Diverse Places

How has the population of the UK grown in the last 50 years?

The population has grown unevenly, with some regions (London and the south east) growing more rapidly, whilst others (north-east) have grown more slowly.

Baby boom after WW2.

South West = +29.1%

Yorkshire and The Humber = +12.4%

Scotland = + 5.5%

What is the rural-urban continuum?

The model for how population density and population structure changes with the distance away from urban areas and towards remote rural areas.

Most urban - high population density, high service provision, commercial land use.

Least urban - declining population, low service provision, primary industry/residential land use.

What are the causes of uneven population levels?

Pollution - rural areas are attractive to people if they’re seeking a quieter and healthier lifestyle (lower air and noise pollution).

Access - people may wish to live in suburban parts of urban areas as oit is convenient for their place of work. Access to places of work can be more challenging in rural areas. Services.

Physical Barriers - mountains are harder to build on than flat land. Flat land settlements expand more rapidly. Extreme rural climates not attractive.

Land Use - rural areas are often used for purposes that spread out over large areas of land - farming and mining. This causes rural populations to be more spaced out, resulting in there being a lower population density. In urban areas, the land has more commercial use, providing employment and attracting people.

Planning Policy - green belts prevent the outward spread of settlements - make inner city very densely populated. Suburbs built outside the green belt become commuter villages and also become heavily populated.

What factors affect population structure?

Differences in fertility - will affect distribution of ages (high fertility = young population), affect dependency ratio, population growth.

Differences in mortality - age distribution (high rates among children cause older population), life expectancy, dependency ratio, population growth, healthcare infrastructure.

Differences in international migration - diversity, fertility, age (tend to be young migrants)

Differences in internal migration - geography distribution, age distribution, infrastructure and service provision.

Why are there variations in population characteristics between settlements?

Accessibility

Employment opportunities

Physical factors

Government policies

Social clustering

Migration history

Why are there variations in population characteristics within settlements?

Social clustering - where ethnic groups cluster together in particular locations. Usually be choice, helps migrants establish themselves and protect each other from hostile reactions. Adds diversity.

Socioeconomic status - high income vs low income settlements

Housing - different price points in different neighbourhoods.

Historical patterns of migration.

How do regional and national influence the characteristics of places?

Regional and national - transport infrastructure connectivity, comparisons with national averages.

International and global - impact of globalisation on places, influence of international migration.

How have these affected the culture and demographics?

How have they changed people’s identities?

Define sense of place

An identity that differentiates one place from another - and not all places have it.

The way that particular people feel about a place - this can differ between people.

The things about a place that make it special and distinctive to people there.

Negative and positive senses of place.

How can changes in population characteristics be measured?

Quantitative:

Profiling - using census data.

Surveys/questionnaires

Qualitative:

Interviews

Social media

Photos and maps

What is an urban area?

Settlements of over 10000 people, built up, usually have a clear structure based on zones, models have become more complex over time.

What is a rural area?

Fewer than 10,000 people, consist of mostly villages and hamlets, main function is being residential but may be some services, some villages have very clear land-use patterns.

How has the perception of urban areas changed over time?

During industrialisation, urban places were perceived by some as dangerous and threatening (Victorian London); currently they could be seen as attractive because of their range of economic opportunities and the variety of social and leisure activities that attract young people and migrants.

Why may urban locations be perceived as undesirable?

High crime, rates, low environmental quality, population characteristics and reputation based on quantitative data but also due to lived experience and media representation.

Why are suburban and inner-city areas perceived differently in terms of their desirability?

Age, ethnicity, life cycle stage - affect perception.

Why may rural areas be perceived as idyllic?

Their tranquillity, natural landscapes and historical and cultural associations.

Why may some rural locations be perceived as undesirable?

Remoteness, limited social opportunities, limited range of services, high transport costs, population characteristics and reputation based on quantitative data but also because of lived experience and media representation.

The perception of rural areas range from very remote villages, to commuter villages not far from the centre.

How can statistical evidence be used to determine people’s views about places?

Census data gives information about local characteristics such as ethnicity, identity, language and religion.

ONS website provides statistical evidence on employment, crime and environment issues.

House prices can measure how attractive people find an area.

Why may different forms of media provide contrasting evidence about the image different people have regarding a place?

National vs local news will show differing opinions.

There may be bias in certain media coverage.

Representations may influence perception.

How has internal migration within the UK created uneven demographic and cultural patterns?

High rate of internal movement - 2.9 million people moving between places in 2014.

No longer a clear north-south movement pattern.

Now there is a more complex pattern. Some remote rural areas have continued to lose population to internal migration.

People moving out of London due to high housing costs.

This has changed services - shops, places of worship, entertainment and schooling.

International migration phases

Post war: The British Nationality Act (1948) gave Commonwealth citizens free access to the UK. Large number moved from the West Indies and from the Indian subcontinent in the 1950s and 60s.

EU expansion: since 2004 and the expansion of the EU to eight new countries, immigration from other EU countries to the UK has increased. By the end of 2017, 3.8 million people from other EU countries were living in the UK.

Why may international migrants choose to live in rural areas? What are the problems with this?

To get work in agricultural industries.

Socially isolated, no place of worship for religion, no one speaks their language, racist old white geezers, no services, high cost of living.

Why do international migrants tend to live in distinct places?

Economic - when immigrants first arrive in a place they need cheap accommodation and work. Big cities offer the best options for both. This tends to cluster immigrants in specific location in the cities.

Economic - there are certain types of employment that recruits from immigrants e.g the NHS. This tends to cluster immigrant near specific places of work.

Social - areas of ethnic segregation tend to have social characteristics reflecting low incomes and poor quality housing: health, crime and education may reflect deprivation.

Social - as immigrant communities develop, social characteristics of the place will reflect ethnicity and culture, for example distinctive shops, places of worship, services, leisure activities.

How may segregation change over time?

As new generations are born, economic and social opportunities widen for communities, and individuals can move to new places with better education and health care - this is called assimilation.

Segregation can persist over time if new immigrants replace older ethnic groups: e.g. Brick Lane, London was once a Jewish area and is now a Bangladeshi area.

Some areas can become locked in a downwards spiral of deprivation, which slows down the assimilation process.

How may changes to land use by community groups, local and national governments or TNCs create challenges and opportunities for local people?

Why are there frequent tensions over the diversity of living spaces - especially between long-term residents and recent in-migrants who may seek change?

Tensions can be over economic issues, such as ew migrants undercutting long-term residents by charging less for contract jobs.

Tensions can be over cultural and social issues, often connected to wider political conflicts. For example, long-term residents may resent what they perceive as challenges to British values when immigrants bring cultural changes into an area.

Changes to the built environment can also provoke hostility: for example the building of mosques to serve immigrant Muslim communities may provoke hostility from long-term residents.

Hostility as a result of changes to place can lead to social exclusion. Social exclusion is when a group of people are shunned or not allowed to participate in the social life of a community.

How can management of cultural and demographic issues be assessed?

Measures of income and employment compared to other areas.

These can indicate successful management if ethnic minority groups show increasing incomes and reduced unemployment.

How can social progress be measured?

Reductions in inequality both between areas and within them as well as improvements in social measures of deprivation and demographic changes (e.g. improvements in life expectancy).

Indicated by improvement in IMD rankings.

How can the assimilation of different cultures be measured?

Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assimilates the values, behaviours, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.

Measured by levels of political engagement through voter turnout, the development of local community groups and reductions in ‘hate’ crime and racism.

Who are the stakeholders in urban change?

Government

Council

Residents

Business owners

Service providers

Local campaigners

How does perception of national and local strategies vary between different ethnicities and demographics?

Governance - success may be seen in terms of lowered crime rates and in terms of cost.

Users - success will be assessed in terms of their own individual circumstances: do they earn more? Do they feel safer?

Providers (land, housing) - landowners are interested in return on their investment; councils in local government election votes.

Influencers (local campaign groups) - success in in how far their particular campaign was advanced.

How can the changes that have taken place be judged?

Economic - innovation and diversification cause rapid change in the rural economy, but some stakeholders resent change away from the ‘rural idyll’ image of the countryside.

Demographic - seeing rural areas as needing to be protected from development reduces opportunities for young people, leading to population decline and an ageing population structure.

Cultural - counter urbanisation sees people rejecting the city for the countryside, but makes rural areas more urban in character (more culturally diverse).

What is meant by managing change?

Identifying issues that are causing problems, coming up with solutions, assessing the success, implementing change.