The majority of changes in urban areas are due to
urbanisation. Urbanisation means an increase in percentage of the population
living in urban areas (rather than rural areas). This is caused partly by more
people being born in urban areas than rural, but mostly because of rural-urban
migration. Congestion, lack of space and pollution are real problems caused by
an increased number of people living in urban areas. Several changes have
occurred in recent years to help reduce the problems.
First: Congestion. Many of the UKs largest cities were built
hundreds of years ago and as such were not designed to withstand the number of
cars which drive through our streets on a daily basis (particularly during rush
hour). Many cities have implemented the generic go-to systems of Park and Ride
schemes, pedestrianisation and improving public transport. London however, has
gone many steps further. In February 2003 the congestion charge was introduced
into central London. Using number plate recognition technologies, cars were
monitored against the database of people who have paid to enter the congestion
zone. The charge (currently £10 a day) is set to deter people from entering the
city and the money collected is invested into improving public transport.
Another major change was introducing the Barclays Bike Scheme, where people can
borrow bikes for a minimal cost, for short journeys around the city. Bike lanes
have also been added to reduce the number of accidents involving cyclists. To
coincide with the Olympics in 2012, a number of underground lines were extended,
or improved, to allow greater access and fewer delays getting into and around
London.
The second problem is lack of space. The only real solution
is to build upwards and to use space economically.
Pollution is the third issue mentioned above. This air
pollution, or smog, affects most major cities and is seen as a haze
(particularly noted to be seen in Los Angeles). The methods used to reduce
congestion will also reduce pollution because fewer motor vehicles are in the
CBD to produce the pollution. Other changes which can be made to reduce
pollution include: banning heavy goods vehicles from CBDs altogether, providing
more bins (including recycling bins) to reduce litter within the CBD and also
developing cleaner fuels.
Other issues in need of change in Urban areas include,
overcrowding, poor-quality housing as well as lack of open space. Many of these
issues are improved during regeneration projects. Various regeneration projects
have been mentioned throughout my blog - in the Urban Structure of MEDCs blog
post I mentioned gentrification and gave Clarendon Park as an example. Gentrification
is just one of many forms of urban regeneration. The table below details some
of the other ways in which urban areas change…
The topic in teaching…
There are plenty of case studies about regeneration (I’ll
look into Notting Hill in my next blog post). Below is a really good link from
the Royal Geographical Society on the urban regeneration of east London. This
could be used as a basis for a lesson, or even the basic information given to
students, before they are set off to collect more information on east London’s
regeneration, to present back to the class.
References
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/urban_environments/urbanisation_medcs_rev1.shtml
http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/IGCSE+Settlements+and+GCSE+Settlements
http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/7F628840-98F9-4E52-9BFD-E4CBBDAF1EEB/0/KS3_FactSheet_EastEndregeneration_2.pdf
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/geography/settlements/revise-it/urbanisation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge
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