9.1 Patterns of urbanisation since 1945

• Urbanisation - an increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas
• Some cities have experienced population decline caused by:

  • economic contraction e.g Detroit USA
  • low fertility rates e.g Japan
  • emigration
  • natural disaster
• Megacity - city with 10 million or more residents
• Metacity - a city with over 20 million residents
• Causes of urban growth:

  • cities hold much of a natural economic, business and transportation and have higher levels of education, better health, easier access to social service and greater opportunities for cultural and political participation.
• Natural population growth:

  • urban areas have relatively young age profiles
  • it has traditionally been young adults migrating for higher paid jobs, better educational opportunities and greater social and cultural diversity
  • these migrants are in their fertile years so the rates of natural increase are higher in cities than in rural areas
• Rural to urban migration - movement of people from countryside to a built up area
• Rural to urban migration:

  Push factors:

  • population growth, causing over-farming, soil erosion and low yields
  • agriculture problems, including desertification
  • diseases and inadequate medical provision
  • natural disasters e.g floods
  • wars and civil strife
• Rural to urban migration:

  Pull factors:

  • employment in factories and service industries (better paid). Increasingly high demand for unskilled labour in cities
  • earning money from the informal sector e.g taxi driver
  • better quality social provisions e.g education and healthcare
  • a perceived better quality of life
• consequences of urbanisation and urban growth:

  • urban sprawl
  • shortage of houses in low income countries
  • shortage of affordable houses in high income countries
  • lack of urban services and waste disposal
  • unemployment
  • transport issues
• Urban sprawl - the spread of an urban area into the surrounding countryside
• urban sprawl

  • requires more roads and infrastructure. Less economically efficient to service low density rural areas compared to compact urban developments
  • wildlife habitat loss
  • more commuting and therefore fuel consumption and traffic congestion
  • increase air pollution, increased temperatures (urban heat island)
  • loss of farmland and open spaces, led to loss of fresh local food sources
• consequences of urbanisation:

  shortage of housing in LIC:

  • inadequate housing, which normally develop on the edges of cities or in areas of low value land prone to flooding or environmental hazards
  • settlements normally have limited access to basic infrastructure
  • Informal settlements such as Dharavi Mumbai
• consequences of urbanisation:

  shortage of affordable housing in HIC

  • UK rising demands of accommodation in cities has led to dramatic increase in both house prices and rental costs
  • In London house prices has rose by 70% between 2010 and 2019 due to gentrification (buying and renovating by wealthy individuals)
• consequences of urbanisation:

  lack of urban services and waste disposal

  • financial restraits in LIC can results in a lack of basic services
  • the amount of waste increases year on year which can lead to economic, physical and environmental restraints

  Unemployment and under employment

  Transport issues - increased traffic in cities has lead to congestion and pollution, damaging human health. The spread of houses into the suburbs have lead to many commuters.
• Sub-urbanisation - the movement of people from living in the inner parts of the city to living on the outer edges. Facilitated by development of transport networks and the increase in ownerships of private cars.
• urban resurgence - the regeneration, both economically and structurally of an urban area which has been through a period of urban decline.
• Gentrification - the buying and renovation of properties, often in more run down areas, by wealthier individuals
• edge city - a self contained settlement which has emerged beyond the original city boundary and developed as a city in its own right
• Sub-urbanisation: negatives

  • increasing social segregation within cities as the wealthy move out to the suburbs or gather in wealthy enclaves such as Belgravia. less affluent people remain in the inner cities.
  • diversion of funding away from inner city areas to the suburbs to pat for new infrastructure and services
• counter-urbanisation - the movement of people from large urban areas into the smaller urban areas or into rural areas.
• Counter-urbanisation: leads to growth in rural areas

  causes:

  • escape the air-pollution, dirt and crime of urban environment
  • land and houses are cheaper
  • commute
  • improvements in technology have allowed more freedom of location
• Counter-urbanisation: leads to growth in rural areas

  Effects:

  • affects the layout of rural settlements
  • tension with newcomers and the locals
  • increased value of houses
  • constructions of more executive houses
  • conversion of former farm buildings
  • increase in commuter railways
• Urban resurgence: causes and effects - movement of people back into the city due to regeneration of an urban areas which has been through a period of decline

  • 1970s & 80s former industrial cities of the UK experienced and manufacturing decline but have reinvented themselves of culture and commerce
  • driven by governmental led regeneration schemes. globalisation and technological advancements have facilitated the resurgence of some urban areas
  • however, the traditional community is lost, fewer homes are affordable, population rapidly growing and demolition of social housing due to low quality.
• urban resurgence in New Islington/Ancoat's Manchester

  • the end of the industrial revolution left huge factories vacant and social housing built for workers were poor quality
  • unemployment, drug problems, vandalism and burglary which led people moving out of the area

  Features:

  • 1700 new homes constructed, existing social housing improved and local facilities built (healthcare, primary school, village hall, cafes and restaurants), public transport added.
  • green improvements such as eco-park called cotton field park.
  • this attracted more affluent people into the area where gentrification occured
• urban resurgence in New Islington/Ancoat's Manchester

  Pros and Cons:

  • decreased derelict properties
  • increased house prices and very few kept for social housing
  • improved aesthetics
  • decreased crime rates
  • traditional community lost - lots of conflict and segregation
  • more buildings, higher emissions etc
• De-industrialisation - the long term decline of a countrys manufacturing and heavy industry as it moves towards a service and knowledge based economy.
• Causes of deindustrialisation:

  • mechanism - most firms can produce their goods more cheaply by using machines rather than people
  • competition from abroad - particularly rapid industrialising countries of the time such as India and China
  • reduced demand for traditional products as new materials and technologies have been developed
• Impacts of de-industrialisation:

  Economic

  • loss of jobs
  • closure of other businesses
  • loss of income in the service sector

  Social

  • increased unemployment
  • higher levels of deprivation
  • higher crime rates, alcohol, drug abuse etc

  Environmental

  • derelict land & buildings
  • long term pollution of land
  • deteriorating infrastructure
  • reduction in noice, land and water pollution
• Decentralisation - the movement of population and industries from the urban centre to outlying areas
• Decentralisation - Sheffield, Meadowhall site

  • Meadowhall opened 1990 - sub-urbs area
  • sheffield suffered from deindustrialisation of steel industries - unemployment and factories closed
  • built of brownfield site vacant due to deindustrialisation accessible by main roads
  • employment opportunities, encourages tourists and only smaller businesses in town centre so they can strive
  • pollution, inner city shops deserted, only few left barely anyone visits, crime rates increase in city centre and only consists of bars and clubs no place for older community (social segregation).
• deindustrilisation - Detroit, USA

  • migrated to work at 'big 3' auto companies (ford, general motor & chrysler)
  • faced competition by other countries - germany who had more efficient and new techniques
  • Big 3 relocated to other countries to cut costs due to bankruptcy
  • mass unemployment - working class and african americans
  • economic decline - poverty and crime rate increased and property values declined
  • population loss from 1.8 million to 700,000
  • white flight - refusal by blacks and whites to work side by side (racial tension), white ethnicity moved to the sub-urbs
• Urban policy - related to strategies chosen by local or central government to manage the development. of urban areas and reduce urban problems.
• urban development cooporations - 1970s-1990s

  • by 1979, many uk city centres were in catastrophic decline. the government created agents called urban development coorporation (UDC's), which used private sector funding to restore derelict areas
• urban development coorporations

  • the first UDC were established in 1981 in the London Docklands.
  • closure of docks led to severe economic decline, with job losses, dereliction, and social problems. warehouses, docks, and factories became redundant, leaving areas of urban wasteland.
  • aims of london docklands UDC - attract new buisnesses, improve the environment, create jobs (90,000) and build new houses (30,000) for professionals, new schools
• enterprise zone - 1981-present

  • enterprise zones established in areas with high unemployment. Aim to attract start up companies to the area to create jobs by reducing tax
  • by 1990 EZ's housed 500,000 companies and employed more than 100,000 people
• Stratford/olympic park regen - government policy

  • industrial area with a history of industrial and mechanical industries - area faced severe economic decline, unemployment and poor housing conditions
  • London development agency (LDA) worked to ensure the regeneration of stratford was aligned with the development of the olympic park
  • 10,000 new homes, reduce socio-economic segregation, job creation, westfield shopping centre, transport, public parks,