1. Urban Sprawl
1.1. History
1.1.1. First established by merchants as a trading port on the tidal Thames in around 47 AD.
1.1.2. 18th century was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution, and London's role at the center of the evolving British Empire.
1.1.3. Expansion continued and became more rapid by the beginning of the 19th century, with London growing in all directions.
1.1.4. Port of London grew rapidly during the century, with the construction of many docks, needed as the Thames at the City could not cope with the volume of trade.
1.1.5. Mid-19th century, with London still rapidly expanding in population and area, the City had already become only a small part of the wider metropolis.
1.1.6. Today London covers 2.9km2.
1.2. GreenBelt
1.2.1. Present day London is confined by The Green Belt, set up by the Greater London Regional Planning Committee in 1935.
1.2.2. The green belt was set up to prevent further sprawl of London.
1.3. Characteristics
1.3.1. Low-density, single family dwellings.
1.3.2. Automobile dependency even for short trip.
1.3.3. Spiraling growth outward from existing urban centers.
1.3.4. Undefined edge between urban and rural areas.
1.4. Causes
1.4.1. Land value is often considered the chief driver of development patterns. Sprawl tends to occur where property values are lower on the periphery of urban centers.
1.4.2. Population growth results in the outward expansion of urban areas.
1.4.3. Rising incomes allow residents to purchase larger living space.
1.4.4. Decreasing commuting costs produced by historical investments in transportation infrastructure also fuel outward expansion of development.
1.4.5. Nearby access to roads and the presence or perception of crime in denser inner cities help create a positive economic environment for urban sprawl.
1.5. Effects
1.5.1. Air pollution resulting from automobile dependency
1.5.2. Water pollution caused in part by increases in impervious surfaces
1.5.3. The loss or disruption of environmentally sensitive areas
1.5.4. Such as critical natural habitats (e.g., wetlands, wildlife corridors)
1.5.5. Reductions in open space, increased flood risks
1.5.6. Overall reductions in quality of life
2. Suburburbanisation
2.1. Suburbanization is the growth of areas on the fringes of cities
2.2. Causes for famililes
2.2.1. Push factors:
2.2.2. Inner city old and crowded with little outdoor space
2.2.3. Congestion on roads and added pollution
2.2.4. High crime rates
2.2.5. Businesses move outwards so fewer jobs available
2.2.6. Gentrification also causes house prices to rise
2.2.7. Pull factors:
2.2.8. New, modern, spacious housing with large garden areas.
2.2.9. Less air pollution and congestion
2.2.10. Safer neighborhoods and less crime.
2.2.11. Better job opportunities as developers, factories and offices move to the fringes.
2.3. Causes for Developers
2.3.1. Push Factors:
2.3.2. Expensive land in inner city.
2.3.3. Have to clear up waste left by industry.
2.3.4. More and stricter regulations in the inner city.
2.3.5. Pull Factors:
2.3.6. Cheaper land for long developments.
2.3.7. Financial subsides offered by local government.
2.4. London Examples
2.4.1. Expansion made possible due to advancement in public transport
2.4.2. Great Eastern ran cheap trains to transport workers from Edmonton/Leytonstone
2.4.3. Trams, tube and motor buses introduced at the beginning of the 20th century
2.4.4. Regular salaries due to economic change allowed people to own lager houses further from the centre
2.4.5. Green belt act stopped urban sprawl
2.4.6. Slowed in the 1990s due to gentrification of the centre
2.4.7. Major suburbs in the Boroughs of Kingston-upon Thames, Merton, Barking and Dagenham
3. Congestion Charge
3.1. Introduced in February 2003
3.2. Positives
3.2.1. Chargeable vehicles entering the zone have reduced by 30% .
3.2.2. Traffic has been reduced after 9:30.
3.2.3. Number of vehicles entering the zone in 2006 was 16% less than in 2002.
3.2.4. After the scheme was introduced they had measured an improvement in journey times of 0.7 minutes per km.
3.2.5. Small decrease in road traffic casualties particularly involving cars and motorcycles.
3.2.6. Overall accidents have fallen by around a quarter on weekdays and 3% on weekends compared to levels in 2001.
3.2.7. Overall accidents have fallen by around a quarter on weekdays and 3% on weekends compared to levels in 2001.
3.2.8. Number of vans and lorries has been reduced by 13%.
3.3. Negatives
3.3.1. There was an overall increase in the numbers of taxis, buses, and bicycles.
3.3.2. There was little evidence that congestion charge had improved air quality in London.
3.3.3. On certain routes due to more taxis, and buses there has even thought to be more traffic.
3.3.4. Commuters who used to drive into the city centre now park at railway and underground stations out of town.
3.3.5. There has been an increase in road accidents with bicycles.
3.3.6. Stores affected: August 2003 - John Lewis showed in the first 6 months of the congestion charge that the sales at their Oxford Street Store had fallen by 7.3%,
3.3.7. Right before and after the charging period, are peaks in the amount of traffic.
3.4. Who has to pay? Any non exempt vehicle that travels through the congestion zone between 7:00am and 18:00 pm between Monday and Friday. The standard charge for these vehicles is £10 per day.
4. Megacity: the increase in size and location
4.1. Geographical factors: THE RIVER THAMES -> important trade route
4.2. Cheap labour
4.3. The City of London is its historic core and now is its primary financial district, though it now represents a tiny part of the wider metropolis of Greater London.
4.4. The world's firs megacity, but has now been overtaken by other cities for many reasons
4.4.1. Green belt - halted growth
4.4.2. GLOBAL SHIFT in location of megacities - role of TNCs influencing location
4.5. At present no city in Europe except Moscow has more than nine million people. Only 11 in the world have more than 10 million, all of them in Asia except Sao Paulo in Brazil
4.6. De-westernizing of location of megacities
4.7. e.g. China, has the most megacities of any country (four)
4.8. Other rapidly growing megacities are scattered throughout the developing world. In Nigeria, Lagos saw its population swell by over 48%
4.9. “But we can say, with some confidence, that the world’s megacities will continue to become increasing Asian and African” – Forbes Magazine
4.10. City with a population Graeter than 10 million
5. Queen Elizabeth Park (Sustainably Developed Olympic Park)
5.1. Material energy and Construction
5.1.1. o Low carbon materials used
5.1.2. Aggregate surfacing are held together with a vegetable (rather than a conventional bitumen binder)
5.1.3. o Zero carbon homes
5.1.4. o 100% efficient lighting across park
5.2. Transport
5.2.1. o Every home is within 350m of a bus stop
5.2.2. o Cycle hire and lanes
5.2.3. o DLR, Crossrail, Tube, Stratford Intl.
5.2.4. o 20% of parking spaces have electric charging points
5.2.5. o Shower and changing facilities in offices to promote cycling
5.3. Homes
5.3.1. o Electric charging points
5.3.2. o Favourable to cycles
5.3.3. o Rain water harvesting & PV cells
5.3.4. o 35% affordable housing
5.3.5. o 100% disability access
5.3.6. o Recycle promotion
5.3.7. o 105li of potable water limit
5.4. Social Space
5.4.1. o 100 hectares of open land
5.4.2. Native bird species protected for biodiversity
5.4.3. o 6.5km waterways
5.4.4. o Zero carbon events in park
5.4.5. o Layout reduces urban heat island effect
5.5. Waste
5.5.1. o Zero municipal waste to landfill
5.5.2. o Recycle of compost 70% of commercial waste
6. Gentrification
6.1. THE NEWLY-GENTRIFIED AREAS OF LONDON...
6.1.1. Waterloo
6.1.2. Shad Thames and Bermondsey
6.1.3. Hackney, Bethnal Green and Haggerston
6.1.4. Isle of Dogs
6.1.5. Stratford
6.1.6. Canning Town
6.1.7. Greenwich Peninsula
6.1.8. Nine Elms
6.1.9. Battersea waterfront
6.2. In the 1970s Notting Hill was known as the poor man’s corner of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is now considered to be one of London’s most fashionable and desirable residential addresses.
6.3. When the board game “Monopoly” was invented in 1933, The Angel, Islington was considered the third worst location. Today the area surrounding Angel, & Upper Street in Islington is home to high income earning City workers and the political elite.
6.3.1. The average house price paid in Angel is £458,445, 34% higher than Islington’s average of £443,098 and 27% higher than London’s average house price. Zoopla
6.4. Definition: A shift in an urban community toward wealthier residents and/or businesses and increasing property values.
7. CounterUrbanisation
7.1. •Definition: Counter urbanisation is the migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas
7.2. Causes
7.2.1. • Better quality of life (less pollution and crime)
7.2.2. • Want larger houses and more space for less money
7.2.3. • Employers moved and attracted people with new jobs
7.2.4. • Rise in the demand for second homes
7.2.5. • Rise in the demand for homes for retirees
7.2.6. • Agricultural business declining, farmers are selling land
7.3. Effects
7.3.1. • The layout of rural settlements has changed, modern housing built on the edge and industrial estates built in the middle on main roads
7.3.2. • Local young adults are forced to move areas to find jobs
7.3.3. • House prices rose dramatically
7.3.4. • More parking areas have to be built for commuters
7.3.5. • Demolition of old properties to make way for newer, large executive homes, leads to rising house prices
7.3.6. Employment – low rents attracted a number of hi-tech and financial firms, this includes The Limehouse ITV studios and The Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers
7.3.7. Housing – many of the former warehouses have been transformed into luxury flats, an example of gentrification, low cost housing has also been built along with the renovation of older council owned properties
7.3.8. Leisure – a large shopping area was constructed close to Canary Warf, a number of parks have been created where buildings once stood, more recently the Millennium Dome was built in this area
7.3.9. Transport – London’s Docklands now has its own light railway, The Dockland Light Railway (DLR) connects with Bank and Monument underground stations, this makes travel into London very easy