The Urban Environment

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  • Created by: efrench
  • Created on: 16-05-15 09:32

Urbanisation

urbanisation - the process of urban growth

megacity - a city of 10 million people or more

A country may move from an agriculteral economy to a more industrial commercial economy = population becomes increasingly concentrated in towns and cities.

urban sprawl - the outward growth of urban areas

why move there?

  • more opportunies to access basic facilities
  • more employment opportunities
  • higher incomes

URBANISATION IN CHINA CASE STUDY

  • over last 10 years - 8 million chinese peasant farmers have moved into the cities each year
  • 2007 - had nearly 100 urban areas of over 1 million people. (britain there was just 5!)
  • Shanghai - economic boom has created thousands of jobs = attraction to migrants
  • in last 20 years - 240 million migrants
  • in 2030 - China will pass the 1 billion mark
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Environmental Hazards in urban areas

Increasing environmental pressures

  • growing demand for transport = increase in vehicle emissions
  • increasing demand for energy = builidng of power stations = air polllution
  • burning of firewood and coal in the growing urban slums in developing countries = air pollution
  • water courses become polled due to high levels or human and industrial waste
  • waste is often burnt = toxic pollution 
  • as urban areas grow - demand for builiding increases including the amount of green space

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS: CHONGQUING CASE STUDY

  • use of cheap poor quality coal + rapid increase in car ownership
  • 16 of the planets 20 dirties cities were in China
  • Beijing Olympics - remove 3 million cars + close down factories - try to reduce the dangerously high levels of pollution
  • in Chongquing - high levels of atmospheric pollution = premature deaths adn bronchitis.
  • 2006 - air quality failed to reach recommended government minimum health standards
  • smog made some days never have any light!
  • Chonquing is growing so fast - cant cope with the amount of human waste
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The threat of natural hazards on urban areas

  • flood, tropical storm, tsunami or earthquake becomes a hazard when it affects people

Why live near hazardous areas?

A MULTI-HAZARD CITY: LOS ANGELES CASE STUDY

  • attractive climate, sandy beaches, subtropical vegetations and snow capped inladn mountains
  • sits on the San Andreas Fault = earthquakes 
  • winter = heavy rainfall which causes flooding and landslides
  • summer = doughts which means perfect conditions for wildfires

MANAGING THE THREAT OF FLOODING IN URBAN AREAS: BRITAINS SUMMER FLOODS 

  • July 2007 - end of two-month period of above average rainfall
  • Maidenhead - town centre flooded
  • London - parts of SW London flooded + underground railway distrupted
  • Reading - town cenre flooded + main shopping centre closed
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Reducing deprivation in urban areas

Deprivation - where a persons quality of life falls below a level that is regarded as the acceptable minimum by the government of a country.

What determines a persons quality of life?

  • Economic conditions - level of income, unemployment rate, rate of home ownership
  • Socail conditions - quality of local schools, access to healthcase, housing quality, life expectancy, crime rates
  • Environmental conditions - levels of pollution, amount of green space, amount of vandalism

How can deprived areas be improved?

1) measuring and understanding the problems of the area

2) improving housing, health and education

3) building community spirit

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Urban redevelopment and regeneration

Redevelopment: renovation and improvement of areas that were previously run down

REDEVELOPMENT AND REGENERATION: BIRMINGHAM CASE STUDY

  • Bullring Shopping Centre - over 140 major shops. 35 million visitors a year
  • National Indoor Arena - hosts sporting and musical events
  • City Hospital - a £35 million development + includes an eye hospital and teaching unit
  • Eastside - £40 millin redevelopment of Matthew Bolton College. New technology insititute. The regions first IMAX cinema.
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Managing movement in urban areas

Why is traffic a growing problem in urban areas?

integrated transport system: all parts of the system fit together to make it efficient

as towns and cities grow - increase for car ownership

UK- 80% of personal journeys are made by car 

growth of traffic congestion increases air pollution and business costs + adds pressure to build more roads

CAMEBRIDGE GUIDED BUSWAY CASE STUDY

  • requires less land - environmental costs are lower
  • no other vehicles use the track
  • £116 million
  • links many villages between St Ives and Camebridge
  • each stop - shelter and cycle parking
  • provides fast service into Camebridge every 10 minutes
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Urban growth in developing countries - challenges

How does urban growth create challenges?

'one in three people in the world will live in urban slums in thirty years'

Africa rate of slum growth is fastest but Asia has the greatest number of slum dwellers

majority of urban dwellers live in squatter settlements where homes are made of makeshift materials and basic services (like clena water and electricity) are limited.

MUMBAI CASE STUDY

  • one of the fastest growing cities in India
  • about half the population live in shacks or slum areas
  • estimated that half a million people live on the street as 'pavement dwellers' - no facilities and have to exist alongside busy roads where levels of air pollution are high and children are at risk of road traffic accidents
  • city has grown so rapidy - cant cope with teh increased traffic congestion + air pollution is a major threat to health

NAIROBI CASE STUDY

  • Capital city of Kenya
  • over 60% of population live in slums
  • slum dwellers own no land so could be kicked out at any time
  • houses are made of any material they can get + often built on unsafe land
  • piles of rubbish everywhere and open sewers flow through area = encourages spread of disease
  • high rates of violent crime
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Responding to the challenges of urban growth in de

Self-help schemes: people take responsibility for improving their own living conditions

Non-government organisation (NGO): organisation that is independent of government control, usually charitable organisations such as WaterAid, Oxfam and Save the Children.

SELF HELP SCHEMES: CURITIBA, BRAZIL CASE STUDY

produced a housing policy that will provide 50,000 homes for the urban poor

  • bought a large area of land and supplies it with basic services eg: water and electricity
  • divided up the land into small housing plots - each plot has 2 trees and a promise of 'an hour with an architect' to help plan each home.
  • provided small loans to get people starting on building
  • built 24 show homes using a wide range of techniques to give people ideas 

SELF HELP SCHEMES: RIO DE JANERIO, BRAZIL CASE STUDY

City council works with locals introducing a number of self help schemes which have:

  • improved housing quality in some parts of the shanty town
  • introduced schools and health centres
  • encourages the development of small businesses including hotels
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Britains first zero energy urban development - BED

What is BEDZED?

  • a mixed-use solar urban village built on former brownfield land in London.
  • largest carbon-neutral eco-community in the country
  • aim: 'develop an energy-neutral urban village that would be a viable socio-economic community.'

What is it like?

  • nearly 100 homes: mixture of town houses and flats
  • made of natural materials and have attractive modern interiors and fuel-efficient appliances
  • included a children's nursery, meeting rooms and an exhibition centre of renewable technologies

What are the main features of BEDZED?

  • Energy-efficient builidings - southfacing to maximise the amount of sunshine.
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Britains first zero energy urban development - BED

What is BEDZED?

  • a mixed-use solar urban village built on former brownfield land in London.
  • largest carbon-neutral eco-community in the country
  • aim: 'develop an energy-neutral urban village that would be a viable socio-economic community.'

What is it like?

  • nearly 100 homes: mixture of town houses and flats
  • made of natural materials and have attractive modern interiors and fuel-efficient appliances
  • included a children's nursery, meeting rooms and an exhibition centre of renewable technologies

What are the main features of BEDZED?

  • Energy-efficient builidings - southfacing to maximise the amount of sunshine. Double glazed windows and high levels of insulation.
  • Built using renewable materials 
  • Self-sufficient heating and power. Solar power provides electricity
  • Low energy consumptin - all heat used for cooking and heating water is recycled and reused. Low-energy appliances and low-energy lightbulbs
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Sustainable urban living - the Greenhouse developm

Greenhouse ia part of the new South Leeds urban regeneration scheme. 

It includes:

  • shops and cafe's
  • medical centre
  • nursery
  • parks with childrens playgrounds
  • sports centre, swimming pool
  • conference centre with a range of business facilities
  • high - tech offices
  • allotments

carbon-zero : does not use resources that create carbon dioxide

urban regeneration: improving social and/or economic conditions in run down urban areas.

eco-homes: homes that have a minimum impact of the environment

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Improving urban environments

Why spend money on restoring the urban environment?

  • improves living conditions for urban residents
  • encourage people to want to live in urban areas
  • attracting new businesses and a more sustainable economic future
  • encourage visitors + development of tourism

CLEANING UP THE SINGAPORE RIVER AND TEHE KALLANG BASIN CASE STUDY

  • raw seqage from squatter settlements flowing into river
  • used as a dumping ground by farmers and residents
  • chemical pollution from heavy indistry and ships discharging polluted water into the basin

What was done to improve the environment?

  • the movement of squatter settlements into proper residential areas with sanitation facilities
  • the devlopment of industrial estates with strict pollution controls
  • the removal of chicken and pig farms alongside the river
  • riverside walkways and parks built
  • thousands of trees planted
  • recreational facilities developed
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Britain's eco-towns

eco-settlements: settlements that do not harm the environment because they meet the needs of the people without damaging teh environment or exploiting resources

they provide over 100,000 new houses 

some locals were concerned becuase they feel that the development may damage exisitng countryside and increase traffic problems

HANHAM HALL, THE UK'S FIRST ECO VILLAGE CASE STUDY

  • over 200 homes set in open parkland 

community

  • local shops, cafes and a restaurant
  • locla schools and nurserys
  • a community hall
  • farmers shop selling local food
  • office space for local businesses
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Cities for the 21st century

Can cities be sustainable?

  • generate all power from renewable methods
  • recycle and reuse as much waste as possible
  • collect and manage its own water supply
  • devlop fully integrated transport system that creates a limited amount of pollution
  • prove good-quality homes 
  • preserve and manage the environment and develop green space

SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIVING: CHINA CASE STUDY

  • plans for five eco-cities, each housing between 500,000 and 1 million people.
  • first one will be DONGTAN
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improving the urban environment

IMPROVING THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT: CURITIBA CASE STUDY

  • one of the first cities to set up a 'sustainable urban master plan'

what did they do?

  • traffic-free city centre --> pedestrain streets
  • integrated bus system - cheap and reliable
  • development of green urban space. 1.5 million trees planted
  • a green exchange sytem - slum dwellers collect garbage can echange it for food or bus tickets
  • a public housing programme - 70% of rubbish is sorted, recycled and sold = reduces need for landfill.
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Thames Flood Management Plan

The Thames Region Flood Management Plan

  • Land - use planning to reduce the amount of building on floodplains
  • sustainable approaches - increase river corridors and open space near rivers wherever possible
  • increase the use of the floodplain to store excess water during times of flood
  • improves planning will reduce the need for defences
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East Hackney

URBAN IMPROVEMENTS: EAST HACKNEY CASE STUDY

BEFORE: poor housing, no safe places for children to play, high rates of crime and vandalism.

  • security doors and a caretaker employed at each block of flats
  • improved street lighting and security cameras
  • litter collection and recycling system
  • childrens play area and open space
  • community centre built - facilities and youth club

TORQUAY CASE STUDY

  • holdiay resort in southern England
  • regarded as affluent area
  • housing estates that are seen as more deprived than the local average
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Bus Systems

MANCHESTER METROLINK CASE STUDY

  • Britains first street running tramway
  • connects smaller towns and suburbs to Manchester city centre
  • 2007 - carried 20 million passengers
  • increase in routes = estimated to taek 90,000 people each day

CURITIBA'S (BRAZIL) BUS RAPID TRANSPORT SYSTEM CASE STUDY

  • direct bus lines running into city centre
  • speedy buses - five main routes into city with limited stops
  • inter-district buses - join up districts without crossing city centre
  • feeder mini-buses picking people up from residential areas 
  • has a smart card payment system 
  • bus terminals have shops, cafes and a post office
  • 1.3 million passengers a day
  • 80% of all commuters use buses
  • 30 milion fewer car trips a year
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Urban growth opportunities

How can urban growth create opportunities for development?!

  • urban areas - can provide the first step towards a better life for some of the worlds poorest people
  • access to clean water, sanitation, education and health care is often better in urban areas
  • opportunities for employment are higher in urban areas
  • slums provide affordable housing for poor migrants 
  • urban poor = massive labour force who carry out essential jobs that keep cities running

SLUM OF HOPE: DHARAVI CASE STUDY

  • largest slum in Asia
  • small community groups
  • organisations helping orphaned children
  • hundreds of small businesses and workshops - people can earn a living and make products that are sold all around the world
  • India's largest plastic and tin recycling facility is here 
  • along main routeways - shops selling everything!
  • small family businesses producing a variety of foods
  • really important part of Mumbai - ' it only lacks decent housing.'
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Improving the lives of the urban poor

IMPROVING THE LIVES OF THE URBAN POOR IN AFRIA CASE STUDY

  • KIBERA - KENYA 

a scheme of slum upgrading introduced. Trying to respond to the most important problem - lack of clean water and proper toilets. Hoping to reduce rates of disease and means that slum dwellers do not have to buy expensive bottled water

  • DALIFONT - SENEGAL

A settlement upgrading scheme - improves basic conditions. 500 homes have been given water and sanitation systems, electricity and a rubbish collection and recycling facility.

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bedzed

Transportation

  • car club vehicles powered by renewable energy are available for residents
  • 'green' cabs and buses using renewable energy run between the development and city centre
  • every home will have cycle storage + free cycle hire available

Resource managment

  • allotments 
  • recycing facilities
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Greening urban areas

'GREENING' URBAN AREAS

  • Develop green gardens on roofs of buildings
  • planting trees alongside roads, railway lines and canals 
  • developing open spaces and parks

why do it?

  • increasing permeable surfaces = reduces chance of urban flooding
  • reduce noise pollution
  • absobs excess heat in summer
  • makes areas more comfortable
  • providing community space and meeting places
  • proves a more realxing, cleaner environment 
  • may improves peoples health
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eco-towns

transport and parking

  • a car sharing club
  • bicycle storage facilities
  • car parking zones separating people from vehicles
  • links to teh local public transport network

energy

  • development will be powered by a biomass power station producing energy and hot water

environmental management

  • recycling facilities
  • open green space/play areas
  • hedges around gardens and tree planting
  • allotments
  • cycle and walking routes
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DONGTAN

DONGTAN KEY FEATURES

Work

  • industrial and commercial areas providing local employement opportunites

Residential areas

  • homes built alongside canals
  • with wind micro-turbines to reduce energy bills
  • housing designed around small communities with local shops, schools, nurseries and a health centre

The environment

  • 60% of the land is intended to begreen space: pollution regulations will be enforced
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DONGTAN

Transport

  • fully integrated public transport system
  • solar powered water taxis
  • hydrogen fuel-cell cars
  • cycle paths and pedestrian walkways

Energy

  • a power station supplies 65% of energy needed and powered by rice waste 
  • remainder of energy needs - supplies by solar and wind power

Waste

  • aim was to achieve 90% waste recycling
  • human sewage processed for composting 
  • waste water processed for farming
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Comments

Pokemon/Trainer

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Great info

under taker

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just brilliant

geehehe

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very cool and learnt me very well

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