are disproportionately important to the global economy.
-London = Banking and finance
-Paris = Luxury brands
-New York = Fashion
-Tokyo = Tech
Agglomeration Economies
The presence of many people, services, industry and so on in a small area has productivity gains.
E.g. in densely populated areas/cities there are reduced costs for moving goods, labour can be pooled between different firms and ideas flow more quickly
Factors common to all industrialised countries which may explain the deindustrialisation trend seen after WW2
-Reduced need for labour - rapid mechanisation and application of new technologies increased productivity per worker and led to a labour surplus
-Reduced demand - as household income increased, individuals tended to prefer to spend disposable income on services rather than on manufactured goods. this lowered demand for manufactured goods and, as a result, led to reduced productivity in the manufacturing sector
-Globalisation of manufacturing - resulted in an increasing number of multinationals outsourcing labour to LICs, while the emergence of NEEs introduced new (and cheaper) competition to the global market place. Employing large numbers of workers in manufacturing industries in HICs no longer made economic sense
-Increased costs - including costs of raw materials and those associated with political decision-making, such as removal of a trade subsidy (protectionism) and tighter environmental restrictions (such as clean air acts)
Counter urbanisation definition
Migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas
Where in London has been labelled a ‘Nappy Valley’
In London the area between Clapham and Fulham has
been termed ‘Nappy Valley’ due to the high number of
young adults
Rural-to-Urban Migration
Our push and pull factors that allow people to search for a better SOL and QOL.
Eg; Earning money from the informal sector such as selling goods on the street and providing transport.
The Hukou System
-Formally set up in 1958
-Divided population/society into two major types of household: rural and urban
-Differential treatments of rural and urban residents
-Controlled by the police and other government departments
-Basically an “internal passport system”
The population of a city is divided into “local” and “outside” population
The physical spread of urban areas into the country side impacts:
• Infrastructure
• Habitat loss
• Commuting….
• Pollution…
• Farmland/ open spaces…
• Impermeable surfaces
• Decentralisation of business and industry
• Homogenisation of landscape
Shortage of housing in LICs (Kibera)
• Most new homes in Kenya target the middle and upper classes as it’s easier to make a profit from high-end property sales.
• In Kenya, there is an estimated accumulated housing deficit of over 2 million units, and nearly 61% of urban households live in slums
Shortage of housing in LICs - Tower of David, Venezuela
The Torre David was supposed to be one of the tallest buildings in Venezuela. Instead, it became its most notorious slum.
The skyscraper, halted mid-construction in the early 1990s, was taken over by thousands of squatters in
2007.
Shortage of housing in HICs
Government figures show Barking and Dagenham is in the top 10 most-deprived boroughs in England. But at the
same time, the London housing boom has seen local
property prices rocket by almost 40% since 2008.
Meanwhile, private rents are rising rapidly
Lack of services and waste disposal- The Jardim Gramacho – Rio, Brazil
The Jardim Gramacho dump, a mountain of rubbish near the city’s main airport, will be replaced by a modern recycling plant.
The move, while welcomed by environmentalists, is
expected to leave more than 1,700 people out of work.
Unemployment and underemployment
Kenya figures (2015) –
• Youth unemployment 35%
• National unemployment 10%
UK figures (2015)
• Youth unemployment 13.6%
• National unemployment 5.4%
• Pressure to create sufficient jobs for the young population.
• High number of graduates not enough jobs for the highly educated = Under employment
• High influx of migrants = Under employment Impacts for LICs
• Increased employment in the informal sector
Transport Issues in India
India’s transport sector is large and diverse; it caters to the
needs of 1.1 billion people. In 2007, the sector contributed
about 5.5 percent to the nation’s GDP
Why Europe urbanised..
-Industrial revolution of 18th and 19th Century: leading to development of factory systems where production was concentrated close to sources of power - labour from countryside
-Agricultural revolution: produced a surplus of food, transported to towns to feed growing population
-New forms of power: coal took over from water, therefore industry now in mining areas rather than along rivers
-Transport System improved: first canals, then railways then motorways
-Public health improved: due to improvements in medicine, hygiene and public health, meaning more people could live in close proximity
