What is urbanisation?
Growth in the percentage of a country’s population living in urban compared to rural areas
What are push and pull factors resulting in urbanisation?
Push factors:
- poor housing
- lower wages
- lack of services
Pull factors:
- better healthcare
- better education
- higher employment opportunity
- more developed public transport
What are the positive and negative effects of urbanisation?
Positive:
- more stable economy
- more diversity - international migrants
Negative:
- air pollution leading to global warming
- traffic congestion
- stretched services eg. healthcare/education
- reduced spending in rural areas
How has the global distribution of megacities changed and why?
HICs and NEEs - more development in newly emerging economies
A decline in the USA
West -> East - global shift due to manufacturing industries moving more Eastwards
How does the rate of urbanisation link to economic development?
In some areas eg. Asia the rate of urbanisation is rapid. In developing nations it can cause many problems including inadequate infrastructure (housing, water supply, sewerage etc.) and a lack of employment. This rapid growth outstrips the resources of urban authorities to provide basic needs to millions which can result in large scale poverty. There is also growing income inequality and world cities suffer with problems of pollution, unemployment and housing shortages.
How are world cities important globally?
- headquarters of multinational corporations
- have considerable decision-making power
- major manufacturing centres with port and container facilities
How are world cities important regionally?
- domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area
- multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical and entertainment facilities in the country
- high quality educational institutions including renowned universities, international attendance and research facilities
How are world cities important nationally?
- high proportion of residents employed in the services information sector
- multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical and entertainment facilities in the country
- high quality educational institutions including renowned universities, international attendance and research facilities
What is suburbanisation and what are the effects and causes?
the growth of urban areas spreading to the fringes of the city and movement away from the centre (decentralisation)
Effects:
- more traffic due to commuters
- less investment in the inner city- political disputes
- rise of businesses in suburban areas
- habitat loss
- expensive to provide more services
- increased social segregation
Causes:
- growth of public transport systems and increased use of private cars which allowed people to commute
- more land in fringes for car parking and land for gardens
- desire for a less polluted, congested and quieter environment
What is counter-urbanisation and what are the effects and causes?
The movement of people away from large towns or cities into smaller rural settlements beyond the city
Effects:
- tensions between locals and newcomers
- increased house price values
- increase in use of commuter transport
- gentrification
- construction of more executive housing
Causes:
- cheaper land and house prices
- a want to escape air pollution, dirt and crime of urban areas
- car ownership and greater affluence allowed people to commute
- improvements in technology eg. high speed internet access in rural areas
- rise in demand for second homes
- slow in agricultural businesses - farmers sell land cheaply
What is urban resurgence and what are the effects and causes?
Development of an urban area after a period of decline - gentrification
Effects:
- inward migration back to the city
- increased pollution within cities
- greater demand for services and infrastructure
- people displaced due to rising house prices
- attracts investment
- increasing inequality between rich and poor
Causes:
- de-industrialisation
- globalisation and technological change facilitate resurgence
- major sporting events eg. olympics encourage movement back to city
what urban processes occurred in London in early 1900’s and why?
what were the effects?
Urbanisation
- 6.5 million population in inner London
- 77% UK urbanised by 1901
- major world city due to deindustrialisation
push factors:
- low paid jobs
- growth of secondary manufacturing industry
- improvements in transport
effects:
- crowded inner city, densely stacked terraced housing - spread of disease
- areas of deprivation eg. Tower Hamlets
- no green space - heavily polluted
- rise in service jobs to support rise in population
- London grew as a trading port city due to location on river Thames
what urban processes occurred in London between 1930-50 and why?
what were the effects?
Suburbanisation and urban sprawl
- between 1891 and 1931, the population of outer London tripled to over 3 million
push factors:
- improved transport links - roads and trains (commuters)
- heavily polluted inner city
- inner city targeted as bomb sites
- high crime rates
effects:
- social segregation - wealthy lived in suburbs, poor lived in inner city
- investment went to suburbs rather than inner city
- less wealth in inner city - closure of businesses
- youthful population in suburbs, ageing population in inner city
facts about suburbanisation in LONDON (Ealing)
- first steam underground built in 1863 from Paddington to Farringdon street - 10 million passengers in first year
- railway companies began introducing workmen’s fares in 1860’s - cheap return tickets to inner city from suburbs so areas like Enfield and Ealing began to develop
- 31% green space compared to 25% in London
- world famous film studios in Ealing 1930-40’s, QPR established in 1880’s, West Middlesex Golf Club
- rundown inner city areas eg. Tower Hamlets - densely crowded, stacked housing, smog from industrial revolution, bomb-sites
facts about counter-urbanisation in LONDON (St Albans)
- within the London commuter belt (21% population work in London)
- M1 motorway and 2 railway stations - London is easily accessible
- high achieving state and independent schools eg. St Albans Independent Boys
- average house price of £580,000 in 2019
- 90% white population
- unemployment rate is 1% compared to 4% nationally
- 20% of population are 65+ compared to 15% nationally - ageing population
what are the pros and cons of counter-urbanisation in St Albans?
Pros:
- rural services eg. Batchwood golf club see an increase in demand and profit
- landowners sell at higher prices - more revenue for local council
Cons:
- increased house prices (£580,000 average) - locals cannot afford to buy homes
- too many houses will destroy character of village and historical buildings eg. The clock tower
- increased traffic congestion on rural roads eg. North Orbital Road towards London
why did London begin to decline?
- closure of docks, ships were too small to fit into docks - containerisation and unemployment
- mass riots due to unemployment - higher crime rates and increased poverty
- migrants blamed for unemployment after filling in jobs for people who died during WWII, race riots
- global recession - oil crisis in 1970’s
- closure of factories - deindustrialisation
- cheap and poorly designed buildings began to rot, lasted only 5-6 years
- foreign competition during globalisation meant that jobs moved abroad
what is urban decline?
the deterioration of the inner city often caused by lack of investment and maintenance, often accompanied by a decline in population, decreasing economic performance and unemployment
facts about urban resurgence in LONDON
- more than 300 languages spoken by people of London - international migrants move for education and well paid highly skilled jobs
- renovated housing and gentrification of buildings in Mayfair
- famous attractions: west end, London museum, national gallery
- expensive apartments constructed along River Thames stimulates local economy in services- movement back into areas like Chelsea
- Sudiq Khan - mayor of London 1999, brought voice and power
- facilitating factor: transport improvements, sustainable + integrated eg. Boris bikes, cross rail improvements to underground
why did urban resurgence occur in London?
- government policies eg. LDDC
- gentrification stimulated by private investment from property developers (areas eg. Notting Hill up and coming areas, previously scene of riots)
- revival of culture eg. West end in Covent Gardens
- Canary Wharf built on top of old docks - quaternary industry, high paid knowledge-based jobs in finance, insurance etc.
- olympics in 2012 - investment by government
- improvements in transport eg. London underground and environment eg. congestion charge, Boris bikes
- movement of businesses and industry into city centre (TNC’s eg, HSBC, KPMG)
what are the positive and negative impacts of urban resurgence on a city centre?
positives:
-new shops and services open - jobs are created so less unemployment
- tourism increases which brings in disposable income - improve area
- investment from government
negatives:
- original residents may be unable to afford housing and be displaced
- tension between original and new residents eg. jobs in new businesses may not be accessible to semi-skilled original residents
what is decentralisation and what are the implications?
movement of shops, offices and industry away from urban centres into retail and business parks in the suburbs mainly due to high land and labour costs
implications:
- less jobs (unemployment) in city centre
- political disputes eg. more funding towards outskirts than inner city
- increased demand on services in rural areas
- increasing building prices in suburbs
what is deindustrialisation?
why has it occurred in the UK?
the process of social and economic change caused by removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country
- moving away from manufacturing industry into tertiary and quaternary industries
- rise of technology - mechanisation
- end of industrial revolution
what political issues was the UK facing in 1970’s?
which parties were in charge?
1973 - oil crisis - global economic depression and recession
1978 - inflation due to oil and politics - lorry driver strikes
1978-79 - winter of discontent (strikes protesting against labour)
early 1970’s run by labour - focused on socialism, supporting people on lower wages, rights of workers, investment in council housing
Margaret thatcher elected in 1979 (conservative) - focused on economy and rise of the service sector, work harder earn more money, free market approach
