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contemporary urban environments - Coggle Diagram
contemporary urban environments
urban form
urban form is defined as the physical characteristics that make up built up areas; shape, size, density and organisation of settlements
megacities
mega cities are cities with a population of 10 million or over
causes of the growth of megacities
mass migration in a short period of time
Lagos in Nigeria went from just under a million residents in 1960 to now 85 people moving there per hour
government policy
Special economic zones (SEZs) in China have led to exponential urban growth; Shenzhen grew from 59,000 in 1980 to 12.6 million in 2020
positives of megacities
public services like healthcare and education can be provided to large groups of people in an economically efficient manner
less environmentally damaging to provide water, housing and electricity to a dense population rather than a sparse, rural one
urban dwellers have more access to a varied market of employment
centres of innovation, some of which leads to solutions of global problems
world cities
world cities are urban areas which have the greatest influence on a global scale
most commonly cited ranking for world cities is the Globalisation and world rankings research network which use alpha, beta and gamma rankings based of factors like accountancy, advertising, finance and law
characteristics of a world city
variety of financial services
centres for media and communications
headquarters of international corporations
high proportion of workers employed in the service industry
multi-functional infrastructure providing the best facilities in the country
spacial patterns of land use
peak land value intersection
the point in a city with the highest land value (and normally price)
land prices tend to decline as you get further away from the centre and then have a secondary peak in the suburbs
bid-rent theory
shows that retail, then industry and then residential is the order in which land use in most likely to be situated in the PVLI
changes in the city centre
town centre mixed development
cities are encouraging the development of functions other than retail in the CBD to increase the attraction of the city centre to consumers
cinemas, theatres, cafes, bars, restaurants
gardens, squares and plazas
street entertainment and nightlife
flagship attractions such as the M Shed museum in Bristol
cultural and heritage quarters
a strategy to force urban resurgence by developing previously important areas for culture and heritage
Birmingham's Jewellery quarter is built around the historical importance of Birmingham's Jewellery industry
gentrification
buying and renovating properties in low income areas for middle class tastes
causes of gentrification
the rent gap - due to a lack of maintenance a house's value is below its potential and so property developers will buy and fix up the house to make a profit
commuting costs - can be time consuming, expensive and stressful, moving closure to the city centre eliminates this issue
'pioneer' image - a trend of creative individuals moving into more 'edgy neighbourhoods'
fortress landscapes
areas based around security, protection, surveillance and exclusion
characteristics
CCTV
railings and fences
mosquito alarms
street lighting
speed bumps
focus on the idea of 'designing out crime' through well made urban architecture; Greenheys estate in Manchester with gated compounds is an example of like this
Fortress LA
gates communities, armed-response security units and staked metal fences
edge cities
self-contained settlements which have emerged beyond the original city boundary and developed as cities in their own right
largely as a result of urban sprawl
Los Angeles for example has at least 40 edge cities, equalling 18 million people
social and economic issues associated with urbanisation
economic inequality
clear example is 'Antilla', a 27 storey home of the Ambani family, an energy dynasty, being placed directly next to Byculla which houses some of Mumbai's 9 million slum dwellers
housing
developers build with a particular market and price point in mind, wealthier groups have more choice in where to live as they make more money for those creating the housing
changing environments
the use of certain housing will change; Victorian terraces originally meant for large families will be turned into flats - excluding families from some areas
the ethnic dimensions
immigrants may struggle with job and housing discrimination, may lead to ethnic groupings in low income areas
measuring poverty and inequality
index of multiple deprivation is based on 37 separate indicators in seven different domains; income, employment, health, education, crime, housing, living environment
98% of deprived areas in the 2015 index survey were in cities
solutions for inequality
enforcing a living wage or providing as urban subsidy
provision of schools and education
supporting low-skilled workers who want to develop their abilities
access to affordable housing
greater provision of public transport
minimum environmental standards
'fairness commissions'
cultural diversity
variety of cultural and ethnic groups within a society
London is a super diverse city - 50 non-indigenous communities with populations of over 10,000, 300 languages spoken
diaspora - large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have settled elsewhere in the world
why is there greater cultural diversity in cities?
greater employment opportunities
cities are the first point of entry into the country
religious centres and ethnic shops because of already existing diversity
urban populations tend to be more tolerant of immigrants
issues with cultural diversity
social segregation
self segregation
migrants seek support and security with those from their own communities
provision of specialist facilities
protection against abuse and attacks
maintenance of cultural, language and traditions
external factors
migrants have been a source of cheap labour forcing them into areas of cheap housing
ethnic minorities have been discriminated against in access to local authority housing and less succesful in
hostility from the majority population
'white flight'
solutions to issues with social segregation
legislation on anti-racism, employment rights and prejudice
encouraging greater political involvement of different cultural groups which can lead to increased' intercultural-ism'
urban waste and disposal
waste generation
global waste increases by 7% each year
varies significantly between cities, much higher in developed cities than developing cities where disposable incomes and living standards tend to be higher
the USA and China are the world's biggest waste producers
sources of waste in urban areas
residential, industrial, commercial, institutional, construction, urban services
impacts of increasing waste generation
costs of collecting and treating waste are high, in developing countries waste management is normally the biggest urban cost
waste is a huge source of methane and water pollution
untreated waste can cause health problems such as respiratory ailments and cholera
running out of landfill space
approaches to waste management
the waste hierarchy; reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, landfill, incineration, controlled dump
trade