Understanding the Modern Urban Environment

1. Isolated dwelling Hamlet, eg. Lunt Village, eg. Melling Town, eg. Ormskirk City, eg. Liverpool Conurbation, eg. Greater Manchester Megalopolis, eg. Bosnywash Urbanisation An increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities in a country Understanding the Modern Urban Environment Urban Growth An increase in the number of people living in towns.

2. Urban Growth in the 19th Century Conditions wereDirty Unhygienic Cramped Smelly Cheap Ugly People were attracted to the growing cities and felt pushed away from the countryside: The industrial revolution happened mainly because of coal; Coal allowed more efficient methods of transport enabling travel between countries – goods could be imported and exported Coal allowed growth of steam engine – goods and resources transported easily around the country Coal allowed power to be generated, allowing growth of factories and communication links The population distribution became dense in towns or cities which were near to coalfields, because there was a high demand for fuel, eg. Manchester, Leeds London and Liverpool were important Ports, and so also grew rapidly. Factories grew up in urban areas where there were good communication links (canals, rail, navigable rivers) and power eg. Lancashire Textile Industry. Factory owners built houses to accommodate all of the new workers. They were diseased with cholera, dysentery and typhoid. In 1868, the Sanitary Act compelled owners of insanitary dwellings to demolish or repair them at their own expense. By 1875, under the Public Health Act, England was divided up into sanitary districts controlled by central government.

3. Structure of a City in Liverpool... CBD – Church Street Liverpool Inner City –Anfield and Everton, renovations of waterfront North of Liver Building Inner Suburbs - Bootle Outer Suburbs – North Aintree, Aintree Racecourse Retail, Speke (new industry)

4. Morphology of Liverpool Inner/Outer suburbs – Kirkby, edge of town council estates Sector of industry River Mersey CBD Inner City – Old village centres absorbed by rapidly growing city Sector of industry • The River Mersey distorts the morphology of Liverpool into a half circle. • Age fits the concentric model loosely with the CBD being oldest, surrounded by 19th century terraces, eg. Everton • Developments of post-war housing around the edges, eg. Woolton and Aintree • Liverpool did not grow rapidly in the mid war years with few developments, like South Aintree • Superimposed on the concentric growth rings are two sectors of industry either side of the CBD which follow the line of the river. • Seaforth Port is in the North sector, and industry and retail parks at Speke in the South.

5. Demographic Transition Model Stage 1: High stationary - Very High Birth Rate, Very High Death Rate, overall low population. eg. Amer Indians Stage 2: Early expanding – birth rate high but infant mortality drops due to improvements in medical care and campaigns against tuberculosis, diphtheria and malaria. Healthcare, diet, sanitation and hygiene improves so population growth is rapid. Eg. Bangladesh Stage 3: Late expanding – growth rate beginning to decline. Family planning reduces birth rate, and this is associated with better education and economic development. Eg. Brazil Stage 4:Low stationary – growth rate low, because of low death and low birth rates. Eg. USA Stage 5: Low declining – urbanisation and affluence lead to a negative growth rate. Eg. UK

6. Industrial Zone Legal zone Central Zone Education Zone Entertainment Zone The CBD Finance Administration Retail Transport Services FARTS In the central zone; Department stores, office blocks, banks, historic buildings. In the education zone, universities, libraries, city hospitals and museums. In the entertainment zone, cinemas, theatres, hotels, rail and bus links. In the legal zone, local government offices, solicitors. In the industrial zone, old industries, warehouses. Building height decreases with distance from the CBD Age of buildings decrease as you move away from the CBD Accessibility increases with distance from CBD

7. City Centres fight back The development of out of town retail centres has had effects on the CBD. They are using different methods to fight back: • Improvement of the physical environment of the CBD – Liverpool redeveloped its shopping centre for Capital of Culture 2008. It spent £70 million on the Paradise Street Project. • Encourage small independent retailers and upmarket designer shops – Met Quarter in Liverpool, King Street Manchester. • Improve public transport – Trams in Manchester, but were rejected in Liverpool • Improve car parking and encourage park and ride – Q parks in Liverpool. Park and Ride in Southport. • Marketing and Publicising attractions – using TV, radio and magazines to raise public awareness • Providing other visitor attractions – Liverpool Tall Ships race, Matthew Street Festival • Encourage a wider variety of leisure facilities, such as cafes, bars, restaurants, night clubs, music venues, hotels, theatres, art galleries – Liverpool has the Echo Arena, Radisson and Crown Plaza hotels, Empire Theatre. • Relax licensing laws • Improve security – installation of CCTV • Longer opening hours and Sunday opening • Encourage more residential property in inner city – Radisson building in Liverpool. Waterfront apartments. Number of residents in Liverpool CBD from below 1000 in 1991 to 15,000 in 2006. • Cities have reinvented themselves as lively 24hr cities with unique atmospheres, unlike sanitised out of town shopping malls. • The effect out of town retailing has on the CBD… • City centre shops decline • Reduction of pedestrian densities • Greater emphasis on office development and other services • Increase in number of charity shops in former premesis of chain stores.

8. In the 19th century industry developed. There was an increased demand for workers. People moved from rural areas to towns for work, and needed low cost housing. Houses were built close together creating a high density. There was no public transport so people wanted to live as close as possible to their place of work Houses built in terraced grid iron patterns Houses had few amenities (no indoor bathroom, running water, sewage, electricity) Despite difficult conditions, inhabitants created a strong community spirit. The Inner City Cycle of Degeneration

9. Problems in the Inner City • Rising crime rate • High numbers of single parents • High numbers of children in care • Family breakdown • Heavy concentration of immigrant and ethnic groups • Political extremism Social • Declining industries • High unemployment • Poverty and low incomes • Lack of skilled workers • High land value • Lack of space for industrial expansion Economic • Pollution • Vandalism • Poorly built tower blocks • Traffic congestion • Overcrowding • Widespread dereliction Environmental • 50% of residents are born outside the UK. This may mean that money is sent back to other countries. Language is an issue. This leads to concentrations of ethnic groups. • 0% of houses with garages – may add to crime and congestion on streets. • 33% of people moved to the area in the last 5 years. This shows that it is a transient population, and these people will not invest in the property. • 20& of houses have more than one person per room • 25% unemployed

10. Solutions in the 60s • Knock down terraced houses and replace with high rise flats • Build council estates to house those who did not fit into the high rises. These were mostly tower blocks, eg. Kirkby and Stockbridge village. This did not solve the problems, it just moved them. People could not afford to travel into town for jobs, had little income, crime was high and the environment was not well kept. The summer of 1981, known as the Summer of Unrest, was when there were riots across UK cities mainly by ethnic minorities who were protesting about the wealth around them. This lead to… Urban Renewal Changing the area to bring back vibrancy. REDEVELOPMENT – old buildings are demolished and replaced by new ones. Eg. Paradise Street and Liverpool One. RENOVATION – land is upgraded and refurbished by local authority. Eg. Duke Street, back to back housing renovation CONVERSION – land use changes, a shift from warehouses to residential in the Albert Dock for example. Investment of capital into an area, improving its social economic and environmental condition. Eg. Capital of Culture 2008, Liverpool One, Echo Arena Urban Regeneration Invasion of higher income groups into previously working class area involving physical renovation of poor housing, eg. Near Hope in Liverpool. Gentrification Urban policies were once based on welfare. Now, they are being replaced by policies which aim to increase the value of inner city land. Public & Private sector investment

11. The Suburbs Suburbs are low density residential areas located in the outer urban areas; the inner suburbs, outer suburbs and rural-urban fringe. SUBURBANISATION refers to the growth rate of these areas due to migration largely from inner urban areas. Reasons for Suburbanisation... • SOCIAL • Flight of the middle classes form the social problems of the inner city • Rise of the consumer society • Car ownership – no room for cars in city centre and allowed people to have independent travel • Planning • Willingness of local authorities to provide utilities • Road building programmes • Suburban council estates • Commercial • Decentralisation of offices, industry and retailing – people follow jobs. • Economic • Rise of building societies offering mortgages • Increased personal affluence and job responsibility Types of British suburb Old village engulfed by urban sprawl in early 1900s, eg. Walton Edge of city working class council estates built during redevelopment period of cities in the 60s. Often cheaply built, which has created further problems along with unemployment, crime, deprivation – all characteristics of the inner city, eg. Stockbridge Village Upper middle class garden suburbs associated with mature professionals eg. Woolton Middle class estates, 1940s onwards, eg. Aintree

12. Rural-Urban Fringe The area where the city and the countryside meet • What is in this area??? • Large new council estates created for the overspill from large scale inner city slum clearance • Recreational activities, such as golf courses • Areas of sewage works, refuse dumps, sand and gravel quarries • Suburbanised villages for commuters • Hypermarkets, retail parks, hotel and office redevelopment • Country parks, nature reserves, theme parks – near enough to town for urban dwellers to access, still enough space • Motorways, service stations, railways • New suburban housing estates for large detached houses with big gardens. Lower land values lead to urban sprawl, leading to low density housing and rapid loss of farm land. Often ribbon on linear development along main roads. Social Characteristics Urban Sprawl When a city grows unchecked and absorbs the countryside • Hobby farmers have replaced traditional agricultural life in some areas, eg. Using land to keep horses • Suburban villages contain a mixture of dwellers and commuters, eg. Maghull • Segregation between new migrants (commuters) and old residents • Population highly mobile Counter Urbanisation When people move from a large urban area to a smaller settlement or rural area

13. Counter urbanisation and commuting Counter urbanisation is the movement out of urban areas into a more rural environment. Commuter villages are a result of this, and they are a place where a high proportion of the residents are commuters. Commuters live in one settlement and travels to work each day to work in another. • Example: Formby • Formby is a typical commuter village which is attractive to people working in Liverpool because; • A565 takes you to Liverpool in 30 minutes • Situated on attractive coastline • Many traditional features, old residential properties, small shops, pubs • Essential services and schools providing high standard of education • Why has commuting grown? • Increase in car ownership and improvement sin road and rail transport make it easy to travel. M62 allows access to Manchester, M6 allows access to Preston • Growth of IT means people can work from home some of the time • More offices and factories on rural urban fringe make it easy to live away from city • More open space for families and more facilities like garages for people with cars • People with money choose to move outwards where schools are better equipped, houses are of better quality and there is less vandalism and crime.

14. Green Planning Urban Sprawl Green Wedge Green Belt • Green planning is an attempt to prevent urban sprawl through the development of protected areas around major cities • Planning restrictions were enforced to prevent housing and other buildings from being built to protect the countryside and its uses on the rural-urban fringe. • Green belt in Liverpool is the area between Asda and Northway (A59), preventing Liverpool form enveloping Maghull. • Green wedges are put in place in areas where the development of a ring of green is too late, eg. Birmingham.

15. Urban Traffic: Problems and Solutions Causes of Congestion: People commuting by car in mostly private vehicles, single occupancy Fewer people going by bus or train Rush hours/peak times for commuters Schools and work in CBD create traffic jams Single occupancy of vehicles • Solutions to City Traffic… • Build large car parks on the edge of cities where land is cheaper and implement park and ride schemes which would reduce number of cars in cities • Build car parks on derelict land in the city, meaning less cars on narrow streets of CBD • One way streets near to city centre • Central are kept traffic free, reducing congestion • Monorail service allows access from outside CBD • Rapid bus service using bus lanes • Flexitime offices to reduce rush hours • Underground tube/metro increases use of public transport rather than private vehicles • Motorways and dual carriageways around city reducing congestion on small roads • Congestion charges – London has implemented this. Manchester application failed at referendum.