World Cities

Mega City - Metrapolitan area with a total population of over 10 million

World City - City that has global influennce due to its financial status and commercial power

Million City - A city with over a million inhabitants

Urbanisation - Increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas compared to rural areas

Suburbanisation - Outward growth of cities causing them to engulf surrounding countryside

Counter-urbanisation - Increase in the number of people living in accessible rural areas

Urban Decline - Deteroration of the inner city due to lack of invesment and maintanance

Urban Regeneration - Invesments in order to revive the inner city by improving and rebuilding

Re-Urbanisation - Movement of people into the inner city or even city centre environments. Regeneration schemes are likely to cause this (effect of regeneration)

Core-periphery theory: explains the link between urbanisation and development

Core economic activities: high tech, high pay, requiring high capital invesments

Periphery economic activities - low tech, low pay, requiring low capital invesments

Global core: Europe, North America, Japan (starting to develop in China and India)

Periphery regions: provide raw mateials, cheap labour means the raw materials are cheap

Muliplier effect: Invesment --> Growth of industry --> Need work force --> People move there --> Need services --> Workers needed to provide them --> Need food --> Shops open = more services --> Demand for more workers --> Growth continues, settlements and economy expands

Rural overpopulation and desertification - birth rate is higher than death rates = large families so there is less land per person to farm on and land is cultivated more in order to provide the food = land loses fertility and becomes desertified

Rural - urban migration - aspects of urban life seem more appealing so people move

Employment oppertunities - more and variety of jobs avalibale in cities

Changes in farming practices - availability of machinery = less people needed to owrk the land so those who do not work the land move to cities in search for work

Causes of urban growth can be divided into 2:

- Rural - urban migration

- Natural population growth: young poeple of child bearing age usually migrate to cities, increasing the birth rate in cities

Low quality of life - services can't keep up with the growing population so migrants build their own homes, lacking basic neccessities. An increase in infant mortality rate can be seen

Waste management - Disposal of waste may not be efficient is cities leading to the city being litered

Air pollution - large city population = more transport = air pollution and city wide smog

Traffic congestion - large city population = more vehicles on the road. Roads may be inadequete leading to congestion. Inefficient ways of controlling traffic can lead to 'all day rush hours'

Negative features of living in a rural place

Overpopulation - Results in overfarming producing low yields, not enough services

Agricultural problems - desertification, sub-division of land, debt on loans to help pay for new machinery

Wars and conflicts - no protection so people leave to safer places

Poor services - high illiteracy and death rates due to lack of education, health care and sanitation

Natural disasters - destroys livlihoods so people move to areas less prone to them

Lack of food - crops are often sold for export or to feed urban population so there isn't enough in rural areas = move to the city where the is more food. Bad harvests also contribute to this

Positive features of living in urban places

Employment - wider range of jobs with higher wages than in rural places

Informal employment - easy work requiring little skills, no qualifications: anybody can do them (widely available in cities, attractive in LEDCs)

Percieved better quality of life - more jobs, better housing, more services: people believe life will be better

Better quality services - better healthcare = lower death rate, better education = increases literacy rates so people have access to better jobs

Shanty town situated north of central Mumbai: 1 million live there illegally

Has homes: self built but sold + many have electricity, workshops, stalls, clinics and schools

Houses are improved by inhabitants when they can: Consolidation

Lack of basics: 1 toilet for 1,500 people, open drains, inadequete water supply, homes = 3x2 big

'Vision Mumbai' - transform the city into a 'wrold class' city by 2015

Redevelop Dharavi - better housing (3x bigger), healthcare, education and infastructure

Dharavi's value of land - on higher gorund: doesn't flood = good place to extend the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC): business destrict

What people get: if living before 1995 with documents: free housing, bussinesses 225sqft of land

Who lose out: those without documents, polluting bussinesses eg leather tanning

Location - West Coast of USA, California

Population - 24 million: mega city/magalopolis

Improved transport - transcontinental railway from east to west finished in 1876: half a million arrived in 40 years

Employment oppetunities - Early C20: discovery of oil, manufacturing indsutry (eg Ford), aircraft industry, tourism

'Hollywood' image - 1920s-30s: development in film industry led to glam image

Increased affluence - people had more money and the warm cllimate, 'romantic flower power' led to poeple migrating to LA

Transport - freeways, 1960s: petrol was $1 per gallon so people could live far and travel via car: growth of LA as fas as the San Bernandino mountains - 2 hrs from central LA

Space and planning laws - lots of cheap land around LA that people could purchase and build on as lack of planning restrictions

Crime and safety - semi derelict inner city was crime ridden and poor: people didn't want to bring up children in such an environment

Changing industry - decline in manufacturing (overseas competition), increase in service industry

Social:

Loss of land & commuter stress - stress from travelling to work less time with family, 100 district towns in the Greater LA Metrapolitan area

Donut & edge city - new industry, services in edge cities: work available at people's doorstep

Air pollution - smog is hazardous and can cause asthma

Social/racial segregation - inner city has high crime rate, mainly Hespanic live there

Economic:

Donut & edge city - bussinesses migrate to suburbs, light manufacturing need more space

Environmental:

Air pollution - Dense cold air sinks over LA with layer of warm air under it (inversion layer). It traps pollutants from traffic creating a city wide smog (10 million car owners)

PLAN's proposal for a sustainable city:

- Increase in urban parks, clean up contaminated brownfield sites

- Promote clean fuel vehicles, green energy

- Improve public transport: 'clean' buses, rapid bus lines

- Create a universal low fare card: allows easy transfer between bus and train

- Promote smart land use: people can drive less, live nearer to where they work, shop study, play

New Town - Planned towns built in C20: solution to conceequences of urbanisation & suburbanisation:

Urbanisation - led to overcrowding in major conurbations in early C20

Suburbanisation - led to sprawl and increased commuting

First Generation New Towns - Aim: Housing overspill from London Characteristics: 30,000 - 50,000 population, self-contained settlements, mixed social class neighbourhoods Example: Stevenage

Expanded Towns - Aim: Expand existing towns to develop remoter rural areas Charactersitics: large surburban developments in small towns, industrial development allowed Example: Swindon

Second Generation New Towns and New Cities - Aim: Cities with multiplier effect Characteristics: 100,000 - 250,000 population, private developments, large supermarkets Example: Telford

Eco-Towns - towns that are planned to be economically, socially, envornmentally sustainable

An eco-town has standards it has to meet:

Homes - 30% should be affordable 

Employment - 1 job per household should be in walking distance of home 

Energy - Has to be carbon neutral: uses no more energy than produced

Services - Essential services should be in walking distance of home 

Space - 40% should be green space

Transport - less than half of all journeys should be by car 

Waste - Should have above average recycling rates

Government - Everyone should have a say in how the town is ran 

North West Bicester Exemplar Phase - 1st eco-town in the UK is currently being built

It will have:

- 3,500 energy effiecient homes 

- 34m squared of solar panels per home

- 40% green space: promoting community events and healthy lifestyles

- 30% affordable homes

- Homes are future proofed against climate change: cool in summer and warm in winter

- Meadow turf roofs: encourages biodiversity 

- 'Extra care' apartments for ther elderly 

Pull Factors

Rural areas - less air, noise, visual pollution and more open space

Personal mobility - car ownership has increased in the last 30 years 

Decline in price of agricultural produce - farmers need to make money: sell land to developers 

New technology - oppertunites to work from home: 'teleworking' and shop online: 'e-tailing'

Increase in disposable income until 2008 - families had a greater choice of lifestyle 

Push factors

Crime rates - belief that violence and drugs are high in urban areas

Educational attainment - lower in some urban areas

Traffic congetion in urban areas 

Positive effects :

Local Pubs -  adapt to new demands but some stay traditional providing places suitable for all

Average Income & age - Increased in rural areas since 1990: makes the area more wealthy 

Local Services - such as primary schools may see an increase in numbers 

Negative Effects:

Demand for rural homes - increase in house prices so locals may not be able to afford them 

Conservative outlook - established local residents may have different views than newcomers

Rural and urban areas look more alike

Population in some villages has more than doubled in the last 30 years

Road accidents - more likely on single carriageway rural road

Where - St Ives, Cambridgeshire, 70 miles north of London

Population in 1961 - 3,800           Population in 2010 - 16,400

Advantage of living there - good road access: A4, rail links into Cambridgeshire & London, people commute to Cambridge, 1/4 working population commute to London each day

Impacts 

Traffic congestion - particularly during rush hours on the A4

Rising house prices - detached houses rose to £291,000 in 2010 

Flood risks - new developments long the River Great Ouse & floodplain - 1000 properties at risk

More services - increase in food, grocery, clothes shops, cafes and restaurants

Population structure - more people under 16: preassure on schools more primary schools needed 

New houses - approved in 2010 to build 200 new homes: 75 affordable

New schools - expanded primary schools: 240 new places

Flood protection - (due to the 1998 and 2003 flood) flood protection costing £8.8 million was completed along the river in 2007: new revetments and flood walls in St Ives 

Transport - £116 million guided busway linking St Ives to Huntington & Cambridge have been buiilt: reduce congestion 

Main cause – Deindustrialisation (decline of manufacturing industry

Secondary cause – population declines: increased by suburbanisation & counter-urbanisation

                                   Who leaves/stays? – social segregation

Secondary cause:   - Less invesment         - Decline in environment   

                            - Less council tax                 (dereliction, graffiti)

                            Downward spiral in which urban decline accelerates

London - 1980

Decline in population - lost 16% between 1939-81 deu to suburbanisation & couner-urbanisation

                                     East End (docks) lost 20% in 10 years before 1981

Decline in employement - Closure of docks in 1980: 10,000 lost jobs directly, 100,000 lost jobs indirectly, in some parts of teh East End unemployement rose to 60%

1960-81: 1.6 million jobs lost all over UK - 75% in urban areas (manufacturing sector)

Deindustrialisation - was the main cause and can be seen as an inevitable stage in a country's economic development 

Economic 

Inner city unemployement rate - 50% higher than rest of the country

Traditional manufacturing areas - (Liverpool, Sheffiled) worst hit: had greatest industrial decline

Reason link to globalisation 

Social 

1951-81 - UK's largest conurbations lost 35% os population: push factor = economic decline

Talented, qualified individuals left - 'Brain Drain': remaining population was older & less qualified

Environment 

Physical environment of inner city - poor quality housing, dereliction, lack of open space

Those who remained were least able & least motivated to make imporvements =  continued decline: 'negative multiplier effect'

1945 - 1967: Comprehensive Redevelopment

After WWII - housing crisis so government introduced policy of decentralistion: people encouraged to move to New Towns

Large Scale clearence of Terraced Housing (Elswick, Newcastle)

New Council House Estates built (Byker Wall, Newcastle)

Most authorities use high rise flats - change look & structure of inner city 

1968 - 1977: Urban Aid

Grants to local authorities to expand services and establish self-help in the comunity

Emphasis on attracting employment oppertunities

BUT: schemes failed due to economic recession which meant lack of funds 

1978 - 1990: Action for Cities

New Towns: abandoned 

75% grants to most needy authorities  + Derelict land grants for reclemation schemes

Enterprise zones - stimulate economic activities & industrial growth with tax breaks: initiate regeneration

Urban development corporations - catalyst for development of inner city areas (London Docks)

1990+: City Challenge 

Local authorities, where there are severe urban problems can bid for funds for projects

Policy has been unified into a single policy: was too fragmented

In Leicester inner city has been transformed

New neighbourhood renewal fund of £800 million is to be introduced over 3 years

Now: Sustainable Communities Act (2007)

Principle that - local people kno best about what needs to be done to improve their area 

Channel for local people to ask government to take action 

Local people decide what they think should be done to promote sustainability in their area 

Property led - 

Government agencies set up to spend public money to buy land, improve infastructure & on marketing to attract private invesments

Private companies make decisions and are given benefits

Aim - Boost private invesments hoped this would be 4x greater than public money initially invested 

Partnership - 

Schemes where local authorities & local residents work with private comapny(s) to make improvemnets to urban areas - different groups are consulted 

Aim - Allow co-operation between different groups who have an interest in improving the area

Flagship schemes - often partnership schemes that are arge, multi-million punds projects

Gentrification - regeneration by individuals based on improvments to property 

This is a property led scheme 

1981 - London's Dockland Corporation (LDDC) set up to imporve economic, social, environmenal problems after the decline of the world's busiest ports

Unemployment soared, housing fell into despair, lack of transport & leisure facilities 

The area became the first Enterprise Zones in 1981 

Land was made rate free for 10 years 

Employment - low rents attracted hi-tech & financial firms (ITV Studios, The Telegraph)

Housing - Warehouses = luxury expensive luxury flats, small amount of low cost housing

Leisure - large shopping area made near Canary Wharf, parks crated, Millenium Dome built

Transport - Docklands Light Railway (DLR connects with Bank and Monument underground stations: travel into the City = easy, City Airport = easy for businessmen to use 

Employment - in media organisations & financial sector: restored 600,00 jobs that were lost

Image - Alpha++ world city = booost image = more foreign invesments 

New houses - luxury apartment: working in finace/media, redeveloped council properties = locals on lower income

Tranport - DLR, new road links, City Airport 

Tourism - creates employment oppertunities boosting local economy (o2 arena) 

CBD - London now has 3: West End, the old City of Lonndon, Cnary Wharf

Jobs & housing - not benefited local people: Canning Town (2.5km from Canary Wharf) has 25% less average income than Canary Wharf

No invesment in the environment 

Local communities destroyed as poeple priced out 

Local businesses closed - competition from hypermarkets

Boroughs which were supposed to be regenerated are the poorest (Tower Hamlet)

2012 Olympic - impoved existing traansport: DLR, road links, City Airport

Housing - warehouses converted to luxury apartments gentrified the area 

The London 2012 Olympics was a partnership regenration scheme 

Imspire people to be more active: make UK a leading sports nation

Athletes Village: become housing for locals -1/2 affordable out of 4,000 & should have schools

Olympic park: become community facilites that can be used by loacls 

Reclaim derelict/brownfield sites - encourage invesments, settlements

Improve transport 

Employment oppertunities 

Use of 5 sports staduims after the Games

Permenant tourist 'attraction'

- 380 comapnies, employing 11,000 had to relocate

+ They were paid compensation by Olympic Delivery Authority & many stayed in East London

+ In 2010 Google & FB signed up to be part of a new vision for the media centre 

+ UK gov. hoped it would create 3,000 high tech jobs

+ Reclaiming derelict land encouraged business & investments

+ The Olympics brought more than £9 billion of investments 

+ Hope to create 12,000 permenant jobs

+ Media Centre now primarily houses Infinity (data business): anticipated 3,500 jobs

+ Westfield shopping centre created 10,000 permenant jobs

- Lack of employment for those without qualifications: In Canning Twon, 2001 census showed that over 43% of the adult populationn had no qualifications 

+ Image of the area has improved 

+ 35% of the 2,800 flats in the Athletes Village will be affordable

- A lot less than the original plan of 4,000 homes with 75% affordable

+ Improved transport links - 2 underground links, Javelin train 

+ Westfield Shopping Centre provided 2,800 jobs to locals who were previously unemplyed 

+ New nursery, primary, secondary schools and sixth form in Athletes Village

+ Leisure facilities: Aquatics Centre, Copper Box, park land

- House prices increased in the area: high salary city workers interested in buying properties so prices increase = local on lower incomes cannot afford to buy them

- Very few jobs created for locals: MP of Bethnal Green and Bow Rushanara Ali felt it was a 'missed oppertunity'

+ Re-landscaping the area into a huge leisure facility for locals

+ Main legacy: transformation of an area in which environmental quality was poor

+ Cleaned up derelict warehouses & contaminated land which had created toxic waste problems in the past

+ Electricity pylons had blighted environmental quality: were the first to be demolished, power lines taken underground

+ Soil cleaned in a 'soil hospital' and then used for landscaping 

+ Major clean up of the River Lea and its canals: created a new waterside park 

Signs of gentrification 

Impoved quality of housing: particularly 'period properties'

Change in the type of services: more bars, restaurants, antique shops, and specialist food shops aimed at affluent professionals 

Expensive cars parked in the street 

Positive effects 

- Local environment is improved - area looks 'smarter'; houses are renovated, no graffiti, improved street furniture 

- Property prices increase in the area as affluent people are interested in the area - property sellers/landlords make more profit 

- Performance of local primary schools improve - parents have a positive outlook on education so offer help and resources to their chidren, more council tax so more can be spent on schools

Negative effects 

Tensions/conflicts may occur between original residents & new comers - different outlook on life, process disrupts residents (noise)

Property prices increase - hard for younger gen. & those on lower income to buy/rent in the area

Community may be disintegrated - People leave the area and the image of the area changes 

Where - Notting Hill, West London in the Royal Borough of Chelsea and Kensington 

History - Industrialisation brought workers so landlords built tiny terraced houses. During Victorian era it was a rough working class area.

1958 - race riots after tensions arose between Afro-Carribean Community and Teddy Boys

1976 - Second riot during the infamous Notting Hill Carnival

Change in last 30 years - swarm of gentrification, estate agents began coining names like 'Hillgate Village', property prices rocketed: can cost more than that in Mayfair, secluded communal gardens make it London's most desirable area

Positive effects:

- Movie stars, singers, media types & fashion designers like Stella McCartney flood the area: atmosphere is like the sort that was associated with King's Road in the 1960's

- Vibrant main streets & peaceful residential area with variety of properties: moden new-build apartments, flats in converted Victorian buildings, grand large houses

- Canal Way branch of Sainsbury's: best place in London to spot celebrities

- Veronica's devotes itself to reviving Britain's culinary heritage, serving historical dishes derived from 2,000 year old menus 

Negative effects:

- Extremely expensive & overpriced 

- Standard of living is poor

- Streets filled with litter & buildings covered with graffitti 

EU targets for UK - 35% of household waste to be recycled or composted by 2015

                            67% of municipal waste to be recovered by 2015

                            Biodegradable municipal waste down to 35% of 1995 figures by 2020

EU has now set a limit on the amount of biodegradable waste that can go to landfill

UK gov. has imposed a £32 per tonne tax on councils on any material going to landfills

East Midlands - 31.8% of all waste was recycled in 2005/06

Where - Leicester is in Leicestershire, East Midlands, England 

Decision makers - Biffa Waste Services, Leicester City Council

Orange bag scheme - all recyclables are sorted by residents into an orange bag, which is collected weekly and dispatched to mills for recovery in Yorkshire 

Black bin scheme - Non-recyclables are put in here and is collected weekly and taken to the Biffa site in Beaumont Leys and put through a ball mill

92% of the waste is recycled by Biffa 

There are no landfills in Leicester: rubbish has to be taken to Swadlincote or Husbands Bosworth

Ball mill process - Rubbish is fed into a cylinder. Metal is separated by a magnet & sent for recylcing. Plastic, paper, fabric (floc) is separated & sent to a cement kiln (is burnt - recovery). Smallest materials pass through flip flop screen & is separated. All that's left is organic waste which is sent to Wanlip for anaerobic digestion. This produces biogas (methane) providing electricity for 1,500 homes. The sludge left over is mixed with compost & used in forestry.

Decision makers: 'Ragpickers'

Waste is collected by 'Ragpickers' - there are 300,000 of them

It's informal - low pay, no health & safety, self-employed

What is recycled - glass, metal, plastic 

It is sold to scrapdealers who process it and sell it on the market

Seller & buyer both make money - wages in Dharavi are above the monthly average at 3,000-15,000rupees per month 

80% of Mumbai's waste is recycled in Dharavi's 13th Compound

Methane produced from the waste is used o produce biogas (fuel)

E-Waste - (recycled illegally) break down PCs by boiling, crushing & burning parts to extract gold/platinum: this releases toxic waste (lead, mercury, cadmium) cauisng serious health problems 

Decision Maker - Jamie Lerner (mayor)

Recycle - 2/3 of all household waste.

Colour coded recycling teams collect rubbish weekly which is sorted by the householders.

Rubbish is sold to recycling companies. They separate the galss, plastic, metal, process it & sell them

'Green Exchange' - people in poor areas can exchange bags of rubbish for bus passes, eggs, fruit & veg, children can get chocolate 

Reuse - thrown away books are sent to local libraries 

Why traffic problem - more people = more congestion due to urbanisation, roads not wide enough & of poor quality, increase in commuters

Decision makers - Jamie Lerner & Hitoshi 

Bus & glass boarding tubes - buy ticket in tube, comes every 60s, same level: easy for wheelchairs, triple articulated,carry 270 people,own lanes, colour coded & built locally: Volvo, hybrid

Artieries - 5 of them, diverts traffic from centre which is pedestrianised with trees, encourage developments along the arteries

Network of parks - flood defense, ecnourages biodiversity, walk/cycle on pathways, rings the city

Quasi-public business - part of profit goes to gov, part to private bus companies

Used by 85% of the population

2008-14 - lost 14 million users 

Why traffic problem - cars used for long & short jouneys = congestion, increase in commuters

Decision maker - mayor of London

Oyster cards - (used to board trains) speeds up movement through barriers: 2.2 million use it daily

Trams - Croydon tramlink reintroduced & extended 

Cycling - investmenst in cycling networks, encouraging use of Borris Bikes: £2 to rent for a day

Underground - some lines being extended & stations renovated

Buses - more doors = easy loading, night buses, have own lane 

Rail fares - raised at peak times: 2/3 can't alter travel times so encourages car usage

Congestion charges - cars producing a lot of CO2 taxed £25 a day (from Feb 2008) but hybrid & electric cars can get 100% discounts 

Why traffic problem - failing street network, congestion

Decision makers - Mayor: Nickels, Seattle Department of Transportation 

Taxing businesses - $25 per full time emplyer/year for those who coomute to work in a single occupancy vehicle 

Pedestrian Master Plan - encourages walking 

Bycicle Master Plan - encourages cycling 

Repair 144 block of sidewalk & build 177 block of new sidewalk 

'Safe routes to school' - near 30 elementary schools

Add an extra 4 miles of multi-use paths

Secure 45,000 hours of new Metro Transit service 

Retailing - business of selling goods to consumers 

Decentralisation of retailing - major retailers have moved from the CBD to the edge of the city

Retail trends pre 1988 - people would go to different stored to buy different things (baker, grocer, butcher), it was a daily thing 

Retail trends post 1990 - invention of refrigirator means that people can buy in bulk and store it. Shopping is seen as a 'family social event' as people shop once a weekly or fortnightly.

E-tail - shopping online: this is becoming more common 

Increased mobility - number of people owning cars has increased so more congestion in city centres and lack of parking spaces, people can also travel further to shop 

Congestion - there is less congestion out of town than in teh CBD

Car park - expensive in CBD but is free out of town 

Shopping habits & expectations - 'family social activity' so spend all day out: need entertainment -> not always found in CBD, busy people tend to e-tail, working parents -> buy in bulk as they don't have time

Recession = lack of investments fro CBD - rents in CBD are expensive so companies may not make desired profit so they invest in out of town shopping centres instead where they are bound to make a profit 

Congestion on the edge of cities - more people shop/work there = increased traffic & usually close to motorway 

Cloning (uniformity of out of town shopping) - all out of towns & high streets look the same with the same chain stores: people chose to shop closer as the shops are the same 

Suburbs become wealthier - more businesses so people in the suburbs can get jobs there & investments help make the area wealthy 

Divide affluent middle class & poorer city dwellers - affluent people can afford to travel & shop at out of town which the city dweellers may not be able as they are percieved to be expensive 

Multiplier effect:

People suburbanise/counter-urbanise = shops follow*: chasing the money = their success brings more shops = out of town shopping centre built = hypermarkets see success & follow = Leisure parks see success & follow = businesess see profit in the area & follow 

* Process of shops moving is initiated by decline in CBD = less shoppers = less profit

Where - Leicester 

Opened - 1989: original shops like Next and BHS still exist, extension 'Fosse Park South' - large electrical/furnishing stores (PC World)

Advantages:

- 40 stores including Foreign Money Bureau 

- Motorway & road links - Junction 21 of M1, close to M69, outer ringroad, bus links from CBD

- Facilities for disabled - rent mobility scooters, easy access for wheelchairs 

- Safe for families - walkways away from traffic

- Meridian Leisure Park is close by 

- 8 million visitors a year

Disadvantages:

- Walkways not waterproof 

- Too expensive: lack of independent stores

- Heavy traffic during peak times & bank holidays 

- Restaurants - lack of choice 

- Public transport - restricted as only from CBD & takes 25 mins

- Difficult for low income/older people to access - lack of public transport 

- 'Soulless' - Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester City Mayor 

2005 - 29.4 million visitors 

More than just a shopping centre - 1,600 seat food court, 18 lane pin bowling alley, laser quest arena, 20-screen cinema

Barton Square expanion - concentrating on kitchen and furniture, finished in 2006

Motorway links - close to Junctions 9 & 10 of M60, easy links to M6, M61, M62, M602 to Manchester City Centre 

Free parking - space for 11,000

Bu station - can deal with 120 buses per hour 

What was done:

'Connecting Leicester' - create a connected, family friendly CBD that is pdestrian friendly and where locals can enjoy the historic city through various schemes 

Decision makers - Sir Peter Souldby (city mayor), Leicester City Council 

Why initiated - CBD was in decline, response to Fosse Park, increase investmnets, make heritage sites accessable, connect different parts of the CBD 

Jubilee Sqaure built on former car park - open event space at entrance of city centre via High Street, aesthetically pleasing, difficult to walk through for the 2,000 visually impaired. Cost: £4 million

Highcross - shopping centre built where Shires stood, 120 shops, bus interchange, 2,000 space car park, largest shopping outlet in East Midlands, has a showcase cinema deluxe & John Lewis. Cost: £350 million

Quarters - Culture: creativity is promoted with Curve Theatre, Athena, Makers Yard (workspace for creative entrepreneurs) built in oldest surviving hosiery factory. Cost of Makers Yard: £1.05 million, retail, The Lanes: encourages entrepreneurs, prevents clone shopping

Richard III Visitors Centre - increased tourism (there never were tourists in Leicester) 30,000 visitors since it opened in July 2014

Historic Buildings - Wygston's House (oldest surving building in the city): not open daily, Silver Arcade (Victorian shopping centre): empty shops,Cathedral: new benches and garden

Transport Improvements - New 'First' buses, new bus station near Haymarket