3. Urbanisation in MEDCs

• Urbanisation means an increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas compared to rural areas. An urban area is a built-up area such as a town or city. A rural area is an area of countryside.

• As a country industrialises, the number of people living in urban areas tends to increase. The UK and many other MEDCs urbanised during the 18th and 19th centuries. People migrated from rural areas (due to the mechanisation in farming) to urban areas where there was employment in the new factories. The area of cities known as the inner city developed during this time as rows of terraced housing were built for workers.

3.A Problems of Urbanisation

• Urbanisation can cause problems such as transport congestion, lack of sufficient housing, over-rapid growth and environmental degradation. Many cities display particularly sharp inequalities in housing provision, health and employment.

• Some people try to escape these problems by moving away from the city - a process called counter-urbanisation. Long term, however, the solution must be to make cities more sustainable.

3.B Problems in the CBD

• As more people move to the edge of towns and cities, traffic congestion may get worse. Many people will drive their cars into the city centre to get to work.

• It is compounded by people being brought into city on large roads or motorways. These roads then link up with smaller, older, narrower roads in the city centre. This causes a bottleneck and congestion.

• Some cities have tried to manage this problem by introducing traffic management schemes. These schemes may include:– Park and ride schemes.– Cycle lanes.– Congestion charging schemes, such as those in Durham

and London.– Car-pooling, as used in the USA, to encourage people to

share cars.– Low Emission Zones, as in London.

• Local councils have also tried to make the roads in urban areas safer by introducing traffic calming, pedestrian zones, vehicle-exclusion zones and permit-only parking schemes.

Reducing congestions in cities:

• Park and ride scheme: People park in car parks on the edge of a settlement and catch regular buses into the centre.

• Pedestrian areas: Pedestrianised areas are designated as pedestrian only zones.

• Permit holder parking: This means that people must have a permit to park in that area. This reduces the number of people driving in to towns and cities as parking opportunities are restricted.

Reducing congestions in cities:

• Vehicle exclusion zones: certain types of vehicles are excluded from certain parts of a city, eg large vehicles may not be allowed to enter narrow roads or residential areas.

• Car pooling: people are encouraged to share cars. This has been used in a lot in the USA.

• Traffic calming: roads narrowing and speed bumps make traffic move slower around narrower streets. Narrow roads may restrict the type of vehicle that can enter certain parts of the city.

More Problems in CBD

• Another recent problem that we find in the CBD is the City Centre Retailing Decline: as Out-of-town shopping centres have become more common, shops in the CBD have had to close down. This have left a “hollow” or empty area called the “Doughnut effect” which makes unemployment to rise and can lead to neighbourhoods degradation.

3.C Problems in the inner city

• Inequalities exist in all urban areas. Inequality means extreme differences between poverty and wealth, as well as in people's well-being and access to things like jobs, housing, and education. Inequalities may occur in:– Housing provision– Access to services– Access to open land– Safety and security

• Often people who live in inner-city areas experience a poor quality of life. This is because the inner-city is typically a zone with older housing and declining industry. The diagram below compares the quality of life for someone living in an outer London borough with that of someone who lives in an inner London borough.

Graph showing quality of life in Inner London

Graph showing quality of life in Outer London

• Governments and planners often step in to help redevelop run-down inner-city areas. Inner-city redevelopments may improve the physical environment of the area and improve the quality of housing.

• However, it can also create even greater inequalities because the local residents may not be able to afford to live there anymore. Often the old industrial jobs are replaced by skilled jobs and new people move to the area.

3.D Problems in the urban rural fringe:• Social and demographic changes are leading

to a greater demand for housing. People are living longer, and choosing to marry later, and in recent years there has been a rise in the number of single-parent families. Added to this, Europe is experiencing immigration from other countries.

• The result is an ever-larger number of smaller households, all requiring accommodation.

• Building new affordable homes in urban areas is difficult. Land values are very high and land is in short supply.

• To solve this problem:• A. Some developers are building on sites that

have been built on before. These are called brownfield sites (example: Inner City)

• B. Other developers are building homes on the edge of the city on greenfield sites in the urban rural fringe. Land here is cheaper but greenfield development can cause conflict with local people and create environmental problems.

3.E Sustainable Cities:

• Many people are working towards trying to make cities more sustainable. A sustainable city is that city which offers a good quality of life to current residents but doesn’t reduce the opportunities for future residents to enjoy.

• A sustainable city will grow at a sustainable rate and use resources in a sustainable way.

3.E Key Features of a sustainable city:• Resources and services in the city are accessible to

all.• Public transport is seen as a viable alternative to

cars.• Public transport is safe and reliable.• Walking and cycling is safe.• Areas of open space are safe, accessible and

enjoyable.• Wherever possible, renewable resources are used

instead of non-renewable resources.

3.E Key Features of a sustainable city:• Waste is seen as a resource and is recycled wherever

possible.• New homes are energy efficient.• There is access to affordable housing.• Community links are strong and communities work

together to deal with issues such as crime and security.

• Cultural and social amenities are accessible to all.• Inward investment is made to the CBD.