- The Global Pattern of Urbanisation
- Contemporary Urbanisation Processes
- Urban Decline and Regeneration
- Retailing and Other Services
- Sustainability Issues in Urban Areas
- Growth of millionaire cities and megacities
- Urbanisation
- Suburbanisation
- Couter-Urbanisation
- Re-Urbanisation
- Characteristics and Causes of Urban Decline
- Urban Regeneration
- Changing patterns in the UK
- Redevelopment of Urban Areas
- Waste Management
- Transport and its Management
The
global pattern of urbanisation
·
50% of world’s population lives in towns and
cities
·
19% live in cities of more than 1 million
people
·
The most urbanized
continents are Europe, N America, S America and Oceania
·
The least urbanised
are Asia and Africa
·
Urbanization is increasing most rapidly in Africa and Asia
·
The number of urban dwellers is largest in
Asia
·
As a consequence of rapid economic
development in parts of China, India and SE Asia the level of urbanisation will
increase very rapidly. Rates of economic development and rates of urbanisation
are rising simultaneously.
·
In Europe, Oceania and N America (MEDC’s) the
urbanisation levels peaked in 1970’s but have fallen steadily since.
The growth of millionaire Cities and
megacities
World cities – those which
have great influence on a global scale, due to financial status and worldwide
commercial power
·
Three cities that sit at the top of the
global hierarchy:
New York, London and Tokyo –
they house headquarters of many transnational corporations
Urbanisation
Natural population growth
·
Urban
areas tend to have low age profiles (15-40 years
(fertile years)) and have traditionally migrated from rural areas. Rates
of natural increase are therefore higher in
cities.
Rural-Urban migration
·
Push and pull factors are responsible for
rural-urban migration
- Push
factors are largely due to poverty
Table
to show push and pull factors:
·
Newcomers in a city in LEDC’s want to rent
proper housing, even if they could afford rent, usually isn’t enough houses
available, so instead:
- Move
in with friends or relatives
- People
squat (build makeshift housing on unused land)
- Sleep
rough
·
Land people squat on:
- Land
not suitable for building as too steep, marsh polluted
- Land
close to city centre as no one has built on it as nobody know who owns it
- Land
on edge of city that was once farmland but was abandoned as city spread
Despair- High Unemployment and underemployment
- Weak family and friendship structures
- Poor water supply and sewage
- Easy spread of Infections and disease
- Widespread prostitution, crime, drug-dealing due to poverty and lack of policing
- Some formal employment but more informal employment
- Strong family structure
- Improving water supply
- Infections under control
- No widespread crime etc due to strong social structures and cooperation between community and police
·
City authorities are aware of problems but
rarely have enough resources to help
·
In some cities (e.g. Nigeria) authorities
have built high-rise apartments to rehouse people. But in lots of places not
enough money
·
In other countries, authorities have helped
migrants to the city by allowing them to build houses in site and service
schemes. An area of land not too far from work places.
·
Once a house is built they are likely to
improve it- so they will not get evicted. For them to make improvements they
must be given legal ownership.
The Brown Agenda
·
It is a mix of social and environmental
problems brought about by rapid growth and industrialisation associated with economic
development; it has 2 components:
- Traditional
issues associated with the limited availability of land & clean water
- Problems
resulting from rapid industrialisation owing to poor standards health and
safety
·
It is the low-income groups that suffer most
·
International bodies have proposed solutions
to the brown agenda:
- A
basic urban environmental profile should be undertaken, there should be public
consultations over main issues
- Risk,
impacts and purpose of improvements should be assessed. Along with a
cost-benefit analysis.
- Action
plans should be put into place
- Local
support groups should be established with training from community leaders.
Suburbanisation
·
Suburbanisation has resulted
in outward growth of urban development, engulfing surrounding villages
& rural areas,
Facilitated in 20th century
by growth of transport systems
Green belt – areas of open
space and low-density land use around towns where further development is
strictly controlled
New Housing in UK
·
2021
predictions that population would increase by
7% but number of households increase by 18%
Two main reasons for faster growth in
households than population:
1. Increase in adult population. Change in the age
structure of population with a fall in
proportion of younger age groups and rise in
the proportion of those in older age groups.
2. Changes
to ways people live – more divorces and later marriages
·
Suggestions:
- Increasing
the number of people living in homes that already exist – take up lodgers or
share homes
- Building
of housing on brownfield sites
- Allowing
building in rural areas and small towns on land that has not been previously
developed
·
Difference between brownfield and greenfield
sites:
|
Brownfield sites
|
Greenfield sites
|
|
Derelict
sites in urban areas
|
New
sites, usually on agricultural land in
green belts around urban areas
|
|
The
land is available, but can be costly to reclaim it if it has been polluted by
industrial use; this information may not be readily available
|
Land
is not available unless planning
permission has been obtained; there is usually public enquiry and a delay of
several years, adding to the cost
|
|
Housing
is likely to be built at a high density to
reflect the cost of the land; there is less demand for such housing as it is
in less fashionable areas
|
Housing
will be relatively low density; there is
great demand for such housing as it is fashionable
areas
|
|
Infrastructure
is normally present, though existing
facilities can become overloaded
|
Infrastructure
costs are high as new
sewage, water, gas and electricity supplies have to be considered; new
schools and health facilities may be needed too
|
|
Sites
tend to be small patches of land
|
Sites
tend to be larger
|
|
The
environment is generally improved
|
The
environment is changed from rural to urban use
|
 |
 |
Video showing greenfield
sites:
Counter-urbanisation
·
Migration of people from major
urban areas to small urban settlements/ rural areas
·
Leads to growth in rural areas behind main
city. Differences between rural and urban areas are then reduced.
·
Causes:
- Problems associated with urban areas – air pollution,
crime and dirt
- Cheaper housing prices for better
living conditions
- Jobs moved to rural areas + commuting to work
increased
- Second
homes + early retirement to rural areas
- Agricultural
economic difficulties
·
Effects:
- Affects
the layout of rural settlement
- Services
shut down
·
Evidence of counter –urbanisation:
- Increased use of commuter railway stations
- Increased housing prices
- Construction
of excusive housing
- Conversions
of old buildings
·
Counter-urbanisation contributes to social
and demographic change in rural area = rural
turnaround
Changes include:
- Out-migration of young village born adults
- Decline of elderly village born adults
- In-migration of young to middle aged families – young
children
- In-migration of younger, more affluent people – increasing housing prices
Land-use patterns of suburbanised villages
·
New detached and semi-detached housing and
bungalows
·
Model bellow summarises the types of change
that have occurred in suburbanised villages:
Re-urbanisation is the movement of people into the city centre as part of urban regeneration. Three main processes:
- In-movement by individuals or groups of individuals into older housing (housing that was in a state of disrepair and the improvement of the housing)
- In-movement by people as part of large scale investment programmes aimed at urban regeneration
- Move towards sustainable communities, allowing those who live in city centres to have access to homes, jobs abd reliable income
The process of housing improvement, associated with change in a neighbourhood composition. Regeneration of inner cities can take place by gentrification. It involves the rehabilitation of old houses and streets on an individual basis.
After gentrification the social mix of the area becomes more affluent, the purchasing power of the residents is greater and an increase in the number of bars, restaurants etc along with the employment.
There are disadvantages of gentrification: locals on low incomes find it difficult to purchase housingas the prices increase, frictiony arise between the 'newcomers' and the original settlers.
Urban Decline and Regeneration
Urban Deprivation
Reasons for social segregation:
- Housing - builders, developers etc tend to built houses on land with a particular market in mind.
- Changing environments - Neighbourhoods change over time. Poor areas are being gentrified but many large houses are being converted for people on low incomes
- Ethnic Dimension - ethnic groups originally come to the country as new immigrants, at first they often suffer discrimination and can only afford cheap housing they therefore often cluster in poor areas.
Social
- Fear of crime
- Incidence of crime
- % on state benefit
- Standards of education
- Standars and accessibility of health
- % on free school meals
- Quality of housing
- Level of pollution
- Incidence of litter
- Graffitt
- Vandalism
- Access to leisure services
- Access to employment
- Level of income
- % of lone parent families
- % of lone pensioners
- Opportunities to participate in community life and influence decisions
Characteristics:
- High population out-migration figures
- Many boarded up shops
- Many empty and derelict properties
- Closing of schools
- High levels of unemployment
- High incidence of crime
- Low levels of participation in local democracy
Property-Led Regeneration
Urban Development Corporations (UCDs) were set up to take responsibility for the regeneration of inner city areas with large amounts of derelict and vacant land. They were encouraged to spend public money on land, buildings etc to attract private investment.
The UCDs are mostly made of people from local businesses who could provide incentives to attract private investors. By 1993 UDCs accounted for nearly 40% of all regeneration policy expenditure.
Some people argued that this amount of new employment was inadequate, UDCs were too dependent on property speculation, they also had more powers than local authorities. Locals complained that they had no involvement in the developments.
City Challenge Partnerships
Partnerships between the public and private sectors, to gain funding a local authority had to come up with an imaginative project to. form a partnership with the private sector and local communities. By 1933 over 30 partnerships were established!
The initiative was designed to address some of the weaknesses of the earlier regeneration schemes. They gave equal importance to buildings, people and values. The cooperation between local authorities and public and private sectors were prioritised!
All the City Challenge areas suffered from high long-term and youth unemployment, levels of educational attainment, increasing areas of derelict land, high levels of crime etc.
Overall they were seen to be successful, making improvements but by others it was criticised n the grounds that large sums of money should have been allocated according to need not competitive advantage.
In 1997 the Conservative government was able to publish stastistics pointing to the success of City Challenge:
- Over 40,000 houses had been improved
- 53,000 jobs successfully created
- 2,000 ha of derelict land reclaimed
- Over 3,000 new businesses established
Prestige project developments
Sustainable communities
Retailing and
other services
Changing patterns in the UK
·
Traditional pattern of retailing based on 2 key factors:
-
Easy, local access to
goods such as bread and milk, which are purchased on a regular
basis
-
Willingness to travel to a shopping centre for
goods with a higher value which are
purchased less often
·
Traditionally = two-tier
structure of retailing (local needs met by corner shops and higher-value
goods purchased in CBD)
·
Last 30 years = technology had major influence
on the patterns of retailing
Factors influencing retail change
Increased mobility
·
Changes have been mainly down to the ownership
and use of the private car. Car parking is now expensive and even petrol
stations don’t just sell fuel.
The changing nature of
shopping habits
·
People now buy in bulk and not as often due to
the creation of the freezer. Also people buy ready meal (freezable) so the need
for fresh food every day is less.
Changing expectations of
shipping habits
·
Shopping now seen as a family social activity
leading to shopping centres having leisure/social facilities as well as retail
facilities.
The changing nature of
retailing
·
Competitiveness of supermarkets/hypermarkets
have lead them to seek to build in cheaper out-of-town locations and increase
their economy of scales = reduce pricing and provide large car-parking areas
Out-of-town retailing areas
·
Large areas have been devoted to major retail
parks and this has involved the following:
-
Redevelopment and/or clearance of cheap farmland or brownfield
site
-
Creation of extensive car parks
-
Construction of a link to a motorway interchange or outer ring road
-
Development of other transport
interchange facilities
-
Construction of linked entertainment
facilities e.g. fast-food outlets
Attitudes to the development of out-of-town retailing
|
Positives
|
Negatives
|
|
Greater opportunities to shop without
the need to travel into city centres
|
Increased traffic in area à
safety, pollution, noise and parking in residential areas
|
|
Creation of jobs for locals –
especially part time
|
24 hour shopping = constant movement
of cars and deliveries = noise
|
Videos of the Trafford Centre
Video showing out-of-town shopping:
Redevelopment of urban centres
·
CBD contains the principle commercial areas and
major public buildings and is the centre for business and commercial
activities.
·
Accessible from all parts of the urban area and
has the highest land values in a city – occur at the peak
land value intersection (PLVI)
·
Not static; grow outwards in some directions (zones of assimilation) and retreat in others (zone of discard)
·
In some CBDs, retailing declining because of
competition from out-of-town developments = greater emphasis on offices and
services
·
Tends to segregation of different types of
business = distinct quarters (shown in image below:)
CBDs in decline:
·
3 main
reasons for CBDs declining:
-
Loss of the retailing function to out-of-town shopping centre
-
Loss of offices to suburban or peripheral locations in
prestige science parks
-
Increasing costs of
upkeep and development of CBDs.
·
Decision makers worried about CBDs because they
become dangerous (especially at night) and
they are putting off investment
·
Planners see CBD as important social and cultural meeting points à general public rather
go to retail parks = companies to move out
·
However, some CBDs are investing à indoor shopping
centres and gentrification of CBDs
Reversing the decline:
·
A number of strategies including:
-
Establishment of business
and marketing management teams to
coordinate overall management of CBDs and run special events
-
More attractive shopping
environments with pedestrianisation, new street furniture, floral displays,
paving and landscaping
-
Construction of all-weather
shopping malls with low parking
prices
-
Encouragement of specialist
areas such as attractive open street markets, cultural quarters and
arcades
-
Improvement of
public transport links
-
Extensive use of CCTV and emergency alarm
systems à reducing crime and increasing
safety
-
Organisation of specialist
shopping events
-
Conservation schemes
such as refurbishment of historic buildings in heritage cities to
attract tourists
Making CBD safer for women
·
Some women feel that the CBD is a dangerous
environment for them, and therefore are not attracted there.
Below is a list of things that can be done
to improve this:
-
Segregated transport
for woman
Ø
Separate compartments on trains or night-buses
Ø
Priority taxis after 10pm – “lady cab” service
Ø
Formal licensing of min-cabs in cities so that
all private hire vehicles are registered and regulated
-
CCTV
-
Better maintenance
of street lighting
-
Help points at key locations with emergency
alarms connected to local police
-
Smoother pavements, few obstacles and better
enforcement of on-kerb parking regulations to help women with prams
-
More seating in public places
-
Transparent bus shelters
-
Cutting hedges at top and bottom, to increase
light and safety
·
Multi-store car parks are also seen as
threatening – improved lighting and the provision of ground-floor woman only
sections
Functions other than retailing
·
Many cities encourage the development of
functions other than retailing to increase the attractions of a CBD, including:
-
Leisure facilities – café bars, restaurants,
cinemas, theatres
-
Promoting street entertainment
-
Development of night life
-
Establishing themed areas
-
Developing flagship attractions
-
Constructing new offices, apartments, hotels and
conference centres to raise the status of the CBD for business and to encourage
tourist to remain near city centre
-
Residential activities to return to city centre
Case study – The St Stephen’s Development,
Kingston-upon-Hull
·
West of Ferensway and comprises 17 ha.
·
Bownfield site originally comprised a mixture of
ownership, buildings and vacant lots and a Grade II listed railway station.
·
Previous
redevelopment schemes didn’t work
·
Development sponsors are: Kingston-upon-Hull
City Council and Yorkshire Forward
·
The Scheme provides:
-
A flagship development that is intended to
complement and reinforce city-centre activities by having a mixture of retail
outlets – leisure centre, hotel, new home for the Hull Truck Theatre Company
-
New integrated transport interchange
·
Transport interchange à £10 million
Transformed the old Paragon Rail Station
and added a new bus stations to provide a new gateway to the city.
Partnership = Kingston-upon-Hull City
Council, Citybuild, Yorkshire Forward, Network Rail, First Transpennine Trains,
East Yorkshire Motor Services and Stagecoach Ltd.
Sustainability Issues in Urban Areas
Waste Management
The average person in the UK produces 517kg of household
waste every year. This figure is increasing. Waste disposal in the UK is
efficient but it has lagged behind many other countries in recycling, reusing
and managing household waste!
Recycling and Alternatives
Reduction
·
Best way of managing waste is to prevent it;
businesses are being encouraged to reduce the amount of packaging used.
Consumers can play a part by refusing to accept plastic bags
Re-Use
·
Some re-use milk containers, bottles and jam
jars. ‘Bags for Life’ has been the most successful
Recycling
·
Waste products such as paper, glass, metal,
plastics and clothes can be recycled if they can be collected economically.
·
In 2005, only 26% was recycled
Energy Recovery
·
Waste material can be converted into energy, the
main method is incineration. In the UK there are 17 licensed municipal
incinerators.
Composting
·
Small Scale: organic waste can be used to
compost and fertilise gardens/farmland
·
Big Scale: anaerobic digestion is an advanced
form of compositing that takes place on an enclosed reactor, gases produced cab
be burnt to generate electricity
Landfill
·
Waste is dumped in old quarries which is convenient
and cheap but it is unsightly, the decaying matter also produces methane gas
which is a strong greenhouse gas
·
We are running out of space for landfill sites
therefore it is becoming an increasingly expensive process
Transport and its Management
The spread of houses while jobs remain in central parts of the cities has created surges of morning and evening commuters. No matter how much money is spent on transport infrastructure the problem of congestion seems to get worse!
The first London Undergrund was opened in 1863, they were built to overcome the urban transport problem. Despite the mounting problems, government policies in the UK still favour private road transport
Why is Urban Traffic Increasing?
- Car ownership is increasing
- 30% of households own 2+ cars
Large Urban Working Population
- High proportion of people work in urban areas but live in urban areas who commute to and fro by road and rail.
- A car still continues to be more convenient
Economic Growth
- Economic growth has led to more service vehicles on urban roads
Growth in Urban Incomes
- Earnings in urban areas are usually higher than in rural areas, allowing more car ownership and even multiple car ownership
Growth in Number of Journeys
- As the number of cars increases so does the number of journeys that people make in them, therefore there will be a fall in se of public transport
Four approaches to dealing with the problems:
1.Road schemes and restricted access
Congestion charge introduced in 2003, creation of bus lanes, road widening
2. Road Traffic Management Schemes
Bypasses and ringroads, expensive car parking, restricted access by car, one-way systems, encouraging use of public transport
3.Streamlining of Public Transport
4.New Mass Transit Systems
Provide low cost public transport from suburbs to the city centre
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