You are on page 1of 5

Settlements Topic 1. Out-of-town shopping centres - MetroCentre, Gateshead: IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 2.

Congestion and solutions to congestion - London: IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 3. Types of housing - San Salvador, El Salvador - IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 4. Urban regeneration - Newcastle: IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 5. Urban regeneration - London docklands: IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 6. Urban housing problems and solutions in an LEDC: Rio de Janeiro: IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements 1 The MetroCentre is a large shopping centre on the A1 (large road) on the edge of Gateshead (near Newcastle). MetroCentre has about 1.3 million people living within about 30 minutes. It was built by the businessman Sir John Hall and opened in 1986. He later sold it to Capital Shopping Centre in 1995 for about $500 million. The site of the shopping centre was chosen because it was relatively cheap (previously it was marshland), fairly flat, had room for future expansion and was a designated enterprise zone. This meant that planning controls were more relaxed and it was exempt from property tax. MetroCentre has very good transport links. Most people arrive via car on the A1 and use any of the 10,000 car parking spaces. However, it is also possible to reach the shopping centre via bus and metro. The shopping centre has over 300 shops and 40 restaurants. Other facilities include a 12 screen cinema, 18 lane bowling alley and 150 room hotel. Although the MetroCentre has created numerous jobs and provided facilities for local people it has also be blamed for increased traffic, pollution and the decline of Newcastle CBD. Later we will look at how Newcastle is fighting back. London The problem of congestion is caused by multiple factors, including: Increase in car ownership Limited amount of public transport or expensive public transport or overcrowded public transport Roads not designed for cars, but rather horses and people. Population growth and rural-urban migration The movement of freight (containers) onto lorries The problems caused by congestion can be divided into social, environmental and economic problems.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY CONGESTION


As car ownership increasesso does the amount of pollutants released by cars. This can lead increased chest problems e.g. asthma. People travelling to work have to leave home earlier and arrive back later, therefore spending longer away from their families. More cars on the roads increases the frequency of

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS PROBLEMS CAUSED BY CAUSED BY CONGESTION CONGESTION


More vehicles on the roads increase the amount of air pollution, but also noise pollution. Increased car ownership has increased road building which often leads to the destruction of greenfield sites. The air pollution can contribute to acid rain and the greenhouse effect Building new roads is very expensive, especially when private property is purchased, thus cost the government money. Late deliveries caused by traffic jams costs companies and the economy money. Workers also arrive late to work because they are stuck in traffic. It creates a reliance on oil

accidents More traffic jams can increase the frequency of road rage. Traffic pollution kills 5,000 a year in UK, says study - BBC article

and more oil is used at slow speed than normal travelling speeds

Solution London in the UK has tried a number of different things to reduce the problems of congestion. They include: Congestion charge: Drivers are now charged to drive into the centre of London. The charge is about $15 a day. The idea is to encourage people from cars and onto public transport. Barclays bike hire and bike lanes and work showers: The is now a bike hire scheme in London sponsored by the bank Barclays. People can now borrow bikes for a short period at minimal cost. Bike lanes are being create to make using a bike cheaper and workplaces have been encouraged to install showers, so people can cycle to work and wash when they get there. Reintroduction of trams: Trams which are like buses that run on train tracks in the road have been reintroduced to South London. Trams were an early form of public transport common in most British cities. Unfortunately most were removed as car ownership increased. They are environmentally good because they run on electricity and don't release greenhouse gases. Extension of the underground: New lines have been recently built or upgraded. The Jubilee Line was the latest big extension which goes from Central London out to East London (near the site of the 2012 Olympic Games). Pedestrianisation: Some areas of London including the north side of Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and much of Covent Garden have been pedestrianised to make it safer for people walking and to discourage car use. Pedestrianisation means removing cars from the roads and making them walking only areas. Improved rail links (Crossrail and East London Overground and Docklands Light Railway): London is currently undertaking one of the biggest engineering projects in Europe by building a railway from east to west London under the city. This railway will decrease travel times and is called Crossrail. London is also improving or extending railways in the East of London near the site of the Olympics. Bus lanes and priority traffic lights: The amount of buses have been increased and old ones renewed. Also some bus lanes have been created to avoid the traffic lights and also bus lanes are given priority at lights. This should hopefully make buses quicker than cars and encourage more people to use public transport. Car sharing (pooling) and car sharing lanes: Websites have been created to encourage people to share cars who travel on similar routes. Also road lanes have also been dedicated to people with more than one person in them. Working from home and Flextime: Improved technology has allowed more people to work from home and also flexitime has meant people can travel at different times reducing the traffic peaks. Flexitime is people have to work a set number of hours a week, but aren't given specific start and finish times. This allows people to start early or finish late, or do both and then earn days off. Reurbanisation: This means the movement of people back in the centre of urban areas (near

the CBD). By encouraging people back into the centre then commuter times and traffic jams should decrease. Increased car tax and petrol duty. Possible carbon tax and car park tax: Already the government has increased petrol tax and increased car tax on big cars to encourage people to drive smaller cars. In the future it has been proposed to introduce further carbon taxes and possibly a tax on car parking spaces. Park and ride: This is not used widely at the moment but will be used a lot during the Olympics. Car parks will be built on the edge of London next to train stations and bus routes. People will then park their cars on the edge and transfer to public transport to reduce traffic.

Integrated transport network: This is linking different forms of public transport with each other. For example every underground station will have a bus stop by it and every mainline train station will have an underground station under it. Departure and arrival times will also be coordinated so people can move from one form of transport to another. Rush hour: The period of time when most people travel to work. This normally between 7-9 in the morning and 5-7 in the afternoon. Traffic is normally worst during these periods. School run: This is parents driving their children from home to work and back again. The school run can cause significant traffic around schools at opening and closing times 3

Types of Housing In El Salvador


Within a city it possible to find very different housing very close together. Contrasts are often greatest in developing cities where there is a big financial gap between the rich and the poor. One example of a city with these contrasts is San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Here you have people living in informal housing living only hundreds of metres from people living in large luxury detached houses. Santa Elena is an area of San Salvador. It is a wealthy area and is where the US Embassy is located. Below are characteristics of the houses and the area:

Large houses made out of permanent material e.g. brick Large gardens and private drive/garage Modern amenities e.g. indoor toilet, running water and mains electricity Well maintained, freshly painted, new windows, doors, etc. Many contain luxury features like swimming pools, air con and games rooms Permanent tarmac roads - many roads are gated and guarded Many local facilities like restaurants, hotels and supermarkets

On the other hand just a few hundred metres down the road in between the Pan-American highway you find informal housing locally known as ''champas". The informal housing here is on marginal land, it is near a polluted river and squashed between the country's busiest road. The characteristics of the houses and area here is very different:

Housing is temporary and made out of scrap material e.g. plastic, corrugated steel and wood Houses are small, often only one room where the whole family lives and sleeps No inside toilet, no running water. Open sewers and open fires both cause health risks No proper roads, just tracks. This makes rubbish collection very hard Land is marginal and vulnerable to hazards like landslides and flooding

Limited local facilities, except maybe some small tiendas (small shops) Tend to have high crime rates, high unemployment and extreme poverty

Newcastle Case Study


Newcastle CBD has seen large scale regeneration in recent years in an attempt to encourage people back to the CBD. It has built some landmark buildings, improved transport links, improved public safety, built new shopping areas and marketed itself better. Two landmark projects are the Baltic Centre and The Sage. The Baltic Centre is a new art gallery built on the Tyne River in a former flour mill. The Sage is a multipurpose arts centre also built on the banks of the Tyne. Transport and ease of movement has been improved by pedestrianising large areas of the CBD, building the Millennium bridge across the Tyne and improving the integration of Newcastle's rail, metro and bus system. The main shopping centre Eldon Square has seen its parking improved and its disabled access improved. It has also been expanded and now accommodates 140 shops. A new shopping area, Eldon Gardens has also been developed for smaller independent retailers. Newcastle now also has more visual policing and better CCTV. It has also marketed itself better and even applied for the European city of culture. Newcastle United's promotion back to the Premiership has also increased visits to the city. St. James Park remains very close to the CBD. London Docklands Case Study The Docklands is found in the East of London and used to be one of the world's most important docks (ports). It exported products made in the UK around the world to its Empire. However, with the advent of containerisation ships started to get a lot bigger and they became to big to sail up and down the River Thames. Also the UK lost its Empire so became less important globally. Many of the UK's factories also closed (deindustrialisation) and moved overseas (offshoring). The process of deindustrialisation and containerisation meant that the Docklands suffered a spiral of decline and became very deprived. During the 1980's the British government decided that it needed to regenerate these poor areas and launched UDCs (organisations aimed at regenerating areas). London Docklands became one of the first in 1981. Since the UDC came into existence, physical, social and economic improvements have been made.

Physical (environmental): 200,000 trees planted, 760 hectares of derelict land reclaimed,
150 hectares of open space created and 17 conservation areas made.

Social: 22,000 new homes built, 10,000 council houses refurbished, shopping centres and
sports centres have been built along with new colleges. About $160 million has also been spent on education, healthcare and job retraining.

Economic: Docklands light railways was built, over 135km of roads built, the city airport was
opened and the underground extended. The number of businesses doubled and the number of jobs tripled. Major businesses like HSBC and Citigroup moved into the area. On a slightly wider scale the Greenwich Peninsula was cleaned and the O2 arena built and nearby in Stratford the 2012 Olympic Games will take place.

Population Topic
Population distribution - Australia: IGCSE Population and GCSE Population Anti-natalist policy - China's one chile policy: IGCSE Population and GCSE Population Pro-natalist policy - Singapore : IGCSE Population and GCSE Population Ageing and declining population - Japan: IGCSE Population and GCSE Population

You might also like