Urban Environments and Settlement

Flashcards covering urban environments, settlement characteristics, urbanization, and related concepts.

Urban places

Places characterized by population size, CBD, residential zones, and a dominant service function.

Site

The actual land where a settlement is built.

Situation

The surrounding area of a settlement, considering factors like water supply, resources, and potential for trade.

Tourist resorts

Former fishing villages transformed into tourist attractions.

Importance of Urban Places

Urban places with manufacturing, or high tech, or service functions such as healthcare and retail.

Megacities

Cities with 10 million or more inhabitants.

Centripetal Migration

Migration due to jobs, attracting young adults and leading to city growth.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed for a good or service to stay in business.

Low-order goods

Convenience goods such as bread or newspapers.

High-order goods

Luxury goods such as watches or cars.

Sphere of influence

Area served by a settlement.

Bid-Rent Theory

Value of land varies for different purposes.

Factors for modern retailing on edge of town sites

Population change, suburbanization of wealthy households, economic change, increased car ownership, inflated land prices.

Reasons for CBD decline

Poor and aging population, increase in car ownership, investors escaping traffic and pollution, high cost of development and maintenance.

Industrial activity locations

Areas close to disposals, railways and canals, and away from residential areas.

Influence of Physical Factors on Residential Areas

Wealthier people live near attractive landscapes, while in LICs, the poor live close to rivers at risk of flooding.

Ethnicity in Residential Areas

Groups may choose to live close together.

Urban Residential Planning by Authorities

Placing specific types of housing around the city to attract specific groups.

HICs: Variations in Standard of Living

Inner-city areas or ghettos with deprivation and exclusion.

NIC/LIC: Variations in Standard of Living

Shanty towns (squatter settlements) in the worst areas.

Formal Economy

Offices, factories, and commercial buildings that provide goods and services for the elite population.

Informal Economy

Markets, taxis, servants. Small scale, locally owned, labor intensive.

UN Descriptors of a Slum

Lack of permanent structure, more than 3 people sharing a bedroom, insufficient access to water, no private toilet, and no protection against forced eviction.

Urbanization

Increase in the number of people living in urban areas.

Rural-urban migration

Long-term movement from rural to urban areas.

Push Factors urban migration

Unemployment and low wages

Pull Factors of urban migration

More jobs and education, better wages.

Gentrification

Regeneration of inner-city areas by wealthier residents, which may displace poorer people.

Suburbanization

Outward expansion of cities, largely due to improvements in transport systems.

Counter-urbanisation

Movement of people from urban areas to smaller urban areas or rural areas.

Urban sprawl

Uncontrolled growth of largest cities at edges.

Deindustrialization

A sudden, associated decline in the employment of people in the manufacturing sector.

Reindustrialisation

Growth of high-technology industries, small firms, and service industries.

Radiation in Urban Areas

Urban areas absorb more long-wave radiation due to dark surfaces and air pollution.

Temperatures in Urban Areas

Urban areas are generally warmer due to less albedo, causing the "urban heat island effect."

Pressure and Winds in Urban Areas

Buildings disrupt wind, causing turbulence and gusting.

Humidity in urban areas

Less humidity in summer due to less exposed water and vegetation.

Precipitation in Urban Areas

More instability in cities during warmer days, leading to intense localised storms and thunderstorms.

Reducing emissions

Hybrid/electric cars, public transport, carpooling, cycling/walking, catalytic converters.

Impacts of Urban Traffic

Delays journeys, move fuel consumption, move frustration, move air pollution, move noise pollution.

Slum Clearance in Rio de Janeiro for 2016 Olympics

They were transformed into properties. Value of land rose, higher house prices, people were displaced.

Depiction of urban green space

Important for mental and physical well-being.

Social Deprivation

Deprivation, low incomes, lack of jobs, ill health, low education, reduced access to housing, high crime rates.

Barcelona: Social Deprivation

Rapid negative deindustrialization and unemployment reached 20%.

Barcelona: Solutions to Social Deprivation

Overcome due to political leadership, diversification of economy, and tourism.

Urban Crime

Concentrated in urbanized areas and industrialized areas, higher in deprived areas.

Attributes of Urban Crime

Young, male, single, minority, broken home, large family, low income, unskilled, unemployed.

Managing Crime

More police on patrol, move use of security cameras and better street lighting.

Resilient city design

Economically productive, socially inclusive, and environmentally friendly.

Sustainable cities

Cities have increased bike lanes, walking paths as well as bike sharing schemes, less fossil fuels.

Geopolitical risks in urban areas

Nationalism, anti-globalisation, terrorism, anti-government protests, inter-state warfare, terrorist attacks, and state collapses or crises.

Masdar City - UAE

Worlds most sustainable city. Powered by solar panels and a connected transportation system.

Songdo International Business District, South Korea

Sensors that control heating in houses and monitor traffic. Allows delivery of healthcare, education and government services.

Hafencity

High architectural standards, diverse housing with ranging prices, neighborhood management funding.

Contested land changes: Paris 2024

Homeless people cleared from city center, major regeneration, new housing, commercial and wore spaces.

China's new cities

China has poor urban planning and uses coal move which cases smog and air pollution.

Short-term responses to PM10 in Paris

Wood burning banned, Speca limit reduces to 20kmin, reduced traffic and free public transport.

Long-term to PM10 in Paris

Cars were given stickers, cars registered before are banned from rows.

Strategies to Improve the Situation in Mexico city

Restricting people from driving their cars. Investment into afforestation & public transport.