Birmingham

• location and importnce


  - near the centre of England. at the centre of the west midlands conouration

  - city of both national and international importance

  - second largest city in UK. has 5 major universities, with over 60,000 students from across the world
• Birmingham is a transport hub


  - railway links

  • direct links to many cities in the UK
  • planned development around the station will creat 14,000 new jobs, including 2000 new homes, bringing in £1.3 billion a year

  - Birmingham airport

  • had over 9 million costumers in 2014
  • has been redesigned to cope with the growth of up to 18 million costumers
  • the airport is a global communications hub,offering a wide range of destinations
  • the runway extension has allowed airport to take larger aircraft
• impacts on national andinternation migration

  - birmingham is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the UK

  - has one of the highest proportions of migrants from other parts of the UK

  - has a significant proportion of foreign migrants from a wide range of countries

  - has a wide range of social-cultural and recreational oppertunities

  - is Europe's'youngest city'
• migration to Birmingham 


  - grew as a free-trade city which attracted from all over the country

  - migration has given the city a rich cultrual heritage
• social/economic oppertunities 


  - largest number of businesses , offering a huge range of job oppertunities

  - has 5 universities and around 60,000 students, making birmingham a young dynamic city

  - strong historical culture: city centre museum, art gallery with over 2000 exhibits

  - bullring shopping centre is one of the biggest in UK

  - one of the greenest cities in europe

  - has an integrated transport system:

  • improved rail links, cycl paths and walkways, new train system
• environental oppertunities


  - city council have put forward a plan to make Birmingham a leading green city which will:

  • make city more attractive
  • encourage businesses
  • use open spaces to encourage social interaction

  - whats being done:

  • tree planting and development of greenways
  • green roofs
  • enhancing walkways and cycle tracks
  • creating blue corridoors alongside canals and rivers
  • encouraged walking and cycling
• urban change has created challenges

  declining industry can lead to development of brownfield sites, which fall into dereliction

  - rising unemployment and poverty can create a 'spiral of decline'
• social/economic challenges


  - urban deprivation

  • defined as having a QoL below average in a particular country
  • Birmingham was ranked 3rd most deprived city in England, after Manchester and Liverpool

  - by creating a 'spiral of decline', living conditions fall, and many people move away because of a lack of oppertunities, and reputation of the area declines

  • this discourages new industry from setting up in the area, leading to urban deprivation
  • may lead to lack of job oppertunities, and increasing number of poverty and unemployment
• economic challenges 


  - as population of Birmingham increases,so does the demand for housing, meaning building on either brownfield or greenfield sites

  • brownfield sites ae valuable for building on as they are often larger sites, but it can be expensive to build on as they often need clearing first
  • greenflied sites are usually cheaper, but it leads to urban sprawl and other problems e.g. traffic congestion

  - waste disposal

  • as population and number of businesses increase, so does the amount of waste. in 2015, only 30% of birmingham's waste was recycled
• strategies to manage waste in Birmingham

  - household waste recycling centres

  • collection points for recycling across Birmingham. in 2014 over 52,000 tonnes of rubbish was recycled

  - energy recovery

  • Birmingham operates a state-of-the-art energy recovery facility, which takes 350,000 tonnes of rubbish per year and converts it into electricity. However, the facility uses incineration to conver the waste, producing huge amounts of CO2
• impact of urban sprawl on the rural-urban fringe


  - rural-urban fringe is on the edge of the urban ladscape when urban and rural land uses are often mixed

  - it's an important area as it is under pressure from urban sprawl

  - range of land use demands on the rural-urban fringe:

  • development of transport networks
  • growth of suburbs and comuter settlements
  • edge of town retail parks
  • leisure developments e.g. golf courses
• growth of commuter settlements

  - in last 10 years, it's estimated that 42,000 people have moved from the centre to the outskirts of the city

  - the result of this has been a general increase in the number of people commuting to Birmingham each day for work, increases pressure on road networks and public transport, leading to traffic congestion and air pollution
• Longbridge regeneration plan 


  - aims to completely regenerate the former MG rover car plant site by building over 2000 new homes and creating 1000 jobs

  - the plan will include:

  • technology park
  • £70 million town centre with a number of large national stores
  • hotel and leisure developments including resturants and cafes
  • college
  • residential developments to suit different age ranges
  • large warehouses, within easy reach of the local road networks