UK IN 21ST CENTURY

• define relief


  the height and shape of the land
• POPULATION DENSITY OF UK

  pop density = number of people living in a given area

  highest in cities, areas around cities

  mountainous regions = low densities
• problems with high population density

  • SHORTAGE OF AVAILABLE HOUSING

  in London, up to 60,000 new homes are needed each year to keep up with population growth. Shortage = increased housing prices

  • PRESSURE ON SERVICES

  EG healthcare and education, long waitlists
• RAINFALL PATTERNS IN UK

  • north and west high rainfall
  • south and east lower rainfall
  • higher in coastal areas
  • higher in areas of high elevation
• water stress + high population density

  areas with high population density use a lot of resources

  if area also has low rainfall =

  water stress - isn't enough water to meet everyone's needs
• RELIEF RAINFALL IN UK

  • moist air travels in from the Atlantic Ocean
  • mountains force air to rise
  • relief rainfall happens on WINDWARD side of mountain range = more rainfall in western UK
• LAND USE IN UK

  • most (70%) agricultural
  • arable farming = more common in south + east
  • grazing animals = more common in north + west
  • forest about 13%
• why does southeast England have a high population density?

  • flatter land = easy to build cities
  • good transport links
  • the City - financial heart of England = employment
• why does Highlands in Scotland have a low population density?

  • more remote and mountainous = areas less accessible
  • fewer job opportunities
• solution for water stress

  water stress - water demand exceeds rainfall over a long time period

  solution - pipe water from areas of high rainfall and low demand to areas of low rainfall and high demand
• housing shortage + greenbelts

  in SE England due to increasing population

  green belt - areas of land where building is illegal

  landowners do not want to sell their land = increasing in value, want to make profit
• how has UK's population increased?

  • NATURAL INCREASE
  • NET MIGRATION
• natural increase of UK's population

  birth rate - death rate
• net migration + UK's population 


  the difference between people coming to and leaving the UK
• UK AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL

  STAGE 4

  both birth rate and death rate are low

  advanced society

  infant mortality low, women choosing careers, marrying later and having fewer children

  contraception widely available

  death rates reflect ageing population = rise slightly
• distribution of ageing UK population

  • low concentration in LONDON and SOUTHEAST as there's large numbers of younger people at working age
  • high concentration in SOUTHWEST - warmer climate and peaceful place
  • high concentration in COAST - desire to retire in seaside for landscape
• CAUSES OF AGEING POPULATION IN UK

  • improved healthcare
  • older generations are healthier because they are now more aware of healthy diets and benefits of exercise, so are living longer
  • baby boomers born in population spike following WW2
• CHALLENGES OF AGEING POPULATION IN UK

  • 65% of state benefits go to people aged 65+
  • NHS needs more money - average spending double than that on working age
  • more money spent on care homes
  • care workers earn less
  • money on elderly could be spent on other services
• OPPURTUNITIES / BENEFITS OF AGEING POPULATION IN UK

  • retired people have lots of spare time so go to cinema, spend money on amusements, - 'GREY POUND'
  • many elderly people look after their grandchildren, reducing cost of childcare
  • many elderly people work for free
• GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO AGEING POPULATION IN UK

  • retirement age rises from 65 to 68
  • older people encouraged to remain fit
  • allowing immigration to increase working age people
  • policies encouraging families to have children EG free childcare can prevent UK entering Stage 5 of DTM

  STAGE 5 - death rate higher than birth rate
• ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN LONDON

  2001-2011

  ASIAN PEOPLE - increase by 7%

  WHITE BRITISH PEOPLE - decrease by 15%

  BY 2011

  WHITE NON-BRITISH - increase by 4.5%, Poland and Romania
• EXPLANATION FOR ETHNIC CHANGES IN LONDON

  • after WW2 European refugees
  • post-War Commonwealth colonies immigration
  • 1950s onwards African, Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi
  • EU enlargement 2004, Poland and Lithuania, free movement
• HOW IS UK'S ECONOMY CHANGING?

  • change in political priorities
  • change in employment sector
  • change in working hours
• change in UK's political priorities 1997-2007

  1997-2007, UK economy grew strongly, unemployment decrease

  the government priorities were:

  • encourage investment in new technology EG computing
  • investing in university education, leading to a more skilled workforce
• change in UK's political priorities, early 2008

  UK entered recession in 2008 - failed business, GDP decrease, unemployment increased

  government priorities changed:

  • supporting businesses so they didn't collapse - reduce unemployment
  • decreasing taxes on goods to increase spending and international trade
  • borrowing money from private companies and overseas investors
• changes in UK's political priorities post-2008 recession

  recession ended late 2009. government focused on paying off borrowed money and helping people find jobs

  • cutting spending on public services such as pensions, education and defence to raise money
  • provide training for jobseekers and support new businesses to decrease unemployment
• changes in UK's employment sector

  since 2001, jobs in quaternary sector have increased while secondary sector jobs decrease

  primary production jobs and tertiary sector remained fairly stable

  biggest growth in professional and technical jobs (EG law, computing, research)

  employment in manufacturing decreased most due to cheaper materials + overseas labour
• primary sector

  secondary sector

  tertiary sector

  quaternary sector

  • extracting raw materials/natural resources eg farming, mining
  • transforms raw materials to finished products eg construction, manufacturing
  • selling goods produced in primary/secondary sector eg healthcare, transportation
  • knowledge based industries eg computing
• changes in UK's working hours

  overall decrease

  34.7 in 2001 to 33.1 in 2014 - weekly

  increase in part time jobs and 0 hour contracts

  number of both parents in full-time work has increased since 2003

  government increased financial support for low-income working parents
• DEFINE ECONOMIC HUB


  place where economic activity is concentrated EG lots of businesses

  they have economic influence beyond the hub
• DEFINE GROWTH CORRIDOR


  a region of economic growth
• patterns of economic hubs core

  cities in England, SE because:

  • high population density
  • London = biggest economy in UK, majority of economic growth occurs here then spreads to other cities
  • near universities = skilled workforce
  • spread from London

  hubs in north have increased because

  • expensive to live and work in London
  • businesses move to cheaper areas for lower costs
• STRATFORD'S INDUSTRIAL PAST


  industrial = area with lots of factories where goods are manufactured

  • 1820s = dock
  • 1839 = railway introduced, became INDUSTRIAL HUB
  • significant transport hub between London and East
  • variety of manufacturing industries
• STRATFORD'S DEINDUSTRIALISATION

  deindustrialisation = an area where industry is declining, factories shut down

  • late 20th century = period of severe economic decline, manufacturing industries shut down
  • 1990s, railways shut down
  • high unemployment rates

  BROWNFIELD SITE
• define Brownfield site


  A SITE IN AN URBAN AREA EITHER DERELICT OR WITH OLD BUILDINGS, THAT COULD BE USED FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
• STRATFORD TODAY


  2012 0lympics = huge amounts of regeneration to the area

  • new homes
  • new facilities such as school, healthcare centre
  • better transport links (rail, tube)
• WHY IS STRATFORD REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT?

  London as:

  • excellent transport links to rest of city via underground + overground
  • massive boost to regional economy - many businesses located there, lots of jobs available for Londoners
  • Olympic Park for locals to use new sports facilities, EG in Aquatics Centre and Velodrome
• WHY IS STRATFORD NATIONALLY SIGNIFCANT?

  • excellent transport links to other places in the UK, EG Manchester and via the railway
  • new Olympic Park (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) brings visitors from all across the UK = major tourist destination
  • tourists - see cycling in the Velodrome, use slide in the Orbital
  • West Ham's stadium is in Olympic park - lots of football fans
• UNITED NATIONS


  193 countries, UK one of them

  aim of UN - promote peace + democracy + human rights

  UK one of only 5 countries which has important say over any UN military action
• EUROPEAN UNION


  group of countries in Europe with aim of freedom of movement of people and trade

  UK has significantly less influence in EU due to BREXIT