uk in the 21st century

• the population density is the total population / the total land area in km2
• Population density

  UK - 255 people per km2

  China - 139 people per km2

  Australia - 3 people per km2
• choropleth map - presents data using colour mapping symbology techniques
• UK highlands - sparse

  human - lack of jobs (just primary jobs like farming), poor infrastructure - roads and electricity, harder to get to highlands - sparse resources (Post)

  physical - hilly which is hard to build on, colder as it is a 1 degree drop every 100m of latitude, less fertile soil, wetter
• London

  Human

  tourists and attractions

  capital - parliament

  wide range of jobs

  infrastructure - m25
• London

  physical:

  river thames - drinking water and farming

  flat land - easy to build on

  has a temperature climate
• land use

  in the west - lots of hill farming which takes up the largest area - pastoral farming e.g. sheep

  in the east - there is mainly arable land but around urban areas there is lots of dairy farming

  urban areas - very dense and usually surrounded by dairy farming, more dense than arable areas

  rural areas - sparse population and mainly hill farming, more sparse than arable areas
• rain and relief:

  seawater evaporates in the Atlantic ocean and creates water vapour in the air, the prevailing wind from the southeast blows the vapour towards the UK. when moist air reaches the mountains in the southwest it is forced to rise. the water vapour condenses as the higher it goes the colder it is. The east of Britain gets less rain as it has already occurred in the west
• water stress solutions:

  • building reservoirs - stores more water but long time to build and climate change will create evaporation
  • drinking salt water - Thames has a system for 1 million people for £270 million but it uses a lot of electricity and costs are going up
  • water meter - charging people for water use - since 1990 houses have reduced water loss by 10-15% but rich people use lots
  • water saving showers - mixing air with water - saves up to 60% - reduces water stress but not effective in areas of high water stress
• water stress:

  pressure on water supplies caused by demand exceeding or threatening to exceed supply - the southeast suffers the most
• housing shortages:

  london needs 40,000 houses a year. in 2011 less than half were built. since 2013 population has increased a lot and old people are staying in houses meant to big families which creates a backlog of people needing houses. inflation constantly raising house prices so no one can afford to build or buy houses
• gentrification - renovating houses so that it conforms to middle-class taste. however poorer places are bought and turned into expensive houses sp rent goes up everywhere and poorer people can't afford it anymore
• ebbsfleet - close to london and major motorways (17 minute train to London) so it was thought a good place to build more houses and had the potential of building 15,000 houses but after 8 years only 150 were built
• population pyramids:

  a diagram which shows the number of males and females in a country that are in different age groups

  what do they show:

  the total population so the country can plan the resources for more people

  the number of people working as it affects how much money a country gets - economy - and so we know how much education is needed

  changes in birth rates - prepare education needs

  changes in death rates - may suggest new disease so healthcare would need to improve
• migration - since 2004 poland joined the EU and the UK had no restrictions on migration so many polish people came to the UK which created a lack of jobs. nut these migrants do the work that many English people won't do. migration since 2004 has led to a population increase
• natural increase - when birth rate is higher than death rate
• natural decrease - death rate is higher than birth rate
• the demographic transition model:

  stage 1 - high stationery - the death rate is high so need more babies, no contraception so big families. the birth rate is high because of the lack of contraception so families are big and it's useful as children help out with jobs. the death rate is so high because healthcare is bad and disease knowledge is bad - the overall population stays the same as birth and death rates are similar
• the demographic transition model:

  stage 2 - high birth rate, declining death rate as healthcare and sanitation increases, e.g. sewage systems prevent cholera. overall population increases - natural increase
• the demographic transition model:

  stage 3 - birth rate declines because of improvements in contraception, death rate remains low. overall population increasing but at a slower rate than before
• the demographic transition model:

  stage 4 - total population is high but is balanced by a low birth and death rate, birth control is widely available and there is a desire for smaller families
• the demographic transition model:

  stage 5 - high population but going into decline as the aging population is dying. the continued desire for small families as people are opting to have children later in life
• aging population

  an aging population is when people over 65 increase. this population structure distorts the proportion of people in middle and old ages
• dependency ratio: a short hand measure that compares the proportions of a population that is dependant on the proportion that's economically active - non working people / working - (0 to 16 + 65+) / 16-64
• causes of the aging population:

  • NHS - better healthcare and treatment (e.g prostate cancer), better knowledge of treatments and better screening for catching cancer
  • more exercise - loosens joints and strengthens hearts, helps fight diseases
  • reduced smoking - the cost of cigarettes has increased so fewer people do it, reducing chance of health problems (lung cancer)
• effects of the aging population:

  volunteers in charities (Oxfam) - community service

  they take holidays in the off-peak seasons - levels tourism so its not overcrowded - helps local economies for places that rely on tourists for income

  BUT

  healthcare costs are high - old people need lots of specialists

  affects their child's life - child needs to look after parents - time consuming
• responses to the aging population:

  State pension is a 68 but will increase - boosts the economy and pays for schools and healthcare

  Old people are given yearly winter fuel allowance up to £300 but fuel prices rising so this has little effect

  Big businesses benefit from their regular customers

  Multiplier effect - money spent in local communities will be passed around the community - boosting the economy
• Boston: in the northeast of England, close to coast and north of London

  migrants -

  good - multiplayer effect creates more money for the economy, willing to work jobs that the English won't, they pay 12% more in taxes than they get in benefits

  bad - no infrastructure for migrants, can't control borders, put a strain on public services, undercut the wages of British workers
• Boston

  ethnic diversity: since 2001 Boston has been 10% Polish

  since 2001 the number of Polish went from 40 - 3,000 and a number of Eastern Europeans went from 1500 to 8000. in 2007, Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU - more migrant

  population structure: in 2001 the population increased by 50% due to birth rate increasing by 1000 between 2001 and 2011. 1500 20 to 24-year-olds due to young immigrants
• UK political changes since 2001

  Tony Blair (1997 to 2021) was labour and focused on education and healthcare. since 2010 conservatives ruled and focused on helping the economy and boosting businesses
• UK employment sector changes since 2001

  since 2001 industry has gone down by 9.2% from 28% to 18.8% and services have increased by 9.2% because tech has advanced and there are now machines that do the industry work. agriculture - a lot of tech so small employment
• UK working hours changes since 2001

  more women work, more households have both parents working (26 to 29% change), decrease in men - used to be 40% worked 48 hour weeks and now its 31% - 9% decrease
• UK economic hubs

  when similar businesses cluster in a particular geographic area - making that area successful

  Aberdeen - oil and gas industry - near the North Sea so lots of oil can easily be extracted - lots of work available

  Cambridge - high tech - silicon fen - high number of successful students from near by universities

  London - financial and law hub - lawyers make patents for high-tech industries in Cambridge

  Bicester village - retail, high end shops, people get there easily, ted baker and north face
• core UK economic hub - Oxford - high tech hub

  in early 2000s high tech hubs grew by 40%

  • magdelen college controls a science and tech centre with other 60 companies (IBM and sharp labs) and 2400 people - positive economic and social effect - graduates from the college have a better change of getting a job at the companies
  • house prices have risen and forced people out because its becoming more popular - negative regional effect
  • employment in teaching has grown by 50% from 1998 to 2008 as more young people are employed by tech companies so increased birth rate so more teachers are needed
• UK political role in global conflict: somalia

  conflict:

  • after land was settled by Somali people in 1960, disputes broke out between its neighbor (Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya)
  • president Siad Borra was overthrone in 1991 leaving the country in chaos, no government for 20 years
  • rival warlords fighting for somalia - led to droughts and famines between 1992 and 2010 - 2012 killing 500,000 people
  • somalia now linked to Islamic terrorism and piracy increasing conflicts - taking boats from indian ocean and holding for ransom
• UK political role in global conflict: somalia

  UK involvement:

  the UK sent 70 troops to somalia in 2015 to help UN peace keeping forces deal with extreme Islamic group al-shabaab - more effective as it reduces famine at the root of problems

  the UK department for international development gave an extra 200 million in aid - to deal with the famine in south Sudan and somalia
• UK political role in global conflict: Somalia

  impact of the conflict

  500,000 people died as a result of the famines of 1992 and 2010 to 2012 - tens of thousands fled to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food

  many thousands have been displaced within Somalia due to Islamic terrorism (al-Shabaab). they live in overcrowded camps with poor access to food, water, and sanitation
• UK media exports and global influence:

  bake off - licensed in over 20 countries, family friendly, competitive

  top gear - shown in 150 countries, global audience of 350 million

  TV - most successful UK media export - £1.28 billion in 2013 to 2014
• Film industry

  £1.1 billion in 2013

  elstree - star wars

  film tax releif made over 20 million in 2007 - 13/14% - every £1 made £12 given back

  in 2013 - 66,000 were employed in UK film, 42,000 of that worked in film production
• film tax

  allows companies using british actors, technicians, and studies to claim up to 20% of which boosts films as they pay less tax and boosts UK economy through multiplier effect