Changing urban environments –
the essentials
Urbanisation
What is urbanisation?
It is a process where an increasing proportion of the population lives in
towns and cities (i.e. less people living in rural areas).
It began at different times in different parts of the world (in the 1850s in
the UK) and occurred at different paces. In the richer continents e.g.
Europe, N.America and Australasia, most people now live in towns and
cities.
Causes of urbanisation
There are 2 causes of urbanisation:
A. Rural-urban migration - this is the process in which people move
from the countryside to the towns/cities. In the UK in the 19th century,
mechanisation led to unemployment on farms and people moving to
towns/cities to work in factories
B. Natural increase – the people moving into towns/cities were
generally young adults, resulting in high levels of births and therefore
the natural increase in population. With improved medical care, death
rates have fallen (less people dying), which further increases the
urban population.
What causes rural-urban migration?
How does land use vary in an
urban area?
Key terms:
Land use: The type of buildings or other features that are found in an
area e.g. terraced housing, banks, industrial estates, roads, parks etc.
Function: The purpose of a particular area e.g. for residential use,
recreation or shopping etc.
Central business district (CBD): The main shopping and service area in
a city. It is usually found in the middle of the city so that it is easily
accessible e.g. High Street, Exeter
Inner city: The area around the CBD - usually built before 1918 in the
UK e.g. Quayside, parts of Heavitree.
Outer city or suburbs: the area on the edge of the city. Many are built
after 1945 and get newer as you reach the edge of the city e.g. Exwick,
Pinhoe, Digby etc.
Issues for people in urban areas (MEDCs)
There are many issues in towns/cities, including those relating to housing,
traffic, services and provision for a mixed community.
ISSUE 1: HOUSING
Population in the UK has increased by 7% since 1971. The number of
households (a person living alone; 2 or more people living at same
address) has risen by 30% since 1971. Most of this is due to more people
living alone. This is due to:
 People leaving home to rent or buy younger than previously
 People marrying later
 People getting divorced
The government target is to build 240,000 new houses every year by
2016. Many will be built in towns/cities on brownfield sites (sites which
have previously been built on e.g. old factory sites in the Inner Cities).
However, some housing will inevitably be built on greenfield sites (land
that has never been built on, usually in the countryside or on the edge of
towns/cities).
Advantages and disadvantages of building
on brownfield and greenfield sites
ISSUE 2: THE INNER CITY
Successive governments have had a variety of strategies to improve living
in inner cities since 1945.
Strategy 1: Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)
These were a major strategy, introduced in the 1980s. The London
Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was established in 1981.
These were set up with public funding to buy land and improve the inner
city, partly by attracting private investment.
Although it ceased to exist by 1998, the LDDC claimed in its achievements
to have:
 Sold land for development
 Built new roads and improved existing roads
 Constructed the Docklands Light Railway
 Reclaimed derelict land
 Built nearly 25,000 new homes
 Helped 2,700 businesses to start trading
 Put funding towards new primary/secondary schools and post-16
colleges
 Help create 85,000 new jobs
 Contributed to funding 5 new health centres
Strategy 2: City Challenge
This was a big initiative of the 1990s. Local authorities, private companies
and the local community worked together from the start.
Strategy 3: Sustainable communities
These allow people to live in an area where there is housing of an
appropriate standard (reasonable Quality of Life), with access to a job,
education and healthcare.
ISSUE 3: TRAFFIC
As we demand greater mobility and accessibility, the number of cars has
increased (as a result of incomes increasing), as has the problem of
traffic congestion.
In the UK in 2002, only 27% of people had 1 or more cars, compared to
55% today.
Problems increased car ownership causes:
 Congestion (people discouraged from visiting settlement/area)
 Air and noise pollution
 Increase in accidents
 Buildings can become discoloured
Strategies to reduce the use of cars include:
 Park and ride schemes
 Pedestrianising town/city centres
 Resident parking permit only zones
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Weight restriction zones (stop lorries accessing areas)
Car sharing lanes
Speed humps
Congestion charging (e.g. London)
Cycle/bus only lanes
ISSUE 4: MULTICULTURAL MIX
Despite the apparent racial mix in many cities, a significant number of
immigrants choose to live with people from similar areas and away from
others with different ethnicity and culture. This represents segregation.
Why do people of the same ethnic group choose to live near each other?
Support from others
People feel safe and secure when they can associate with other people
from the same background. There is a sense of belonging and protection
from racial abuse.
A familiar culture
In a strange country, there is comfort from being with people who have
similar ideas and beliefs and speak the same language.
Specialist Facilities
In many areas, these are provided so that, for example, Sikhs can
worship in a gurdwara. Familiar foodstuffs will be available in shops.
Employment factors
Immigrant groups tend to do low-paid jobs or have a high rate of
unemployment. They have limited money and so can only afford cheaper
housing in certain parts of the city.
ISSUE 5: THE CBD (CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT)
The rise of the motorcar and the cheapness of land at the edge of the city
led to a rise in out of town shopping centres from the 1960's to
1980's. Shopping centres such as Meadowhall in Sheffield, Lakeside in
Essex and the Metro Centre Gateshead all developed and posed a threat
to city centre shopping.
At the same time, a lack of investment in the CBD (central Business
District) led to the dereliction of some buildings and a general decline in
the shopping environment.
In addition, city centres suffered from crowding, poor air quality, a crime
ridden image and poor parking availability. There was genuine concern
that many CBDs would not survive and that we would experience the
urban doughnut effect (what is it?)
Initiatives were put into place in order to try and protect and revitalise
the CBDs of many cities e.g.
The problems caused by rapid
urbanisation in LEDCs
 Industrial accidents e.g. explosion at chemical plant, Bhopal, India
 Air and noise pollution (e.g. from increasing car ownership)
 Creation of electronic waste (e-waste) e.g. old PCs, monitors etc.
 Untreated sewage (water pollution) in major rivers e.g. Ganges (from
humans/cows, as well as cremated remains and chemicals)
 Toxic waste from industry (particularly waste from the construction
industry)
 Growth of squatter settlements (lack of shelter)
How do you reduce these problems?
There are 3 main problems which need to be reduced, particularly in
LEDCs:
 WASTE DISPOSAL
 AIR POLLUTION
 WATER POLLUTION
WASTE DISPOSAL
 Use of incinerators (Sao Paulo, Brazil burns 7,500 tonnes/day)
 Safely disposing of toxic waste in MEDCs e.g. USA
 Recycling plants need to be set up to dispose of e-waste
AIR POLLUTION
 Switching to cleaner, alternative sources of energy (used by industry)
 Introduce fines (carbon taxes) to stop countries e.g. China and India
using so much coal
 Greater monitoring and safety checks to avoid disasters e.g. Bhopal
 Limits need to be set and enforced on companies with regards to
carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions (fitting filters to industrial
chimneys)
 Transport strategies need to be considered e.g. reducing traffic in cities
(congestion charges) and improving public transport
WATER POLLUTION
 Introduce water pollution limits e.g. the 1986 Ganga Action Plan
successfully introduced water treatment works
Issues for people living in squatter
settlements in LEDCs
What , where and why are squatter settlements found?
A squatter settlement is a slum settlement (sometimes illegal or
unauthorised) of poor people who live in improvised dwellings made from
scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic.
Squatter settlements are usually found in LEDCs. They are often called
favelas, bustees, shanties, slums etc. Often they will be found on steep
hillsides, near roads, railway lines on the outskirts of a city.
They have developed as a result of rapid urbanisation. The pace of ruralurban migration is often too fast to allow the building of proper houses
and for the economy to grow to provide jobs. Therefore, people find
unoccupied areas of land (usually on edge of city) and materials and
begin to build their own makeshift shelters. As a result of few official jobs,
people create their own employment and income (informal sector) e.g.
taking in washing, mending bikes, cleaning, gardening, selling drugs,
prostitution etc. These jobs are not included in official figures.
Living in a squatter settlement
 There is no basic infrastructure e.g. sanitation (sewage disposal/
toilets), piped water, electricity and road access
 Houses/shacks/dwellings are often very overcrowded
 Water must be collected and paid for from a nearby source and carried
back
 Rubbish is not collected i.e. disease is common
 Quality of life is poor
 Crime is a problem
 Children often do not go to school
How can squatter settlements be improved?
Self help schemes e.g. Sao Paulo (Brazil), Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil) and Kibera (Nairobi, Kenya) occur where local authorities
support the residents if the squatter settlements in improving their
homes. Legal ownership of the land is sometimes given to encourage
improvements to take place.
Other improvements to consider/include are:
 co-operation between residents to remove rubbish
 local authority offering grants, cheap loans and possibly
materials
 standpipes set up for access to clean water
 residents with help from local authority may begin to build
health centres and schools
Strategies to improve living
conditions in squatter settlements
Site and service schemes
These are a more formal way of helping squatter settlement residents.
Land is identified for the scheme. Water, sewage pipes and electricity
lines are then supplied to marked plots. People then build homes with
affordable materials at the time. They can then add to and improve
these at a later date if they can afford to.
Local authority schemes may take the form of large scale
improvements made to squatter settlements or building new towns to
reduce population pressure on cities e.g. 10th of Ramadan City,
Cairo, Egypt. Here, high-rise blocks of flats, shops, a primary school
and a mosque have been built. Industries were also planned to provide
jobs for the new inhabitants.
How do you make urban areas sustainable?
 Build APPROPRIATE HOUSING in MEDCs and LEDCs.
 Tackle TRAFFIC problems. Improve public transport e.g. more
frequent buses, freeze fares and extend bus lanes to quicken
journeys.
 Address issue of POLLUTION (water, air and waste disposal). Recycle
more waste, particularly household. Reduce waste – does so much
supermarket food need plastic packaging? Will we need to incinerate
more waste as landfill sites are filling up?
 Build on brownfield sites. Why?
 Protect open spaces from building developments, so that it can be
used for recreational purpose.
 Consult local people at planning stages before decisions are made (if
they feel involved, they are more likely to care for the building and
environment in which they live)
How do you make urban areas sustainable?
Give special status to previous industrial, historic commercial and
cultural areas e.g. Liverpool. Here, many buildings along the River
Mersey were recognised for their importance (as a port) during the
growth of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Sustainable Cities
What is a sustainable city?
A sustainable city is an urban area where residents have a way of life
which will last a long time. The environment is not damaged and the city
has a sound economic base (jobs) and there is a strong sense of
community, with local people involved in decisions made.
CASE STUDY: CURITIBA, BRAZIL (“a city for people, not cars”)
In 1968, the Curitiba Master Plan was adopted to control urban sprawl,
reduce traffic in the city centre, develop public transport and to preserve
the historic sector.
In a survey, it was found that 99% of Brazil’s inhabitants would like to
live in Curitiba.
Characteristics of Curitiba as a sustainable city
 Curitiba has the highest recycling rate in the World – 70%.
 Curitiba has a bus system that is so good that car traffic decreased by
30% even though the population trebled in a 20 year period.
 Curitiba has the largest downtown pedestrianised shopping area in the
World.
 Curitiba has built large numbers of beautiful parks to control floods
rather than concrete canals. There are so many that they use sheep to
cut the grass as it’s cheaper than lawnmowers!
 Curitiba’s average income per person has gone from less than the
Brazilian average in the 1970’s to 66% greater than the Brazilian
average.
How was this achieved? (what measures were put in place)
In the early 70s, the 1st mayor of Curitiba was crucial in putting together
the following measures:
 Built parks instead of canals to reduce flooding. Also used parks to
make the city more liveable.
 Pedestrianised the city centre.
 Invented and built the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – a bus system that
works like a light rail system but is 10 times cheaper.
 Gave people bus tokens in return for waste.
 Started a massive recycling scheme – all initiated by children.
 COHAB, the city’s public housing programme introduced a housing
policy which will provide 50,000 homes for the urban poor.