Challenges of an urban world

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  • Created by: Holly45
  • Created on: 25-05-15 10:27

Urbanisation trends

  • URBANISATION: means an increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas
  • 60% of people are expected to live in urban areas by 2050
  • in Europe and North America the number of urban people has more or less stabilised
  • in South America and sub Saharan Africa urban populations are still growing
  • in Asia, there has been enormous population growth in cities and this is expected to continue
  • RURAL URBAN MIGRATION: people in rural areas migrate to cities to seek better opportunities, especially jobs. Cities have a number of pull factors including higher income and better healthcare and education. Rural areas have push factors such as poverty, lack of farmland and tough physical labour
  • INTERNAL GROWTH: population rises due to the high birth rate in the city
  • in Europe and North America counter urbanisation is taking place. This is when people migrate out of cities to live in rural areas
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Megacities

  • Tokyo houses 36 million people and covers 35,000 square kilometres
  • in 1975 there were only three cities with more than 10 million people (New York city, Tokyo and Mexico city)
  • by 2010, there were 27 cities and there are expected to be over 35 by 2030, with a total population of over 400 million
  • New York City's population grew from 19.7 million in 1990 to 22 million in 2010
  • Mexico City's population increased from 15 to 21 million
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Mumbai (developing world)

  • POPULATION:
  • 20 million
  • growth of 2.9% a year
  • 60% of the population live in poverty
  • SIZE AND SPATIAL GROWTH:
  • 603km^2
  • 1000 people arrive in Mumbai every day
  • navi Mumbai has been built on the mainland opposite Mumbai and over 1 million people live there
  • ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES:
  • services (banking and call centres)
  • manufacturing (engineering)
  • construction
  • entertainment and leisure
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Los Angeles (developed world)

  • POPULATION:
  • 12.9 million
  • population growth is 1.1% per year
  • SIZE AND SPATIAL GROWTH:
  • 12520 km^2 while greater LA covers 87945km^2
  • Los Angeles grew rapidly becuase many people were attracted to its California climate
  • ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES:
  • trade
  • entertainment
  • aerospace and technology
  • oil
  • fashion and clothing
  • tourism
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Urban challenges in the developed world

  • emmisons
  • traffic
  • unemployment
  • waste
  • housing
  • ECO FOOTPRINT:
  • measures the area of land needed to:
  • provide all the resources and services consumed
  • absorb all the waste produced
  • measured in global hectares per person
  • London's Eco footprint is 4.45 gha, almost twice the global average
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Living in Mumbai

  • population of 20.5 million people, growing at 4% per year
  • a city of huge inequality with at least 20 billionaires but also 20% living below the poverty line
  • about 45% of people in Mumbai live in 3000 slums across the city
  • the largest slum, Dharavi, houses 800,000 people
  • on average people in Mumbai have only 4.5m^2 of living space
  • the city has severe water shortages, with 650 million litres a day lost through old leaking pipes
  • some slum dwellers spend up to 20% of their money on water
  • 55% of people walk to work becuase Mumbai is so compact
  • only 2% own a car
  • three thousand people die crossing railway tracks or falling off commuter trains each year
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How can Eco footprints be reduced

  • REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION:
  • nearly 80% of London’s CO2 emissions originate from energy supply to, and use in, buildings, while transport accounts for the rest
  • major retro-fitting programmes: adding new energy-saving and energy-efficiency features to existing homes and public buildings (loft insulation and cavity walls)
  • ten low-carbon zones to reduce energy emissions
  • REDUCING WASTE GENERATION:
  • By 2020, London plans to reduce the amount of household waste produced by 10%, as well as reducing municipal waste
  • providing cheap and accessible recycling and composting services
  • providing recycling bins
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BedZED

  • it opened in 2002
  • example of a sustainable community that promotes energy conservation
  • there are nearly 100 apartments and houses, as well as offices and workplaces
  • use 81% less energy for heating
  • use 45% less electricity
  • 58% less water than a normal British home
  • recycle 60% of their waste
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UK transport solutions

  • TRAFFIC INCREASE:
  • increase in car ownership
  • people commuting to work
  • increase cost and reduction of public transport
  • BARCLAYS CYCLE HIRE:
  • public bicycle sharing scheme launched in July 2010 in London
  • Boris Bikes
  • coverage zone roughly matches the zone 1 travelcard area
  • currently there are 8,000 bikes and 570 stations
  • scheme is sponsored by Barclay bank, which is contributing £25 million over 5 years to the project
  • CONGESTION CHARGE:
  • introduced in 2003
  • daily charge for driving in a certain part of central London
  • operates between 07:00-18:00, Monday to Friday and is £10
  • allows you to enter, drive within and exit the charging zone
  • traffic entering is 21% lower than pre-charge levels (70,000 fewer cars a day)
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Dharavi redevelopment project

  • SPARC
  • NGO organisation
  • has helped the government relocate 16,000 of some 22,000 slum families living along the railway tracks to implement the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)
  • MAHILA MILAN: a self help group of pavement women
  • means “Women Together" in Hindi
  • is a network of poor women's collectives that manage credit and savings activities in their communities
  • aims to provide a space for women to take on important decision-making roles
  • be recognised for their contributions towards improving their communities
  • SATHI
  • an NGO organisation
  • volunteers meet all trains arriving at Mumbai Central Station
  • remove any vulnerable children found travelling alone to a safe place
  • temporary night shelters are provided for small groups of teenage girls
  • day centre provides skills training for orphaned street kids
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Mexico City

  • SMOG:
  • due to its location in a depression, and being surrounded by mountains, pollutants get trapped over the city
  • 1000 deaths and 35,000 hospital admissions were attributed to air pollution
  • WASTE DISPOSAL:
  • produces 13,000 tonnes of rubbish every day – but the waste collection system can only remove 9,000 tonnes
  • in 2012 the biggest dump in the city, Bordo Poniente was closed
  • in 2012 Mexico City was sending 3,600 tonnes of rubbish per day to landfill, 3,000 tonnes were going to make compost
  • 800 tonnes was used to make plastic bottles
  • the rest had no designated destination.
  • WATER POLLUTION:
  • pump water up from the 514 underground aquifers
  • land surface of the city is sinking at the rate of 9 cm per year
  • gas pipes fracture and roads to crack, as the aquifers start to dry up
  • each person in Mexico City uses 320 litres of water each day, the sewage plants can't cope
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Solutions to Mexico City's problems

  • ECOBICI:
  • aims to reduce the number of vehicles that go through the city everyday
  • 275 stations and 4,000 bicycles across city
  • 50,000 trips have been taken throughout the city thus far
  • the bikes have small racks to hold bags or groceries, adjustable seats, and automatic lights
  • One person switching from driving to cycling, for a 12 mile roundtrip, saves 1.3 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year
  • WASTE DISPOSAL:
  • encouraging more recycling
  • building a new plant to burn some waste to generate electricity
  • encouraging more composting
  • burying it in new landfill sites
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