Challenges for the Urban Environment

?
Challenges in Inner City MEDCs: inner cities were the center of economic activity with factories and large numbers of terraced housing. Overcrowding and unhealthy conditions went unnoticed until the 1960s.
Significant changes then began. 1)local authorities took steps to improve living conditions replacing terracing with high raised flats, with less room the suburbs began to grow.
1 of 16
Heavy industry which was concentrated in inner cities declined. New industry preferred sites in suburban areas. This was becasue land was cheaper, there was less congestion for transporting products and there was more space to build.
Many people left the inner city to get a better quality of life - eventually the city was populated by the least well off who couldn't afford to move or new immigrants. immigrants from similar backgrounds living in closely created a ghetto feeling.
2 of 16
Social and Economic Deprivation: jobs in inner cities were poorly paid, education was poor causing younger people to feel alienated and many such areas became known for anti-social behavior involving drugs and crime.
Cycle of Poverty: it is passed on from one generation to another eg children from disadvantaged home are less likely to do well in school leading to having little qualifications, meaning they won't get a good job, earning very little money.
3 of 16
Social problems are created from this eg riots in Liverpool in the early 1980s.
As well as social and economic problems inner cities also suffer from visual pollution eg derelict industrial buildings and polluted land. to try and stop this in th 1970s there was a change in the redevelopment - houses built replaced flats.
4 of 16
Re-urbanization and Gentrification: decrease in population was the most obvious sign of the decline in inner cities. Urban Development Corporations (UDC) were set up by the Conservative Government in order to regenerate cities.
The combination of more jobs being available and a desire by many workers to live near to their place of work has resulted in people moving back into inner cities.
5 of 16
Re-urbanization is associated with gentrification which is the process of modernizing old buildings so they will be bought my middle class people or developers.
The UDCs have now completed their remit and the changes have become more neighborhood based.
6 of 16
Case Study - Liverpool: liverpool was the second most important city in the British Empire during the 19th century and its population peaked at 850,000 in 1937. the city has since gone into decline and in 1980 became one of the poorest cities.
Regeneration was carried out by the Merseyside Development Corporation (MDC) between 1981 - 1988. It was creating in response to the riots in 1981. The MDC directed it effots to the Docklands area and began a series of development projects including:
7 of 16
Re-Urbanization was seen in The Marina - a middle class housing development and yacht club built to attract middle classes back to the inner city.
Re-Urbanization was seen in the Queen's Dock - an area of modern office development was built which provided a range of office jobs however few of these were available to local unskilled workers.
8 of 16
Gentrification is seen in the Albert Dock - historic buildings were restored and upper stories converted into expensive apartments, however local have not benefited from the new accommodation which have a starting prove of £260000
the early regeneration attempts were referred to as a top-down approach bcause they were driven by the government. however by the late 1980s this changes and regeneration began to focus on small scale developments such as:
9 of 16
The Cathedral Development - in the 1980s a small scale housing development was created using semi-derelict lan around the Cathedral providing homes for those needing low rent social housing.
Project Rosemary - was then started half a mile from the Cathedral, its was built on previously contaminated land. it included a new hospital, some new housing and a factory that provided 200 jobs in an area of high unemployment.
10 of 16
Impact of Regeneration: the general infrastructure has been improved. populationi n the inner city has increased from 3600 in 1971 to 12000 at present, there is about 17000 new jobs, 80km of improved roads and almost 40000 new houses.
Liverpool has a variety of new leisure facilities attracting around 6 million tourists a year at the Albert Dock. Liverpool was the European City of Culture in 2008.
11 of 16
Issues of Rapid Urbanization in LEDCs: When the world's population grows most of the growing is in LEDCs, this has been one of the most pressing issues in the later half of the 20th century.
This problem has been made worse by the rapid developing of major cities - mega cities have more than 10 million people living in them, the developong is creating a greater pull for migrants increasing the demand for jobs and not enough resources.
12 of 16
Economic Activity - migrants have very few skills for many jobs and our often unsuccessful in finding full time employment. Even with TNCs the number of jobs cant be met. The number working in the informal sector eg shoe shiners has increased.
Service Provision - large numbers of people moving into cities puts pressure on the services available eg clean water, waste disposal, sewer lines, education. These services require money and expertise meaning they are often not readily available.
13 of 16
Informal Settlements - they develop when migrants use from the countryside set up camp on any land unused. The squatter settlement is characterized by illegal occupation, homes of unstandard conditions. These areas area plagues with disease.
A squatter becomes a shanty town when the number of huts increases with some provisions. Some shanty towns become normal urban residential districts however the likelihood of this happening is dependent on the local government.
14 of 16
Stages of New Migrants:
1) Bridge-headers - these are the newest migrants to the city. There priorities are to be close to opportunity, possibly in the city center and have some basic shelter.
15 of 16
2) Consolidators - overtime the new migrants earn money and move to better settlements. The priority now is to have some security of residence close to work.
3) Status Seeker - the migrant now wants to be fully integrated in the urban way of life. He has a well-paid job and the main priority is to obtain better quality housing.
16 of 16

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Many people left the inner city to get a better quality of life - eventually the city was populated by the least well off who couldn't afford to move or new immigrants. immigrants from similar backgrounds living in closely created a ghetto feeling.

Back

Heavy industry which was concentrated in inner cities declined. New industry preferred sites in suburban areas. This was becasue land was cheaper, there was less congestion for transporting products and there was more space to build.

Card 3

Front

Cycle of Poverty: it is passed on from one generation to another eg children from disadvantaged home are less likely to do well in school leading to having little qualifications, meaning they won't get a good job, earning very little money.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

As well as social and economic problems inner cities also suffer from visual pollution eg derelict industrial buildings and polluted land. to try and stop this in th 1970s there was a change in the redevelopment - houses built replaced flats.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The combination of more jobs being available and a desire by many workers to live near to their place of work has resulted in people moving back into inner cities.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Geography resources:

See all Geography resources »See all Rural and urban challenges and regeneration resources »