Paper 1: urban environments

IB Geography option G urban environments SL/HL

Define gentrification

Define gentrification

The reinvestment of capital into inner-city areas, common in brownfield sites. Includes residential rehabilitation and upgrading, and commercial redevelopment.

Advantages of gentrification

Increased property values and economic growth, decreased crime, diversification of entertainment and dining options, improvements to environment.

Issues with gentrification

Can lead to displacement of poor people because rent/ house prices increase. Young, upwardly-mobile populations replace them.

Name two examples of places that have experienced gentrification

• Berlin, Germany (negative)

• New York, USA (positive)

Gentrification in Berlin

• Average rent has doubled in a decade

• Rent cap overturned by courts

• Over 2000 activists are collecting signatures for reduced rent

• New constructions cater to the luxury market when what is needed is affordable living

• Poorer people are displaced

Gentrification in NYC

• Skyrocketing housing prices

• Strategically-designed (cheap-looking) buildings with concrete base and 5 levels of wooden structure for minimal cost

• Supply of new houses has decreased rent

• Little forced displacement

Define urbanisation

The population shift from rural to urban areas and the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas

Define counter-urbanisation

A process involving the movement of population away from larger urban areas to smaller urban areas: new towns, estates, commuter towns and villages on the rural-urban fringe

Why is counter-urbanisation a feature of most HICs?

• As people get richer they desire better QoL, privacy, and more upscale surroundings

• Phone/email/video-call tech makes it possible for people to work remotely

• Public transport allows people to commute from the rural-urban fringe

What are the reasons for counter-urbanisation?

• Social: generally lower crime rates outside of cities

• Economic: cheaper housing and cost of goods outside of cities

• Eco: better air quality and more green space

• Technological: remote comms tech and public transport facilitates commuting or working remotely

What are some impacts of counter-urbanisation?

• Social: can make communities less tight-knit

• Environmental: can increase CO2 emissions as there is generally less public transport in the country

• Economic: house prices in the rural areas may rise (gentrification)

Define centrifugal population movement

Refers to the movement of people and economic activity from centres (ie. cities) outwards

Define suburbanisation

The growth of areas on the outskirts of a city

What is the case study for a city experiencing rapid infrastructure growth?

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa infrastructure growth case study: background information

• One of Africa’s fastest-growing cities

• Prospering with FDI especially from China and technological revolution

• The government hopes Ethiopia will become a MIC by 2025

• Landlocked country but China funded a 600km railway line between Addis Ababa and Djibouti, and airport expansion project

• Great Ethiopian Renaissance dam

Addis Ababa infrastructure growth case study: sanitation and waste disposal

• During the rainy season poor sanitation is brought to light by spread of disease

• Mismanagement of waste means disease also spreads that way

Addis Ababa infrastructure growth case study: transport

• Africa’s first railway built to Chinese specs runs between Ethiopia and Djibouti, cutting the time from Addis Ababa and the sea from 3 days to 12 hrs

• Line may later be expanded 1300km to Sudan and South Sudan

• Light railway largely funded by Ethiopia’s most important trading partner, China

• Provides alternative to the city’s road-based system

Addis Ababa infrastructure growth case study: water

• Addis Ababa has twice Barcelona’s rainfall but lacks water storage facilities

• Limited water access

• 60% of food consumed in AA is irrigated with untreated waste water which can cause disease

Addis Ababa infrastructure growth case study: telecomms

• There are 17.87m internet users in Ethiopia (16% of population)

• 63% of total population have mobile subscriptions

• There are many internet cafes but ¾ of them are located in Addis Ababa

What is the case study for urban decline?

Detroit, USA

Urban decline in Detroit: background info

• Had a hugely successful car-manufacturing industry in the 1960s and ‘70s

• Known as “motor town“ or “motown“ and had associated record label

• Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler and General Motors (Pontiacs) had operations there

• Car industry lifted many African-Americans into the middle class

Urban decline in Detroit: causes

• By the 1980s foreign companies built non-union, highly mechanised car plants in the American South and outpriced Detroit’s industry

• In the early 2000s, 60000+ workers were laid off

• American “gas-guzzlers“ had to adapt

Urban decline in detroit: consequences

• Reduction in population from 2m at peak to under 800,000

• Abandoned properties including skyscrapers as well as homes

• Plummeting value of land

• No transport infrastructure (because the city was built around loving cars)

• Commonplace vandalism and fly-tipping

Define deindustrialisation

The process of change in a region caused by a decline in that region’s levels of industrial output

What is an urban microclimate?

• The distinctive climate of a relatively-small area such as a park, valley, or part of a city

• Temperature, rainfall, wind and humidity may differ subtly from those prevailing in the wider area

• Many local microclimates make up a city microclimate

Why is there an urban “heat island“ around many cities?

• Cities are often built in dark colours. Materials such as tarmac absorb lots of UV radiation and re-emit it slowly.

• People, cars and industry can also contribute.

Give an example of an urban microclimate

Because of pressure differences, Atlanta city centre (USA) receives 2x as much precipitation as the farmland and suburbs around it

The problem with air pollution and traffic congestion in Paris: background info

• Paris is the biggest city in Europe with a metropolitan population of over 12m

• Nitrogen, CO2 and diesel particulates cause air pollution

• Air pollution kills 6000 people in France prematurely each year

• One of the most congested cities in Europe

What are two examples of solutions to Paris’s air pollution problem?

Critical air stickers and vertical gardens

Traffic congestion in Paris: critical air stickers

• Vehicle owners are entitled to a free sticker ranking their car according to age, efficiency and engine power

• Ranked from 1 (best) to 5 (worst)

• Those with efficient vehicles can drive and park where others cannot

Traffic congestion in Paris: critical air stickers pros and cons

• Pros: cheap, accessible, enforced by fine of 60 euros if you don’t have the sticker, probably somewhat helpful

• Cons: incentivises people to buy a whole new car, penalises those who are economically worse-off, inconvenient because Paris lacks public transport

Traffic congestion in Paris: vertical gardens

• Plants are placed in felt pockets on the side of buildings

• They are irrigated and fed nutrients through the fabric

• In September 2015 Paris introduced new legislation saying new buildings in commercial areas must either have a green roof or solar panels

Traffic congestion in Paris: vertical gardens pros and cons

• Pros: novel, aesthetically pleasing, having photosynthesizing plants can remove CO2 from the air

• Cons: expensive and difficult to construct (requiring professionals)

What is meant by the hierarchy of settlements?

Settlements are arranged in a hierarchy from conurbation at the top to isolated dwelling at the bottom. Moving from bottom to top, there is a decrease in frequency and an increase in: size of settlement, size of population, and services

What is a settlement’s sphere of influence?

The area served by a settlement (also known as hinterland)

What are high-order goods?

More luxurious goods that are purchased on an infrequent basis and are generally more costly such as cars or electronics

What are low-order goods?

Convenience goods bought on a necessity basis such as bread, rice, milk etc

What is the range of a settlement?

The maximum distance customers are prepared to go to access goods/services

What is the threshold of a service?

The minimum number of people required to support a service and keep it in business

What is the difference between site and situation of a settlement?

Site is the literal location of the settlement.

Situation describes where the settlement is in relation to other settlements and the features of the surrounding area.

Give examples of factors which could affect where a successful settlement is established

• Wet point: close to water supply

• Dry point: low risk of flooding

• Defensive: high ground to see enemies from a distance

• Aspect: many settlements in the NH are located on South-facing valleys where it is sunny

• Shelter: away from wind/rain

• Proximity to resources and other settlements for trading

What type of growth (planned or spontaneous) is the Burgess model associated with?

Spontaneous

Describe the Burgess model of settlement growth

Five rings, from inside to outside:

• Central business district

• Factories/industry (transitional)

• Low-income residential areas

• Middle-income residential areas

• High-income residential areas

What type of growth (planned or spontaneous) is the Hoyt model associated with?

Planned

Describe the Hoyt model of settlement growth

Central business district in the centre, industry and upper/lower/middle-class residential areas projecting outwards

What is the case study for planned settlement growth?

Milton Keynes, UK

Planned settlement growth case study: Milton Keynes- the need for a new settlement

• Located equal distances between Oxford/Cambridge and Birmingham/London

• Designed as a self-sustaining centre

• Built to accommodate for growing demand for housing in London

• Planned in the 1960s and built in ‘67

Planned settlement growth case study: Milton Keynes- successes

• Relatively low CO2 emissions compared to national average

• Plentiful housing

• Car-efficient grid system

• Local waste-management system within 30 miles of the town

Planned settlement growth case study: Milton Keynes- failures

• Very car-dependant

• Not good public transportation

• People make fun of the abysmal roundabout system

What is a named example of unplanned settlement growth?

Mumbai, India

The Bid-Rent curve

What does the bid-rent curve show?

• Land prices generally decrease as you move out from the CBD (though there may be secondary peaks in suburban areas of new development)

• Value of land is associated with land use and height of buildings

How has retail land use changed over time?

• Car/ freezer ownership has allowed people to shop less frequently and further away

• Rise of superstores: often over 2500 square m of shopping space

• Hardware/electrical/furniture stores may cluster to form a retail park

What are the features of the central business district?

• The city’s commercial/economic core

• Accessible to public transport

• Highest land values

• Internal zoning (clustering of similar businesses)

Why have CBDs declined in HICs?

• Urban sprawl

• Congestion reducing accessibility

• High cost of inner-city land

• Opening up of peripheral locations ie. in greenfield sites

What is the Thames gateway project?

What is the case study of inequality within a city in an HIC?

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona: background and stats

• Capital of Catalonia, Spain

• The city had a population of over 1.7m in 2016 (4.6m in wider metropolitan area)

• High population density

Causes of inequality in Barcelona

• Greatest level of deprivation occurs in El Raval

• The old/substandard housing was built for factory workers during the industrial revolution

• Outer city areas built around housing estates for migrants from elsewhere in Spain in the ‘60s

Consequences of inequality in Barcelona

• Slums

• Inadequate services (schools, parks, sports facilities, etc)

• Unattractive living environment

• Relatively high incidence of crime, unemployment, single-parent families, anti-social behaviour

• Someone in Pedralbes (wealthier area) has a life expectancy of 81 compared to 73 in el Ravel

What is the case study of inequality within a city in an LIC?

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi: background info and stats

• Kenya’s capital and most populous city

• Population of 3.5m or 6.5m in metropolitan area

• Rapid rate of growth from births and migration

• The location of one of the world’s largest slums

• High ethnic diversity

Causes of inequality in Nairobi

• The population is constantly growing and it receives immigrants from Europe and Asia

• 22% of the residents live in poverty

• There is a large informal economy

Consequences of inequality in Nairobi

• The most densely populated areas are the most likely to lack safe water. Contagious and waterborne diseases spread quicker.

• Slums found in almost all parts of city

• Healthcare facilities in higher densities in higher-income areas

• The highest-income areas are in the inner city next to the CBD

What are two case studies for contested land use change?

Slum clearances in Rio (Brazil) and depletion of green space in Mumbai (India)

Slum clearances in Rio (Brazil)

• The 2016 Rio Olympics caused a property boom in some central favelas (slum neighbourhoods)

• eg. the Vidigal favela had been dominated by drugs and gangs but was transformed by the potential of the games

• Value of land rose 3x in 3 years

• Activists claim that 170,000 people were displaced for games-related purposes

• The Favela de Metro (home to 1000 residents) was destroyed for parking facilities

Depletion of green space in Mumbai (India)

• The Dharavi slum is a prime site for development as it is connected to all three of the city’s railways

• However it is home to millions of people and thousands of micro-industries accounting for $650m annually

• Indian property developer Mukesh Menta wants to turn it into an international business destination

• Development as a service/financial district would displace 1 million people

• Four seasons hotel was a successful development around this area

What are two examples of smart city design?

Songdo (South Korea) and Masdar City (Abu Dhabi)

Songdo (South Korea)

• $40B green city project

• Garbage is sucked into pipes direct from bins

• First Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified city outside North America

• Expected to become the central business hub of North-East Asia

Masdar City (Abu Dhabi)

• A project to build a city to support 40,000 people on renewable electricity

• Started in 2006, completed by 2030

• Estimated cost = $22B

• Powered by 88,000 solar panels

• Cars are not permitted

• Supported by WWF, greenpeace, and the US

Beddington Zero Energy Development (BEDZED) London, UK

• 99 homes with 777m squared of solar panels, triple glazing and built with sustainable resources sourced from under 35km away

• Compared with UK averages: hot water consumption is 57% less, space-heating requirements are 80% less, residents’ car mileage is 67% less

• Cost of development was £150,000 per home which is very expensive