geography - option G

- changing urban systems - variety of urban environment - urban environmental and social stresses - building sustainable urban systems for future

living trends

living trends

• for the first time in the history more people are living in urban areas rather than rural

• reasons: natural change, migration

trends in migration

centripetal (moving or tending to move towards a center) population movements:

• job opportunities (less in rural areas, lower wage, less physical jobs, less changing factors)

• social aspect (entertainment, better place to socialize, not everybody knows you)

• people are forced to move towards urban areas, if they are pushed out and there is not enough land for them in rural areas

 

centrifugal (moving or tending to move outside of the center) population movements:

• social aspect (peace, feeling of community)

• air pollution

• safety risks (traffic, crime rates)

• lack of space (not many free places to live)

• high cost of living (expensive apartments, parking spaces, etc.)

commuting

• as we get older we cannot drive so well, so we depend on public transport

• time spent on public transport and commuting is a big disadvantage

gentrification

the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often displacing current inhabitants in the process

• higher in MEDC

urban growth over time

case study: Lagos and Sao Paulo

aspects:

• transport

• infrastructure improvements

• sanitation

• water

• waste disposal

• telecommunication

deindustrialization

• a city loses its industrial power

example: Detroit and Walbrzych

aspects:

• many buildings are abandoned

• poverty

• crime rates are higher

• divorce

characteristics of urban places

• site - precise location (geographical coordinates)

• situation - describes location with relation to other circumstances (ex. that it is located near a river)

• function - justification of its presence (ex. residential, economic, administrative, transportation, scientific/educational)

• land use

• hierarchy of settlement

• growth process

model of a city (types)

1) Burgess’ concentric model

2) Hayt’s sectoral model

3) multiple nuclei model

brownfield vs greenfield site

brownfield site - any land that has already been built on

• requires some compromises

• often in the city, therefore attractive for businessmen

• difficulties with the city (traffic jams, problems with delivery, etc.)

greenfield site - any land that hasn't been built on before

• cheaper

• more flexible with the design

• has to be built from scratch

CBD (central business district)

• more offices than apartments (because it will be expensive for occupants + office generates profit)

• low population density

• highest buildings

• high number of workers (low number of residents)

• traffic restrictions

population density (factors)

• water access

• natural obstacles (temperature, mountains, rivers, etc.)

• natural advantages [usually for rich people] (lower temperature in the hills)

• land values (poorer people have to live wherever it is available and don't have choice)

• ethnicity

bid-rent theory

price and demand of real estate changes depending on the distance from the city center

why ethnicities live together?

• same language (social, economic)

• similar food taste (social)

• same skin color and clothing (social)

• similar religion

• national holidays

areas of deprivation

space of people who lack something (usually basic)

Kibera, Kenya

• biggest slum in Africa

• only two train rails

• near the river -> water source <- the water is polluted and can result in diseases

• cheap living (not favorable place to live)

• deprivation of basic security (especially for women)

favelas in Rio

• additional risks (apart from those already connected to the reality of slums) connected with a massive slope (land-slides)

differences in rural and urban areas

• temperature

• air humidity

• wind

• overcast

• precipitation

urban heat island effect

refers to an urban area being significantly warmer than its rural are surroundings due to human impact

• concrete having low albedo (doesn't reflect the energy)

• more air pollution (more greenhouse gases)

• use of lots of electricity (ex. AC)

• industrial buildings that generate a lot of energy (heat)

• heat leads to water bodies to evaporate more (higher temp >> lower air humidity)

• quick exchange of water (no time for evaporation)

• taller buildings are a barrier for wind

• specific patter of winds in a city

social and environmental stresses of urban heat island effect

• poses a danger to people's health (heat strokes, dehydration, etc.)

• people being bad-tempered during heat waves

• long term building deterioration

• adds up to the global warming

management of urban heat island effect

• replanting trees

• reducing air pollution

• constructing better buildings to reduce air conditioning use

• finding ways to help people manage the heat (ex. water curtains)

• increasing albedo of buildings (painting them white)

smog

(smoke + fog) = CO2 + SOx + soot

• photochemical smog //L.A. type// (created when there is a lot of NOx from combustion engines)

smog management

• KAWKA in Wroclaw (replacing old stoves)

• Large cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou restricted the number of cars on the road and started introducing all-electric bus fleets. 

traffic congestion impacts

• road rage

• pollution

• worse health

• lower economic productivity

higher traffic congestion --> higher population

lower traffic congestion --> lower population

pattern: city center more congested than outer city parts

trend: depending on working hours and/or season congestion can be higher or lower

noise impacts

• lack of rest

• disturbance during work

• reduced hearing

congested land

land that cannot be used twice

• example: Park Mieszczanski in Wroclaw

  • before it was a military base, but it was changed into residential area

  • citizens wanted a green area, while developers wanted to build up the area

  • not a lot of green areas in the city center so it would serve others too

     

    example: Vila Autodromo in Rio

    • people were evicted from their homes, because they didn't represent "luxury"

    example: Nigeria

    • the city destroyed houses of poor people despite court ruling otherwise

social deprivation

 limited access to society's resources due to poverty, discrimination, or other disadvantage

• posting some initiatives online >> people without internet

• written information >> people who are illiterate

• providing only one language in school >> kids from abroad can't learn

• racial segregation/racism

cycle of deprivation

this is a shorthand for what can happen when people or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, crime, bad health and family breakdown; these problems are linked and mutually reinforcing

managing social deprivation

study cases: krzywy komin (Wroclaw), Brazil

managing crimes

• big fat cat in Barcelona

• lights on the street

• more police and police patrols

• cctv

urban ecological footprint

• measured in gha (a theoretical measure) // its theoretical since it measure different aspects that can't be added together

• how much a city needs to satisfy its needs compared to how much is needed to tackle the waste it generates

how to calculate?

PL x WRO = 4,5 x 700 000 = 3 150 000

area of WRO --> 3150000 / 250000 = 126 --> so Wroclaw should be 126 times bigger to tackle the waste it generates

eco city

a human settlement modeled on the self-sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystems

strategies:

• changing habits

• car-free zones

• renewable sources of energy

disadvantages:

• expensive

• hard to implement in the whole city

smart city

is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types  of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data

strategies:

• Masdar, UAE - an isolated city on a desert built using smart technological solutions to make living there bearable

• for concrete they are using recycled metal waste and timber(?),             as the usual material would be destroyed by underground salt water

• they are using their wood waste and reusing it in the project

• for transport they are using smart cars, with no drivers and sensors   that could determine whether there is some obstruction on the road

• a system that collected data and made sure that the citizens are environment friendly

 

• Songdo, South Korea - a city created from scratch

• they took ideas from cities that "work" and put them together

• at first there were no people there, but that changed in 2014

• every aspect of public life can be dealt with using a single keycard, which is a door key, public transport ticket, and payment device, all in one

• the city uses the data generated to optimize energy usage, educate the inhabitants, and make them aware of how resources are being used; for example, in the apartments, monitors are installed which praise – or admonish – the persons living there, depending on whether they are reaching ambitious energy-saving goals or not

• trash is automatically moved to the collection point (no traditional    pick-up system); there are no trashcans around the city

• CCTV around the city monitoring basically everything from traffic to actual people; its goal is to improve safety

• there is little culture and entertainment around Songdo

against:

• a city in Mexico refused to be "smart", because that meant that their culturally significant landmarks were destroyed