contemporary urban environments

• Demographic


  • Large population
  • High incidence of well educated and enterprising people
  • Ethnic diversity and tolerance
• Technological


  • Good access by air
  • State of the art communication links
  • Centre of research and development
• Economic


  • Major hub of international banking, insurance, and financial services
  • Strong presence of transnational corporation headquarters
  • Prestigious equity market
• Political


  • National seat of democratic government
  • Host to head quarters of major international governing bodies
  • Government ambitions at national and local levels
• Cultural


  • Centre of excellence in arts and entertainment
  • Rich heritage
  • Prestigious universities and research institutes
• Urban sprawl


  The expansion of the urban area, usually with insufficient urban infrastructure such as roads, parks and utilities
• Peripheral growth


  Development of new growth poles and dispersed settlements
• Edge cities


  Surrounded by new forms of retail, leisure, industrial and business parks, miscellaneous warehousing and large employment buildings, ring roads and motorway interchanges
• High-density living and intensification of urban centres

  Vertical residential zoning such as super high-rise developments, small three-storey family homes and one room studio apartments
• Residential differentiation


  Different socio-economic groups likely to live geographically apart, also likely to be a housing shortage forcing the poorest into inadequate housing units
• Redevelopment and conservation


  Protection of historic cores, redevelopment of former industrial sites
• Infrastructure


  Ageing infrastructure likely to dominate with some areas poorly served
• Transit-oriented development


  Urban areas around railway stations and major road routes
• Car-dominated urban form


  Led to lower-density housing estates on the edge of cities and in more rural locations making edge-city leisure, retail and employment locations- more accessible, this raises challenges as less carbon-intensive futures are sought and as fuel prices rise
• Environmental problems


  Increased levels of pollution, health and waste concerns
• Town centre mixed developments

  • Interconnected residential, commercial, cultural, institutional and industrial uses
  • Experiential - often has events running from time to time in order to attract visitors
  • Multiple uses that are safely and easily accessed by pedestrians
  • Developments planned by local councils often with private investment
  • Aim is to attract people back to city centres
• Town centre mixed developments

  • Cornhill, Lincoln
  • Coal Drops Yard, London
• Cornhill, Lincoln


  • A recent development in Lincoln aiming to bring new shops and brands
  • Pedestrianised, very close to the train station and bus station/car parks
  • Also brought a new cinema- the Everyman
  • Shops - generally more niche such as lakeland, suit shops, the botanist and cosy club
  • Primary investment from the co-op group
• Coal Drops Yard, London


  • Renovated a yard close to King's Cross and attracted investment from independent brands
  • Was once a brownfields site
  • Reimaging from a meeting hub for criminals to a pricey shopping area
• Cultural and heritage quarters

  • Focus on the history or character of the city
  • Home to theatres, art galleries and historical buildings
  • Often developed by UK city councils to regenerate a former industrial area
  • The aim is to attract visitors, encourage growth and revitalise the local economy in the arts and creative industries
• Cultural and heritage quarters

  • Cultural Quarter, Lincoln
  • Spitalfields, London
• Cultural Quarter, Lincoln


  Includes the lincoln museum, cathedral, new theatre royal and usher gallery, as well as bars on steep hill, drill hall
• Spitalfields, London


  • The Huguenot area in spitalfields commemorates the huguenots- french protestants who settled in the UK
  • Includes walks, tours, and art etc
  • 50 new buildings, 20 new streets, 10 new major public spaces, restoration/refurbishment of 20 historic buildings and up to 2,000 new homes
• Fortress Developments


  • Use walls, guarded entrances, security firms and CCTV (up to 70 times a day) to defend or protect areas or spaces
  • Partly because of the costs involved they are usually used by higher socio-economic groups and therefore tend to promote social segregation
  • More recent strategies have focussed on the concept of 'designing out crime' through better urban architecture
  • Speed bumps to stop reckless driving
  • Often includes CCTV or high pitched sounds (mosquito alarms, heard only by young people and babies) to prevent loitering
  • Anti-homeless spikes and archetectrure
  • Sloped bus shelter seats
  • 'Defensible space' - Oscar Newman
  • High perimeter fencing
  • 'Secured by design', founded in 1989 and owned wholly by the association of chief police officers
  • Supports the idea of designing out crime
  • Disproportionately affects people with disabilities, homeless etc.
• Spring Hill, Lincoln


  Gated community
• US embassy, London


  • Laid out like a 'Norman Castle' according to Stephen Graham- due to the moat
  • Landscape design creates natural barriers, for example the large pond, and differences in elevation
• Camden, London


  Benches are designed so people cannot skate on them
• Gentrified areas


  • A form of inner-city regeneration
  • Involves affluent, young, middle class people moving to traditionally rundown areas of an inner city
  • Seen as an affordable route onto the property ladder
  • Property price increase of gentrified homes and those in adjacent areas
  • Positive multiplier effects in the wider neighborhood
  • Local services 'upgraded', eg. pubs to wine bars
  • Can lead to the exclusion of the less affluent and established local population
  • Local authorities may respond by investing in schemes that bring the community together such as a community centre
  • Local authorities may also request to set aside part of a development for affordable housing - set at a rate below market, or social housing where the rent is below market
• Gentrified areas


  • Notting Hill, London
• Edge Cities


  • Consequence of suburbanisation and decentralisation
  • Suburbs have matured into centres with city like qualities
  • Characterised by mixed office, residential and leisure spaces
  • Tend to be located in the outer suburbs, near to motorway or main road junctions
  • Most common in the USA where they developed as car ownership increased in the 1950s and 1960s
• Edge Cities


  • Los Angeles - Warner Centre Woodland Hills complex
• Los Angeles - Warner Centre Woodland Hills complex


  • 50 km from LA
  • Cheaper property prices meant they could buy larger homes
  • Felt safer and better to raise children
  • Close to universal studios and includes stores, food, education centres
  • Lots of energy
  • Richer people choose to leave to find better lives while poorer people are stuck downtown
  • Created in order to flee the socioeconomic issues within the centre of Los Angeles
• Postmodern Western cities


  • Postmodernists see western society as an outdated lifestyle that is impersonal and faceless
  • They embrace a variety of lifestyles and points of view such as ethnic diversity
  • Celebrate 'different' forms of architecture
• Edward Soja and 'Thirdspace'


  • First space is the built environment
  • Second space is the perception of an area – it is imagined by the residents. For example an inner city area might be perceived as a red light district, or a 'no-go' area which makes residents feel uncared for and wealthier residents may avoid the place
  • Third space is the way in which first and second space combine and affect people's lives
  • Soja realised there is not one correct way of understanding the geography of a city but lots of different interpretations of the same space
  • He focused on a sociological perspective– how different people see and experience the same city
  • This is a postmodern approach to urban geography
• Characteristics of postmodern cities

  • Fragmentation: cities are more ethnically diverse, but social and cultural inequalities and segregation are more common
  • Globalisation: shops, services and businesses are global brands and companies, rather than local
  • Simulation: architecture becomes an expression of art in PMWCs and so buildings often simulate heritage or other famous buildings/places
  • Beautification: architecture is more an expression of art than of function, so it can be very varied with decorative ornamentation more common which is linked to the heritage of the city
  • Fortification: security is a key concern, so fortress landscapes are often common
  • Information: PMWCs are dominated by the service and knowledge economies, many people are employed in these sectors with global companies commonly located here
  • Gentrification: a common process leading to change in the social landscape of cities, it also contributes to the increased polarisation between people in terms of wealth and access to services
  • Decentralisation: edge cities are commonly associated with PMWCs, especially as the term was first used in North America to refer to cities like Los Angeles
  • Privatisation: cities are becoming more privately owned, this could be public space, streets, squares or shopping cenres
• Social Segregation


  Refers to what people's lives are like - different groups are separated from each other as they may be concentrated in different areas of the city
• Types of social segregation

  • Voluntary (religious groups live near a place of worship)
  • Forced (e.g. roma community unable to access social housing, living in camps on city outskirts)
• Social segregation


  • Can cause lack of integration leading to prejudice and discrimination
  • People in some areas may have less access to education and jobs, widening inequality
  • Can have negative impacts on health and life expectancy
• In LICs, poorer areas may lack access to facilities like electricity, clean water, public transport, and be closer to industry and waste disposal, affecting health and wellbeing
• Economic inequality


  The unequal distribution of money amongst a population