Urban Issues and Challenges

• Tectonic hazards include the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
• Extreme weather event Somerset Floods occurred in 2014.
• The pond is an example of a small scale ecosystem.
• The Amazon Rainforest, The Sahara Desert, and The Sahel are examples of hot deserts.
• Local parks include Brockwell Park and Archbishops Park.
• Trees in green spaces produce oxygen, reduce the risk of flooding, provide habitats for wildlife, and provide spaces for recreational use.
• Strategies to protect our green space include connecting green areas to make them more accessible and creating new green spaces, such as the Garden Bridge.
• There are 700 roof gardens in London.
• Central London parks include Regents Park, Hyde Park, and Green Park.
• The Sahel is the fringe of a hot desert.
• River Tees, Somerset Flood, and Dorset are examples of physical landscapes in the UK.
• Urbanisation is the increase in people living in towns and cities.
• In 1950, 33% of the world’s population lived in urban areas, whereas in 2015, 55% of the world’s population lived in urban areas.
• It is predicted that 70% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050.
• Urban growth is the increase in land covered by cities due to urbanisation.
• Urban growth is caused by natural increase and rural to urban migration.
• Natural increase occurs if a country has a higher birth rate than death rate, the population will naturally increase.
• Rural to urban migration is the movement of people from the countryside to cities, caused by push factors (pushing people out of rural areas) and pull factors (pulling people to cities).
• Push factors are factors that push people out of an area, such as negative factors that make people want to leave an area.
• Pull factors are factors that pull people to an area, such as positive factors that make people want to move to an area.
• Urban sprawl in London is due to many people wanting to live in urban areas due to better jobs, higher incomes, more entertainment options, better education…etc., but there not being enough houses for the demand.
• Urban growth and change in London has created challenges such as derelict areas, social inequality, and urban sprawl.
• During the industrial revolution, many factories opened in urban areas, leading to urban growth and people moving to urban areas for new jobs.
• Sustainable water supply and use in Freiburg involves collecting and recycling water through water harvesting systems, preventing overuse of water through dual flush toilets and water meters, and using water from the River Dreisam.
• Sustainable energy supply and use in Freiburg involves using renewable energies such as solar power, preventing overuse of energy through incentives and energy meters, and planning to be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2050.
• London’s population is growing by 100,000 people per year, however only 20,000 new homes are being built.
• Social inequality in London is due to a lack of investment from the government, affecting exam results, employment, income, health…etc.
• Urban greening in Freiburg involves afforestation, river conservation, and planting 44,000 trees, making up 40% of the city, with 56% being nature conservation areas.
• In the 1950s, de-industrialisation occurred due to boats getting too big for the docks and factories moving abroad due to cheap labour and less strict environmental laws, resulting in many factories closing down and people moving away from the area, leading to many inner city areas, such as the London Docklands, becoming abandoned, run-down and deprived.
• One option for building new homes in London is to build on brownfield sites, which involves redeveloping derelict land in city centres.
• Most megacities are located in LICs and NEEs, with 65% of all megacities located in LICs and NEEs.
• More entertainment options (restaurants, theatre, cinemas, shopping), better healthcare, education, housing…etc.
• Bus improvements in London include making journeys shorter & more enjoyable, using 2600 hybrid buses that reduce emissions by 30-40%, and using information boards at >2500 bus stops that tell customers when the next bus is due.
• An integrated transport system is a system that links different forms of public transport to make journeys easier, encouraging more people to use public transport and reducing congestion and pollution.
• In 1970 Freiburg set itself the goal to become a sustainable city.
• Traffic management strategies are used to reduce the risk of traffic congestion.
• Passengers in London are able to use oyster cards and bank cards to pay for journeys on all forms of public transport, making it easy to use and encouraging more people to use it.
• Sustainable cities focus on preventing the overuse of water, preventing the overuse of electricity and generating energy from renewable energies, urban greening, and creating and protecting green spaces within the city.
• Sustainable cities are cities that meet the needs of the people who live in them today, without meaning that future generations do not have their needs met.
• Freiburg is located in south-west Germany.