Contemporary urban environments Flashcards
(29 cards)
what is meant by urbanisation?
-the process by which an increasing proportion of a country’s population lives in towns and cities
what do we know about urbanisation?
-the urban population has grown rapidly from 746 million in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014 ( 30% of people to over 50% )
-the most urbanised regions include Northern America ( 82% living in urban areas in 2018 ), Latin America and the Caribbean ( 81% ) and Europe ( 74% )
-in contrast, Africa ( 43% ) and Asia ( 50% ) remain mostly rural, but this is likely to change over the next 50 years as the fastest growing urban areas are currently found in developing countries and emerging economies in Africa and Asia
-the World Bank predicts that between 2018 and 2050, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35% of the growth of the world’s urban population
-India is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers, China 292 million and Nigeria 212 million
-the total world urban population is expected to surpass 6 billion by 2045 and much of the expected growth will occur in LICs
-the fastest growing urban areas are medium-sized cities and cities with less than 1 million inhabitants but some reports also highlight the fact that many areas projected to be urban in 2040 have not yet actually been built ( e.g. in India alone, it is predicted that 70% of cities have yet to be built )
why have some cities experienced population decline in recent years?
-economic contraction ( e.g. Detroit, USA )
-low fertility rates ( e.g. Busan, South Korea )
-emigration ( e.g. Poznan, Poland )
-natural disaster ( e.g. New Orleans, USA )
what is meant by urban growth?
-an increase in the number of urban dwellers and/or the physical expansion of towns and cities
what is meant by urbanism?
-the way of life characteristic of towns and cities
why are urban areas important?
-cities play an important role in reducing poverty, hold much of the national economic activity, government institutions, business and transportation ( e.g. Nairobi, Kenya accounts for over 20% of the country’s GDP )
-they also have higher levels of education, better health, easier access to social services, and greater opportunities for cultural and political participation
what are the main causes of urban growth?
-natural population increase = when birth rate is higher than death rate, particularly in towns and cities which have relatively young age profiles due to young adults ( aged 15-40 years / in their fertile years ) migrating to urban areas for higher paid jobs, better educational opportunities and greater social and cultural diversity, e.g. 2/3 of UK cities rely on this for population growth
-rural-urban migration = the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, which is caused by push and pull factors ( in developing countries such as China, push factors tend to be more important than pull factors because the conditions of the countryside are significantly worse than the challenges presented in cities, so urban areas are the better alternative )
-industrialisation = the shift of an economy from primarily agricultural to manufacturing and large-scale industry, which leads to rural-urban migration as people move in search of employment in factories ( mainly occurred between the mid-1700s and early 1900s )
what is the difference between push and pull factors of rural-urban migration?
-push factors cause people to move away from rural areas, whereas pull factors attract them to urban areas
what are the push factors of rural-urban migration?
-poverty caused by population growth, which means that the same area of land has to support increasing numbers of people, causing over-farming, soil erosion and low yields
-conflict / civil war
-desertification, e.g. due to low rainfall caused by climate change
-high levels of local diseases and inadequate medical provision
-shift from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, which produces cash crops for sale to HICs
-natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and earthquakes
-mechanisation of agriculture
what are the pull factors of rural-urban migration?
-employment in factories and service industries ( e.g. hotels ) which is better paid than work in rural areas
-earning money from the informal sector, e.g. selling goods on the street or providing transport
-better quality social provisions, from basic needs such as education and healthcare to entertainment and tourism
-a perceived better quality of life in the city ( media representation )
what are the consequences of urbanisation and urban growth?
-urban sprawl = the spread of an urban area into the surrounding countryside, which requires more roads and infrastructure, is one of the main causes of wildlife habitat loss and open space ( including farmland ), causes more commuting from the suburbs to the city and thus more fuel consumption and traffic congestion, can increase air pollution, GHG emissions and flood risk, impact water quality and quantity, lead to decentralisation, homogenisation ( clown towns ) and the development of new self-contained settlements beyond the original city boundary ( i.e. edge cities )
-shortage of housing in LICs = high population density leads to the presence of large areas of informal settlements ( e.g. slums ) and often inadequate housing on the edge of the city, near to transport networks, in areas of low land value prone to environmental hazards or suffering high levels of pollution etc. which have limited access to basic infrastructure and services
-shortage of affordable housing in HICs = in the UK, the rising demand for accommodation in cities has led to a dramatic increase in both house prices and rental costs ( e.g. in London, where average house prices rose by almost 70% between 2010 and 2019 )
-lack of urban services ( e.g. water and electricity ) and waste disposal = the limited maintenance of infrastructure can result in traffic congestion, polluted watercourses, flooding, the rapid spread of disease and people dumping rubbish on streets and in rivers, creating a huge health hazard
-unemployment and under employment = there is considerable pressure to create sufficient jobs in cities as the majority of people who move there are relatively young, so many migrants find employment in informal work which doesn’t make full use of their skills and abilities
-transport issues = increased traffic creates more congestion and pollution, damaging human health and wasting billions of pounds in lost productivity
what is meant by decentralisation?
-the movement of population, industry and government institutions or headquarters of businesses away from the urban centre to outlying areas
what is meant by an edge city?
-a self-contained settlement which has emerged beyond the original city boundary and developed as a city in its own right
what are the four contemporary urban processes that affect the populations of cities?
-urbanisation
-suburbanisation
-counter-urbanisation
-urban resurgence
what is meant by suburbanisation?
-the movement of people from living in the inner parts of a city to living on the outer edges, which has been facilitated by the development of transport networks and the increase in ownership of private cars, allowing people to commute to work
how have the characteristics of suburbanisation in the UK changed over time?
-during the mid to late 20th century ( 1900s ), suburbanisation was consistently facilitated by the growth of public transport systems and the increase in car ownership
-in the 1930s, there were few planning controls and urban growth took place alongside main roads ( known as ribbon development ) and by the 1940s, this became a cause for concern, which led to the creation of green belts, i.e. areas of open space and low-density land use around towns where further development was strictly controlled
-since 1950, suburban expansion has increased and been better planned, and during the 1950s and 1960s, large-scale construction of council housing took place on the suburban fringe as this was the only land available
-in the 1970s, there was a move towards home ownership, which led to private housing estates being built on the urban fringe where there is more land for gardens, car parking and public open space
-in recent years, new housing estates, offices, local shopping centres and schools have been built in suburban areas
what are the causes of suburbanisation?
-push factors = deindustrialisation: loss of manufacturing jobs in inner cities, workers often lacked the skills for jobs in service sectors, inner cities experienced a spiral of problems ( e.g. unemployment, crime and dereliction )
-pull factors = decentralisation: shift of jobs into service sector which tend to be in non-centralised locations to make use of cheaper land prices; attractions of edge of city location: access ( e.g. via motorways ), room to expand, green space, pleasant environment
-enabling factors = technology: advances in transport meant that people could commute longer distances, better communications ( e.g. internet access ) allow people with remote jobs to work from home
what are some of the negative effects of suburbanisation?
-urban sprawl and its environmental impacts
-increasing economic and ethnic segregation within cities as wealthier middle-class people move out to the suburbs where there is a better quality of life while those left behind in the inner city are poorer and may include foreign immigrants
-diversion of funding away from inner city areas to the suburbs to pay for new infrastructure and services
what is meant by counter-urbanisation?
-the movement of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas, which leads to growth in rural areas beyond the main city ( rather than suburban growth ) and reduces the difference between rural and urban areas
what are the push factors / causes of counter-urbanisation?
-the pollution ( e.g. air and noise ), dirt and crime of the urban environment
-suburbs and city centres have problems with congestion and parking
-house prices in the suburbs are increasing, meaning that people need to move even further out of the city
-rising demand for second homes and earlier retirement due to rising levels of affluence
what are the pull factors / causes of counter-urbanisation?
-improved transport means that travel to rural areas is easier and quicker, so people can commute to work
-improvements in ICT have allowed more freedom of location as it’s easier for people to work from home
-houses in smaller settlements less densely packed, often bigger and have more green space
-better quality of life due to the area being quieter, cleaner and having more open space
-improved online services, such as online banking and shopping, means that less people need to routinely visit big cities
-the need for rural areas to attract income due to the economic difficulties of agriculture, so farmers sell unwanted land and buildings for cheap to raise money
what are some positive impacts of counter-urbanisation?
-some local shops see an increase in business as the newer / retired residents have more disposable income so spend in the local economy, encouraging further investment
-older housing and buildings are restored by developers and farmers are able to make money by selling unwanted land and buildings
-as newer residents ( usually with families ) move into smaller towns and villages, the local services such as schools are able to remain open and efficient, revitalising the area
-people receive a better quality of life in rural areas, improving their health and well-being
what are some negative impacts of counter-urbanisation?
-newer, modern developments may affect the local character of the area, potentially leading to out-migration of long-term residents
-the local shops and services may close down due to the newcomers having the wealth and mobility to continue to use the urban services some distance away or shop online, resulting in tension and conflict between these people and the locals
-rural transport networks and infrastructure will struggle to cope with the traffic caused by car ownership, leading to congestion and air pollution in the countryside
-schools may be forced to close due to a lack of students if all the new residents are older, retired people ( without children )
-house prices may increase, meaning that some young, local people can’t afford to live there and only older, affluent people can
why does counter-urbanisation contribute to social and demographic change in rural settlements / suburbanised villages?
-the out-migration of young village-born adults seeking education and employment opportunities elsewhere as there is a limited supply of affordable housing and jobs
-the decline of the elderly village-born population through deaths
-the in-migration of young to middle-aged married couples or families with young children
-the in-migration of younger, more affluent people, which results in increased house prices
-these can change the age structure of the area, e.g. average age may increase or decrease
