Human Geog- Changing Urban Environments

• pre 1980's, all shops were in the CBD because people didn't have cars so the distance rom peoples homes to the CBD was equidistant to make shops more accessible

Benefits of CBD Shopping Centres

• tourism in big cities
• all roads come into the CBD
• everything is in one place

Disadvantages of CBD Shopping Centres

• expensive land values
• congestion
• busy because everything is in the same place
• parking- lots of expensive land for the buyer

• opened in 1989
• before the shopping centre the land was used as a steel works
• people were excited and happy because shopping centres were a new thing
• lots of advertising
• free parking
• very big centre more, bigger shops were able to be there
• disability access
• 30% of all retail trade is at out of town shopping centres

BUT:

• Merryhill Shopping Centre has taken all of the business from the small town of Dudley
• as soon as Merryhill opened small shops in Dudley and Walsall began 
• because all of the wealthier people own cars, the market stalls in Dudley and Walsall can only sell to the poorer people meaning no profit is made

• Chester is a county in Chester 
• beautiful place to live and because of this, more people wanted to live there, meaning the pop grew. So, Chester suffered from congestion

• to solve this problem, the council chose four locations to tarmac and make into roads. You drive to one of these four sites and park your car for free. Then, you pay £1.20 for a return ticket into Chester's CBD and you can stay in the CBD for as long as you like. 
• however, this idea does not prevent pollution, it just moves it

Advantages

• cheap land is available on the edge of Chester to facilitate the car parks
• bus lanes allow fast access into Chester
• motorists are happy to use the scheme because its cheap
• quick and convinient
• less risk of car accidents
• accompianied children under 16 are free

Disadvantages

• shoppers have to carry their shopping bags on the bus to the car park
• at peak times there is not much space on the buses
• disabled people and the elderly cannot park close to shops
• no Sunday service

Curitiba is the capital city of the Parana state in Brazil. 1.8 million people live there and 99% of the pop are happy with their city and would not leave. The city has had an urban master plan since 1968.

Part of the plan is the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System.

• It was the first city in Brazil to have dedicated bus lanes.
• A bus rapid transit system operates. This is cheaper to run than a tube system. Some employers subsidise their employees who use it.
• 80 per cent of travellers use the BRT.
• The bus rapid transit system uses triple section bendy buses. It carries 2 million passengers a day.
• The bus fare is the same wherever you go.
• No one lives more than 400 metres from a bus stop.
• Urban growth is restricted to corridors of growth - along key transport routes. Tall buildings are allowed only along bus routes.
• 2/3 of the pop us the buses.

Open spaces and clean up programmes

• over 10000 parks and natural area have been built
• residents have planted 1.2mil trees along the city's streets
• builders are given tax breaks if their building projects include green space
• A green exchange programme. The urban poor bring their waste to neighbourhood centres. They can exchange their waste for bus tickets and food. This has many advantages, for example the urban poor areas are kept clean, despite waste trucks not being able to reach them easily.
• COHAB, the public housing programme, is providing 50,000 homes for the urban poor.
• 70% of all waste is recycled

Curitiaba has been very successful in its aim to be sustainable

Reduction of cras means less pollution so it won't damage the environment for the future. Leaving green open spaces and conserving natural spaces means future generation will be able to use them. Recycling means fewer resources are used and there is less waste that has to go to landfill so more resources will be available in the future.