Human Environments: Urban Landscapes

What you need to know:

  1. Explaining land use patterns in different zones of the city.
  2. Problems and solutions in ‘developed world’ cities: (a) Traffic congestion,(b)Changing patterns of shopping, (c) Decay of the old inner city, (d) Changes in the rural-urban fringe.
  3. Problems and solutions in ‘developing world’ cities: a) Traffic congestion b) Shanty towns.
  1. Explaining land use patterns in different zones of the city

Different land uses are found in certain parts of the settlement. According to this land use model, most cities grow outwards from their original starting point (the centre) in a series of rings of different land use. As a settlement grows older, it expands outwards, developing new land uses and new rings.

The Central Business District(CBD) has commercial land-uses like offices, banks, large shops and restaurants. It is the most accessible area due to good transport links, so there is high competition for land, meaning land prices are high. There is not a lot of open space so buildings have expanded upwards.

Spotting the CBD on a map:

  • Main roads leading in to it;
  • Main bus station;
  • Main train station;
  • Lots of churches
  • A Cathedral
  • A Castle
  • A Tourist Information Centre
  • Lots of tourist attractions
  • Youth Hostel
  • Museums
  • Town Hall

The Inner city is an area of tightly packed, usually older housing (tenements) close to old industry and factories. This area is always changing as it has suffered problems of urban decay and is now used for new developments such as modern flats, shopping centres and hotels.

Spotting the inner city on a map:

•Close to CBD

•Grid iron street pattern

•Buildings are crowded and little open space.

•Old railway lines.

•Old factories or ‘wks’

The Suburbs are further out from the inner city. Here the land is cheaper as it is on the outskirts so the houses are built further apart with plenty of open space for gardens, drive ways and garages.There are more parks and this area of the city is less polluted.The street pattern is in cul-de-sacs because this provides more privacy for residents and it reduces through traffic. This makes it cleaner and safer for children to play in the street.

Spotting the suburbs on a map:

  • Street pattern (curved streets and dead-end streets)
  • More open space (parks, golf courses, leisure facilities, houses with gardens)

The Rural-Urban Fringe (Greenbelt)is the area on the very edge of the city where the countryside and built up area meet. Developments requiring lots of buildings on the Greenbelt are discouraged to try and stop the countryside from being ‘eaten up’ by the city. It is not an empty zone- there are farms, parks, golf courses and some new housing developments.

  1. Urban problems & solutions in ‘developed world’ cities

a)Traffic congestion

Causes: Traffic congestion has become a major problem in cities across the world as the number of vehicles on the roads has increased. Roads are busier now due to:

1)Increased ownership of cars so more and more people are driving into the CBD. This adds to congestion at rush hour in particular because the CBD is the main place of shopping and work.

2)Parking on the side of the street blocks lanes and the old, narrow streets cannot cope with the volume of traffic.

3)The old grid iron street plan of the CBD also prevents traffic from flowing due to traffic lights at intersections; adding to journey times and congestion.

4)Lorries and vans stopping to deliver goods outside shops, restaurants and offices. Lanes become blocked and the traffic is held up.

5)Despite improvements, not enough people are using pupil transport and cars remain the most popular form of transport.

What are the effects (problems) of too much traffic?

1)More noise pollution from the sound of all the traffic.

2)More air pollution from the vehicles exhausts.

3)More accidents on the roads as they are busier and therefore more dangerous.

4)More congestion means increased journey times and delays.

Solutions include:

  • Park & ride schemes:Reduces the number of vehicles in the city as people leave their cars at a bus or train station outside the CBD and travel in using public transport. This cuts down on pollution, noise and congestion.
  • Bus lanes: Keeps buses running on time with dedicated lanes.
  • Cycle lanes: Keeps the traffic moving as cars don’t need to change lanes or overtake to avoid a cyclist.
  • By-passes: Roads surrounding the city take the heaviest traffic out of the CBD so vehicles can avoid the busy centre.
  • One-way streets: Keeps the traffic flowing in the one direction.
  • Pedestrian shopping areas: Safer for pedestrians with no traffic in the main shopping streets.
  • Improving public transport: Increasing the frequency of services, new routes and alternative methods such as building trams in Edinburgh city centre.
  • Multi-storey car parks: Discourages cars from parking on the street, blocking lanes.

b) Changing patterns of shopping (out-of-town shopping centres)

From the shopping centres point of view, the CBD has a number of disadvantages now:

  • There is no available space left in the CBD for new shopping centres.
  • What little land is left is very expensive to buy.
  • Traffic jams make it difficult for customers and deliveries to get to.

As a result new shopping centres have opened on the outskirts of cities and the CBD has suffered:

Bad impacts:

  • Fewer shoppers are visiting the city centre due to competition from the out of town shopping centres, so shops start to close in the CBD.
  • CBD starts to look run-down with cheaper shops (£lands) so less people will want to shop there. More shops will shut down due to less business.

Good impacts:

  • Less traffic congestion, crowding and pollution in the CBD as less people travel in for shopping.
  • Out-of-town shopping centres are easy to get to as they are built along main roads and motorways. There are free parking spaces, modern facilities and shops are indoors so people are not put off by the weather.
  • There can be entertainment and retail complexes next to the out-of-town shopping centres as well as plenty of eating places, so people can spend the full day there.

The CBD fights back

  • Building covered shopping centres in the CBD so people can shop under cover in the CBD during bad weather;
  • Attracting specialist shops to make the CBD more appealing for shoppers (department stores such as John Lewis);
  • Increasing the entertainment function in the CBD (like cinemas, nightclubs, restaurants etc.), so people are still visiting and spending money in the CBD;
  • Putting in more flower beds / trees / benches to improve the environment and make it more pleasant to shop in the CBD;
  • Pedestrianising shopping streets to make it safer, less polluted and more enjoyable for shoppers in the CBD
  • Christmas markets to bring money and tourism back to the city

c) Urban Decay of the old inner city:

The old inner city was turning into slum conditions 50/60 years ago. Something had to be done to improve the quality of living for people living in areas such as ‘Leith’ in Edinburgh and ‘The Gorbals’ in Glasgow.

Solutions

  1. Building high rise flats

Knock down old housing in the inner city and replace it with tower block flats.

Advantages: A large number of people can be re-housed in the area cheaply.

Disadvantages: There have been problems with broken lifts, vandalism and dampness in these high rise dwellings. They are also difficult for elderly people to live in so most tower blocks have since been demolished.

  1. Build new houses

Knock down the old tenements in the inner city and replace them with new, low cost modern housing.

Advantages: Some people will be re-housed in the inner city, retaining community spirit.

Disadvantages: Low housing density so a lot of families will have to move to a different area.

  1. Renovate the old tenements

Modernise the old inner city houses and tenements by knocking two flats into one and installing heating, plumbing, indoor toilets and double glazing.

Advantages: The old buildings are sturdy and people will be able to stay in the inner city.

Disadvantages: The housing density will be low so not everybody will be re-housed and a lot of families will have to move to a different area.

  1. Create new shopping and entertainment areas

Build new modern shopping centres, entertainment complexes and hotels.

Advantages: This will attract more people back to the area and create jobs for people living in the inner city.

Disadvantages: Building new entertainment and shopping centres in the inner city will take business away from the CBD. Examples include: Edinburgh (St James Centre vs The Gyle) and Glasgow (St Enoch’s Centre vs Braehead).

  1. Gentrification

Build luxury flats and other developments in the old inner city regions. For example:

Edinburgh (Leith- Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith Walk, Malmaison Hotel)

Glasgow (Glasgow Harbour- Hydro, Science Centre, BBC headquarters)

Advantages: Close to the CBD and all of its attractions, as well as bringing money back into the area from tourism and business.

Disadvantages: Only rich people can afford to live in the luxury flats so this creates resentments from the exiting residents in the inner city.

d)Changes in the Rural-Urban fringe

Demand for new developments in the suburbs means that many of our towns and cities are spreading uncontrolled into the surrounding countryside. This is called URBAN SPRAWL.

Why have these changes taken place in the suburbs?

  • Land is cheaper at the edge of the city- so you can buy bigger houses with gardens and garages.
  • Houses can be built to a lower density with a variety of types- detached, semi-detached, bungalows and flats.
  • Houses can be built in cul-de-sacs due to more space available;so there is less through traffic, making it quieter and safer for residents.
  • There are good transport links with access to main roads and motorways so it is easy to commute to work in the city.
  • Out of town shopping centres are attracted by the large available space- room for expansion and car parking.
  • Shopping areas next to housing areas provides a workforce and market.
  • It is a nice environment with little pollution due to less traffic in the suburbs.

However, many people are not happy with these developments due to the destruction of the countryside surrounding the city resulting in:

  • Natural Habitat destruction
  • Pollution to farmland
  • Loss of farmland and jobs
  • Visual pollution
  • Increased use of cars as people live further away from the city- adds to pollution

As a result they want to protect the rural environment and retain the pleasant and attractive countryside that surrounds most towns and cities.It is hoped that the regeneration of the CBD will halt some of these new developments