Contemporary Urban Environments Flashcards
(36 cards)
What is urbanisation?
Increase of the proportion of people moving to urban areas.
What are urban & rural areas?
Urban = towns/cities which have a high pop density, majoirty of the employment isnt in agriculure.
Rural = small villages/ hamlets and areas of land with a low pop density.
Patterns of Urbanisation
Amount of people moving to urban areas is increasing globally. 55% of people live in urban areas.
Global urbanisation continues to increase; suburban areas are becoming more urbanised and surrouding rural areas are becoming suburbanised. It is increasing due to high immigration from rural to urban areas.
What is suburbanisation?
Where urban areas grow so rural settlements (villages) become absorbed into the urban areas and engulfed in the city.
Why does suburbanisation happen?
Usally occurs when wealthier people decide to move away from the central city into the suburbs for a better quality of life.
Results of suburbanisation
Larger population to accommodate = demand for suburbs increases and the suburban area expands.
What are the issues with Suburbanisation?
Disadvantages = inner-city areas becoming deprived, house £ increase. To limit urban sprawl, strategies to limit suburbanisation can be implemented (green belt, area around a city where buildiing is restricted to preseve rural areas).
What is counter-urbanisation?
Process of people moving out of cities into rural areas. Due to people wanting a better quality of life.
What is urban resurgance?
also known as re-urbanisation
Process of people moving back into the city, especially after the deterioration of the area.
Consequences of Urban resurgance
Socioeconomic inequalites, due to gentrification and excess wealth in the newly redeveloped areas mean that orignial population can struggle to keep up with higher prices or housing and living.
What is a megacity?
Urban areas with a high population (over 10mill).
Examples of megacties
New York & Tokyo
What is a world city?
Cities which have significant poltical and econmic influence on a global scale. They are not defined by their size or population but by their importance. Characteised for thier rich culture and influence over socail affairs. They are also connected to the rest of world.
Social factors of urbanisation
Migration of different social and cultural backrounds = increasing mulitculteralism and making cities more diverse.
Urbanised areas develop into cultural hubs, galleries, museums etc.
Wide range of jobs increase income.
Economic factors of urbanisation
Leads to a shift in employment from primary to tertiary = higher wage jobs leads to economic development in urban areas.
Rural-urban migration brings a large population to urban areas. More people working and contributing to the economy.
Urban growth = development of a range of businesses and industries that drive the economy.
Economic inequalities- cost of living.
Technological factors of urbanisation
Urban areas = centres for tech advancements.
New tech introduced into cities first as there is a higher demand for it- ‘smart cities’.
Political factors of urbanisation
Central polictical institutions are found in the capital = these urban areas the focus of political activity.
Political movements are Usually more prominent in cities (e.g- Extinction Rebellion often targets areas like London)
Demographic factors of urbanisation
Cities host a lot of cultural diversity = diverse demographic.
Predominantly young adults in cities due to education, social life and jobs.
Older people tend to move away into suburbs for a better quality of life- alters demographics of urban areas.
What is urban change?
A change in an urban environment due to different processes in society. E.g deindustrialisation.
What is deindustrialisation?
Decline of industry within a country- measured by the reduction of industry employment.
Began in the mid C20th in developed countries.
Why has deindustrialisation occured?
The struggle of industries to compete with cheap labour and manufactoring costs. (E.g China, Singapore and Taiwan).
Characteristics of Deindustrialised places
Unemployment in areas With insufficient support to create new opportunities- masses of peoplease left without income = poorer quality of life.
Socail deprivation- worsening health, education, crime, etc. -seen in both urban and rural areas which were once mainly primary/ secondary economic activites.
Examples of deindustrialisation
1980-90s
Predominantly in the North and Wales.
Cardiff, ‘low wage, low welfare’.
Cities with the heighest percentage of low earners tend to be C19th indsutrial reigons, whereas high-earning cities are associated with employment diversity.
