Urban trends and issues of urbanisation Flashcards
(25 cards)
Cycle of urbanisation
Very slow growth, primary economy
Increase in rate of urbanisation and growth
Rapid rise in urbanisation
Slows considerably as most people living in towns and cities are employed in industry and services
Counter-urbanisation occurs and urban proportions stabilise or decrease as some prefer to commute
Re-urbanisation occurs along with urban renewal
Urbanisation
The process of transition from a rural to a more urban society
Increase in the % of people living in urban areas
Why urbanisation occurs
Rural-urban migration
Natural increase
Reclassification (once rural areas now consumed by cities)
Counter-urbanisation
The migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas
Why counter-urbanisation occurs
Better quality of life
Less pollution
Less crime
Good transport allows people to commute to the city
Negatives of counter-urbanisation
Causes a shrinking workforce
Loss of culture in urban areas
Overcrowding and destruction of ecosystems in rural areas
Reurbanisation
The movement of people back into urban areas
Bottom up: small scale, organic growth, gentrification, less money
Top down: huge investment into infrastructure, large scale
Why reurbanisation occurs
Working age people and foreigners for economic reasons
Investment into infrastructure, education, healthcare improves quality of life, making people move back in
Subsidies, tax breaks and grants can be given to businesses
Better transport links allows people to move from the countryside
Modern urbanisation
Now has become unprecedented
3.5% of Europe’s population was urban in 1300, with the figure now at over 80%
Major world cities (London, Paris, NYC) experienced much of their urban growth before 1950 as they industrialised quickest
Modern developing cities (Lagos, Dhaka, Delhi) have seen huge growth this millennium due to rapid urbanisation
Urban explosion
Through time, urbanisation and growth have occurred simultaneously
In contrast, rapid urban growth of LICs and MICs more recently has generally outpaced economic development, creating huge problems for planners and politicians
Known as urban explosion
Positives of urbanisation
Workforce moves from primary sector to secondary and tertiary sectors
Facilitates generation and diffusion of knowledge
Public spending more effective as costs spread over small, densely populated area
Extension of democratic rights (women empowerment)
Societal values and modes of governance changed
Better composition of social, cultural, ethnic groups
Eval: time lag
Negatives of urbanisation
Perception that crime, pollution and unemployment is higher in cities with fast urban growth
Issues with water supply
Urban sprawl creating pressure on natural habitats
Urban waste management (cities produce 70% of all waste)
Climate change (cities produce 60% of ghg emissions)
Energy consumption (cities consume 80% of global energy output)
Economic development and growth in decline
Public services under stress
Congestion
Urbanisation reducing poverty
Helped to lower poverty by providing new opportunities, raising incomes and increasing numbers of livelihood option for both rural and urban populations
227 million estimated to have moved out of slums between 2000 and 2010
Slums
Unplanned, informal and often illegal settlements which have been set up on the edge of cities as people have moved in
Cause challenges with sewage, electricity, healthcare, education
Dharavi slums, Mumbai
Population of over 1 million
2.39 square km
Rubbish and sewage flows through the streets
Centre of Dharavi has streets and permanent buildings with areas around the edge being more temporary
Water is rationed - standpipes come on at 5.30am for 2 hours
If sewage enters cracked pipes, doctors can get as many as 4,000 cases per day
85% of Dharavi population have jobs inside the slum
Produces over $1bn worth in products every year
Suburbanisation
Where people leave the city centre for the suburbs, creating urban sprawl
Began in 1860s in UK
Occurred due to construction of railway lines connecting city to surrounding areas
Each railway development led to a period of associated house building
4.3 million houses built in UK in interwar period (mainly in suburbs)
Why suburbanisation occurs
Government support for house building
Local authorities providing piped water, sewage, gas and electricity
Expansion of building societites
Low interest rates
Development of public transport
Improvements to the road network
Gentrification
In-movement by individuals or groups of individuals into older housing in a state of disrepair and the improvement of that housing
Generally done by more affluent individuals (normally young working adults)
Pushed along by local investments - bottom up approach
Character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, attracting new businesses
Encouraged by local authorities, estate agents and building societies
Property led regeneration schemes
In movement by people as part of large scale investment programmes aimed at urban regeneration in a wider social, economic and physical sense
More top down investment programme where private investment is incentivised
Establish sustainable communities
Allow individuals and communities who live in city centres to have access to homes, jobs and reliable income, with a reasonable quality of life and opportunities to maximise personal potential
Notting Hill
In the 18th century it was a hamlet and the tollgate, giving the area the name Notting Hill Gate
By the 1950s it was an area of inner city slums and deprivation
Race riots commonly occurred in late 1950s following continuous harassment of the newly arrived Afro-Caribbean community following Windrush generation
157 Portland Road was bought for £11,750 in 1968 and is now worth over £2 million
Millionaire city
A city with over a million inhabitants
Megacity
A metropolitan area with a total population of over 10 million people
Metacity
A metropolitan area with a total population of over 20 million people
