factors influencing urban forms

• Urban Form


  The physical characteristics that make up a city, including its size and shape, population density, and how the city is configured or arranged - e.g land use patterns in different areas
• Map of Scunthorpe


  • Residential area next to a steel works, highly dense. Many schools and two colleges
• UK's urban form


  • One built up megacity region (London and Greater South East)
  • 6 metropolitan areas - Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle
  • 56 towns and cities with more than 125,000 people
• Physical Factors


  • Good water supplies, fertile soil, plentiful natural resources and good defensive positions
  • Coastlines, relief and the absence of flooding
  • Steep slopes are harder to build on and less accessible, so slums are more likely to be built on them
  • Large flat areas encourage low density settlements
  • The presence of water limits urban growth in those areas, so cities may grow along the course of a river
  • Shops and businesses are usually along the coastline rather than the centre of the city
  • Natural resources e.g coal and metal will encourage growth in the size and population of nearby cities
  • Some land types are easier to build on than others
• Human Factors


  • Trading centres, government policies, population movement, transport and infrastructure
• Globalisation


  Brought increased migration, which can be difficult to keep track of and manage
• Established sewage treatment/water works


  Need to keep up with demand
• Industry


  Tends to locate in centres of population
• Some industries


  Will be pulled towards the 'hardware' of wired networks or data and processing hubs where there is an abundance of high speed internet
• Government policies


  Can either restrict or encourage change
• Land value


  The main factor affecting land use in high income countries, traditionally higher in the centre of a city where accessibility is greatest
• Peak Land Value Intersection (PVLI)

  The point with the highest land value and from here land prices decline
• As time has gone by, the physical limitations are easier to overcome, and as such urban form today is more strongly influenced by human factors
• Shocks such as recession, migration, extreme weather, resource insecurity and demographic changes add extra pressure to urban centres