Changing Urban Areas

CBD

CBD

CHARACTERISTICS

• Original settlement site

• Route focus for roads and railways

• High density of buildings

• Shops, offices and entertainment facilities.

• High-rise buildings and sky scrapers.

• Bus and rail stations at the edge.

• Small residential population.

• High land costs

LOCATION

• City centre: Large shops, offices and entertainment.

• Oldest buildings next to the newest buildings.

Inner City

CHARACTERISTICS

• Grew during Industrial Revolution.

• A real mixture of land uses.

• Victorian terraces.

• Older 19ᵗʰ-century industries.

• Corner shops, churches, schools, Victorian parks.

• Redevelopment, e.g. High-rise flats.

LOCATION

• Outside the CBD.

• 19ᵗʰ-century terrace houses.

Suburbs

CHARACTERISTICS

• Density of housing decreases outwards.

• Inter-war and post-war housing, closest to inner city.

• Modern, larger and more expensive housing on edge.

• Mixture of housing types - flats, council, private.

• More factories on the edge.

LOCATION

• Residential housing.

• Outer City.

Rural-Urban Fringe

CHARACTERISTICS

• An area of mixed land-uses.

• Some rural land-uses - farms, woodland.

• Some urban land-uses - golf courses, sewage farms, airports, motorways.

LOCATION

• Beyond the suburbs.

• The edge of the built up area.

• Countryside.

Aerial View of a CBD

Tightly packed roads, town hall, city centre, bus and railway stations, car parks, shops and government offices.

Aerial View of a Inner City

Straight roads with terraced houses, factories and industrial areas, possibly evidence of some re-development.

Aerial View of a Suburbs

Residential areas, with bigger houses, garages and more space. Roads will not be as straight and possible cul-de-sacs.

Aerial View of a Rural-Urban Fringe

Much further from the CBD, often beyond the edge of the city, on the other side of green space.

HOUSING

Poor-Quality Housing

• After the second world war many MEDC inner city areas started to fall into disrepair. Small houses became overcrowded and too cramped for larger families.

• Sleeping in the kitchen/living room, toilets were usually outside and up to 5 people sleeping in one room.

• People wanted more modern conveniences, renovations started for existing houses to become modernised.

HOUSING

Gentrification

• An area is redeveloped and upgraded, attracting richer people to live in the area and often displacing poorer tenants.

• In the late 1900's an aim to develop a 300 acre stretch of land that was experiencing a high level of deprivation and unemployment. As a result, some apartment blocks were developed along the river. The cost to purchase or rent was too high for existing residents and they were forced to move.

TRAFFIC

Congestion

• The longer cars are sitting in traffic, the bigger the impact on air pollution caused by the engines.

• In 1975, a number of motorway roads ran through the heart of Belfast. However, these became over-crowded. So, a number of road developments were introduced to reduce congestion. The Westlink and the M3 cross-harbour project were implemented to help congestion.

• More cars resulted in delays and the congestion was as bad.

TRAFFIC

Public Transport

• Belfast public transport is not as sophisticated or widespread.

• Translink operate a range of bus and train services. The cost of public transport in Belfast is cheaper than in some cities but many believe they could be improved.

• 1 hour a day is spent on transport.

TRAFFIC

Parking

• Parking charges increase rapidly. ⇡

• Parking spaces have decreased in recent years. ⇣

• Many roads within the inner city residential areas were not built for vehicle transport or parking.

• Many streets are not wide enough for cars to park on either side.

• Belfast city council are working on a new strategy for the city, “Parking is an important aspect of modern day life and is important for accessibility and economic growth.”

CULTURAL MIX

Ethnic Tensions

• An increase in migrants living in cheap inner city areas.

• Residents may become worried that newcomers will take all their jobs, making them resent them.

• Perception that migrants take money from the government and jobs from the people that are “rightfully theirs.”

• London has a population of 8.6 million people and around 44% is made up of black and other ethnic minorities (an increase of 15% in 15 years).

• The close proximity of different people can sometimes bring ethnic tensions and conflict.

CULTURAL MIX

Religious Tensions

• Loyalty to their religion can be strong, leading to tension with other religious groups.

• Hate crimes against Muslims increased in London from - 478 in 2012-14 to - 816 in 2014-15.

• Tensions exist within cities not just between religious groups, but also within the religious groups.

• In Belfast, tension between the largely Roman Catholic Republicans and the largely Protestant Loyalists led to ‘the Troubles’ – a conflict which lasted for over 30 years.

• Much of this conflict centred on the large working class populations of each group within inner city Belfast.

CULTURAL MIX

Language Barriers

• A mix of languages brings a mix of nationalities.

• Around 300 languages are spoken in London.

• Many have trouble learning English, hence finding a job is difficult.