6. Urban Land Use Changes

• Urban Land Use Changes

  • Every urban area undergoes changes over time and is dependent on the needs of the urban region
  • What works for one city may not work for another or be relevant to a town or area
• Changes to the CBD

  • Pedestrian zones
  • Shopping centres/malls
  • Leisure
  • Brownfield sites
  • Safety
• Pedestrian zones


  Car-free zones and are areas for pedestrians only. Traffic is severely restricted or banned and its aim is to provide a safe, accessible area for pedestrians to improve the volume of people for businesses
• Shopping centres/malls


  Centralising businesses for people is convenient and increases spending. Almost all centres include car parks with a variety of stores and activities - food, clothing, cinemas, games, jewellers and more. They are beneficial to both shoppers and businesses; costs are cut for maintenance and advertising and there is a ready-made clientele from other businesses
• Leisure


  • Traditional urban leisure activities such as parks, museums, theatres, private clubs, opera houses etc
  • Multi-plex cinemas, IMAX, sports centres, niche marketplaces and cafes, waterfront developments and smart nightspots
• Brownfield sites


  Disused shops and offices are converted into desirable residential lofts or trendy places for people to meet or work
• Safety


  Many urban areas are now monitored through CCTV, management of traffic during the day or night, pedestrian-only zones or limited parking have all added to the safety of people in urban areas
• Changes to the inner city

  • Deindustrialisation
  • Centres of poverty and low-cost housing
  • Waste grounds with derelict buildings
  • Cycle of boom and bust resulting in urban blight
  • Rise in costs of land value, rents, council taxes, and building restrictions
  • Redevelopments have allowed the CBD to spread and cleared cheap, high-rise blocks of flats to help with the pressures of urban growth
• Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)


  Large-scale projects that brought about major changes to inner cities with the help of private and public investments
• Urban Development Corporations


  • London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) redeveloped Canary Wharf
• Although the LDDC ceased to exist in 1998, development still continues to this day
• Canary Wharf


  A new financial district for London attracting a younger workforce
• Changes at the urban fringe

  • New housing estates
  • Retail parks
  • Industrial estates
  • Business parks
  • Science parks
  • Airports
  • Motorways and ring roads
• Retail parks


  Large sphere of influence due to being easily accessible, ample free parking, concentration of businesses in one place, longer opening hours, large choice of goods
• Industrial estates


  Space for expansion, purpose-built road networks, cheaper land, sited away from housing
• Business parks


  Space is created for a nicer working environment, easier access and commute for workers. The area is specifically created for office space and includes a conference hotel
• Science parks


  Purpose-built to encourage research and development (R&D), high-tech industries and other quaternary activities, close to a university and transport networks (including airports) to allow for knowledge transfer
• Airports


  Increase in air traffic and low-cost carriers, but also airports feed into businesses on the fringe through imports and exports but also knowledge with speakers and investors having easy access to businesses
• Motorways and ring roads


  Feed into ease of access for residents, workers, lorries, buses, cars etc.
• Urban sprawl is caused by cities being centres of attraction, which creates an ever-changing population density and inward investment which increases opportunities for young people and increases growth
• Urban growth if left unchecked leads to urban sprawl
• Most of this change has been at the urban fringes due to availability of space for housing, retail and manufacturing - including options for expansion, the cost of land is cheaper to develop, and better access to main arterial routes for private and heavy transport
• Problems caused by urban sprawl

  • Loss of farmland to build new homes
  • Loss of traditional 'green spaces' - school fields, parks etc are being built on
  • Impact on ecosystems - natural and built (removal of trees increases pollution levels etc.)
  • Creates impermeable surfaces and surface run-off
• Urban redevelopment


  Improving an urban area through demolishing, reconstructing or substantially renovating existing buildings and infrastructure - there is a distinct change in the area
• Urban renewal


  Improvement of existing buildings, parks, roads, and industrial areas - the area remains recognisable
• Government, public and private investors are involved in urban redevelopment and renewal to varying degrees
• Gentrification


  Development of a city neighbourhood from low to high-value. A poor area experiences an influx of educated or wealthy individuals who gradually renovate and push up property values, forcing out poorer families as the area becomes too expensive to live in. The character and demographic make-up of the neighbourhood is changed completely through new services and functions of the area.