Urban Issues and Challenges

Question 1

How urbanised is the UK?
(%)

Answer 1

82% of the UKs population live in cities - we are one of the worlds most urban countries

Question 2

Where are the major cities in the UK located?

Answer 2

• Most of the cities are in the north-west, the Midlands and the south east
• cities in south east, and the Midlands, are increasing in population,
• whereas cities in the north-west were mostly decreasing in population

Question 3

Why are the cities in the UK there?

Answer 3

Where they are reflects the concentration of heavy industry and manufacturing in the past

Question 4

Where is London?

Answer 4

• London is in the south east of England
• it’s on the river Thames
• about 45 miles from the East Coast

Question 5

What is the importance of London in the UK?
(national importance)

Answer 5

• Parliament is where laws are made
• A lot of the wealth is generated in London (22% percent of UK’s GDP)
• A lot of the financial sector of the UK is based in London (banking) - 1/2 of all foreign exchange in the world happens in London
• Transport hub - railways + motorways almost all from London.
• The World courts of justice is in London, So big court cases are in London
• creative industries are in London worth - £35 billion - half of the countries total
• London has 15% of the U.K.’s hospital beds and 15 of the countries teaching hospitals

Question 6

What is the importance of London in the wide world?
(international importance)

Answer 6

• Transport hub - over half of all passengers travelling from in the air in the UK currently travel via the five London area airports
• lots of tourism - 20 million tourist visited the capital in 2017 spending £13 billion
• 380,000 students in London - 28% from overseas
• Over 70% of the U.K.’s biggest companies (+TNCs) are located in London + 75% of the worlds top 500 companies have offices in London

Question 7

National immigration on the growth and character of London

Question 8

How has international migration affected the growth of London?

Question 9

How has international migration affected the character of London?

Question 10

How has urban changed creative benefit on cultural mix?

Question 11

How has urban change created benefit on recreation and entertainment?

Question 12

How has urban change created benefits on employment? (in KX)

Answer 12

• There are now new businesses like Google, which are locating in Kings Cross,
• the creation of jobs and wealth for people improves quality of life.
• There are 35,000 office workers
• This also creates the multiplier effect, so more businesses set up here so even more jobs are created.

Question 13

How has urban change created benefits on integrated transport systems? (in London)

Answer 13

• It is easier to travel to places so less time is spent getting to work or school
• Eg. In KX, There are new transport links like the Eurostar, so you can get to Europe from London, as well as all over London and the UK

Question 14

How has urban change created benefits on urban greening?

Answer 14

• New, open and green spaces.
• This provides recreation + leisure space for the local population as well as attracting more visitors
• e.g. in KX an estimated 450,000 visited in 2020 - they will spend money which will create jobs and wealth for the local people
• Green walls also reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere so the air is cleaner/less polluted so health problems decrease. This also reduces global warming from CO2
• trees and plants absorb water which reduces the risk of urban flooding

Question 15

How has urban changed created problems (challenges) on inequalities of housing, education and employment?

Answer 15

Housing:
-The ‘right to buy’ scheme means that much housing has the most vulnerable in need residents who can’t afford the other housing.
- Old housing is then being cleared and replaced with modern housing but it’s often too expensive for formal residence forcing them to leave.
- fact: So-called ‘out of area’ placements where homeless people and families are forced out of the area have increased from 11% to 28%
Education:
- Many children in deprived areas leave school without basic qualifications leading to low incomes and high unemployment
- fact: in deprived areas surrounding Kings Cross around 20% of the population have no qualifications
Employment:
- in deprived areas, there is high unemployment leading to low wealth, so a lower quality of life
- fact: in KX, 30% of people are unemployed whereas outside/around Kings Cross 50% of people are unemployed

Question 16

How has urban change created problems on health inequalities?

Answer 16

• in deprived areas there are is generally poor health due to poor housing, poor mental health and unhealthy lifestyles
• a poor diet, alcohol and smoking is more likely in deprived areas
• fact: life expectancy for men in the Somerstown neighbourhood next to KX is 10 years less than in wealthy parts of the borough

Question 17

How has urban change created problems on waste disposal?(sewers)

Answer 17

With more people, there is more waste and our old sewers cannot cope

Question 18

How has urban change created problems on air pollution? and a fact?

Answer 18

• As cities grow and more people have cars, there is more air pollution mainly particular matter
• This causes poor health
• fact: around 2 million people in London live in areas that continually exceed the legal limits for pollution, including 400,000 children and around 1 in 5 state primary schools.

Question 19

What is the impact of urban change on the rural urban fringe? (edge of urban area)

Answer 19

• Urban sprawl can lead to traffic congestion as commuters come to work in the city.
• It can lead a loss of habitats as more land is built on
• councils may move social housing to these areas as land is cheaper.
• These people may find it harder to get to their work which is often in the centre of cities, they can also cause problems for the small towns that grow and become part of the rural urban fringe
• it can change the character of the small town want to move there, house prices rise which can force the original residence to move
• however, it can improve the facilities of services in these areas so lead to economic growth here
• Fact: London’s greenbelt where there are strict planning controls was designed in 1974 to limit sprawl

Question 20

What is the impact of urban change of the growth of commuter settlements?

Answer 20

• As the greenbelt has limited the growth of cities, and house prices in London continue to rise.
• It has lead to growth of commuter towns.
• This can cause challenges as many of the population live each day to work so businesses in the area suffer as people often spend their money where they work with and where they live.
• it can also lead to same problems caused by urban sprawl.
• However, there can be some benefits to service and facilities as population grow here

Question 21

What is an example of an urban regeneration project?

Answer 21

Kings Cross

Question 22

Why did the Kings Cross area need generation?

Answer 22

• Lack of job opportunities,
• people who live there, often had low education levels
• the area had nearly 2x the level of unemployment as the rest of London
• severe overcrowding
• the people living in the area didn’t have the money to invest in the area so declined
• a drug crime + prostitution problem so wealthy people start to move out, leaving only low income people who had nowhere to go
• derelict land
• abandon buildings
• contaminated land

Question 23

What are the main features of the Kings Cross regeneration project?

Answer 23

• 200m of green walls,
• 50 new buildings,
• 2000 new homes,
• 35,000 jobs
• 10 new public parks and squares
• 40% is green space

Question 24

What is urbanisation?

Answer 24

the process of increasing the % of people living in urban areas

Question 25

What is the global pattern of urban change?

Answer 25

• since the 1950s the % of people living in rural areas has decreased greatly
• the % of people living in urban areas have increased
• in 1950, 72% of the global population lived in rural areas
• but in 2030 it’s predicted that only 40% of the global population will live in rural areas

Question 26

What is urban change like in HICs?

Answer 26

• Urbanisation is slower now because they have already urbanised
• Around 80% of the population (in HICs) already live in urban areas
• In some HICs people are starting to leave cities

Question 27

What is urban change like in LICs?

Answer 27

• Cities are smaller but growing quickly
• Only about 30% of the population live in cities
• But they are growing in some areas by 6%

Question 28

What are the factors that effect the rate of urbanisation?

Answer 28

1. Natural Increase - growing because lots of babies being born
2. Rural –> Urban migration

Question 29

What is a megacity?

Answer 29

A city with more than 10 million people in it

Question 30

How many megacities are there?

Answer 30

33 megacities

Question 31

Where are many of the megacities found?

Answer 31

In LICs and NEEs

Question 32

What is the definition of sustainability/ sustainable development?

Answer 32

It is the kind of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
–> social, economic + environmental

Question 33

How can water conservation improve sustainability?
+ curitiba and london

Answer 33

• Collecting rainwater for gardens or for flushing toilets
• installing toilets that flush less
• installing water meters so people have to pay for the water they use
• encouraging people to use less water e.g. turning off taps when not in use

Curitiba:
- the government has introduced policies to promote sustainable water use
- including the installation of water metres in homes and hose pipe bans
the city also has separate systems for non-drinking water so less drinking water is wasted
- their water consumption is around 1/2 of other Latin American cities

London:
- education campaigns for people to turn off taps
- increasing use of water butts to collect water
- hose pipe bands in summer
- water meter is compulsory in UK

Question 34

How can energy conservation improve sustainability?
+ curitiba and london

Answer 34

• promoting renewable energy (wind/solar) instead of coal or gas
• making homes energy efficient e.g. electricity from renewable sources - solar
• all new homes meet minimum efficiency requirements
• encouraging people to reduce car use e.g. public transport

Curitiba:
- integrated transport strategy with dedicated bus lanes ‘green line’
- there is also a scheme to replace all the cities street lights with energy efficient bulbs
- The city gets 84% of its energy from hydroelectric power

London:
- people have energy/smart meters in homes to see how much energy is used and the price
- increasing use of solar panels
- congestion/ULEZ zones installation
- encouraging bikes

Question 35

How can waste recycling improve sustainability?
e.g. from curitiba and london

Answer 35

• kerbside collections of recyclable materials
• building recycling facilities to deal with larger items e.g. fridges
• websites where items are offered for free so they can use by others instead of being thrown away

Curitiba:
- recycling where 70% of waste is recycled + they collect 100% of waste
- the green exchange is where residents received 1 kg of food or bus tickets for every 4 kg of recyclable waste collected
- this means that 6800 tons of waste is collected each year

London:
has a recycling policy

Question 36

How can creating green spaces improve sustainability?
e.g. from curitiba and london

Answer 36

• naturally cooler areas to relax in heat
• encourage exercise = healthier + less stress
• happier - a break from noise of City
• reduces air pollution creating cleaner air
• reduces risk of flooding - reduces surface runoff when it rains

Curitiba:
- urban parks reduces flood risk + improves recreation facilities
- pedestrianised center
- there are 28 parks in the city including the 1.4 million m squared park design to absorb flood water

London:
- 40% of KX is open green space
- there are lots of green walls

Question 37

How can urban transport strategies improve sustainability?
e.g. from curitiba and london and lagos