Urban decline and deprivation:
● Despite large wealth found in parts of London, many areas suffer from urban deprivation and decline
○ Urban decline = deterioration of the inner city
■ Caused by lack of investment and maintenance
● Leads to:
○ Decline in population numbers
○ Decreasing economic performance
○ Unemployment
■ Cycle of urban decline:
1. Deindustrialisation
2. Industries and businesses start to close
○ People unemployed
■ Lower disposable income
■ Out-migration of skilled workers
○ Dereliction of industrial premises → more waste land
3. Population declines
4. Local businesses get less income
5. Schools and shops start to close
6. Lower investor confidence → lack of investment
7. Deindustrialisation
○ Urban deprivation = standard of living below that of the majority in a particular society
■ Involves hardships and lack of access to resources
■ Visible differences in housing and economic opportunities between rich and poor
● Reasons for urban deprivation:
○ Difficult for the poorest people to have a decent living standard
■ Prices of many things are more expensive
■ Rents are especially high → account for a huge proportion of people’s incomes
○ Unemployment levels are not evenly distributed
■ Highest unemployment in Newham, Barking and Dagenham and Tower Hamlets
Inequality:
● London is more unequal than any other region of the UK
○ 16% of Londoners = poorest tenth nationally
○ 17% of Londoners = richest tenth nationally (earn 4.5 times as much as bottom tenth)
● Effects of inequality:
○ Housing
■ House prices and rents are highest in London
● More people in London rent instead of owning their house
● Those that rent pay more than half their weekly pay for rent
■ Standard of housing varies dramatically
○ Education
■ Children across London do not get equal exam grades
● Schools in poorest areas generally score lowest number of GCSE points per pupil
■ Some of the schools in London’s poorest boroughs are among fastest improving schools
○ Health
■ People in wealthy areas tend to live longer than those in poorer areas
■ % of people reporting themselves as in “bad health” was highest in areas of low income
○ Employment
■ High unemployment compared to UK
● London = 10.0% unemployment
● UK = 8.4% unemployment
Urban sprawl:
● Urban sprawl = growth outwards of cities into the greenbelt regions (where building is restricted)
○ Reasons for urban sprawl:
■ Growing population
● Lack of space in a small country
● Unequal distribution of population
■ Housing pressure in southeast London
■ High property prices and rental costs
■ More people living on their own → more houses needed
■ High levels of net migration
● Effects of urban sprawl:
○ Extra cost to the taxpayer
■ Public help pay for infrastructure
■ Larger cities = more tax goes towards infrastructure (eg/ roads and water works )
■ Extra people in these areas → cars are used more often
■ More traffic on the roads → more pollution and more accidents
○ Health issues
■ People in these areas have to commute to work an travel by car
■ Negative impacts on people’s health → increased respiratory problems
○ Environmental issues
■ Sprawling cities consume land
■ Causes animals to be displaced from their habitat
Brownfield and greenfield sites:
● Greenbelt = tract of open land consisting of farmland, woodland and open recreational areas surrounding
urban areas
○ Protected by law restrictions from building new infrastructure
○ Only built on if government deems it necessary
● Greenfield site = any area of land that has not been developed previously
○ Advantages:
■ No demolition needed
■ No need to clean up the site from previous land → cheaper
■ Existing road networks are not in place → do not restrict planning
■ Often on the edges of cities where land is cheaper
■ Often close to major motorways providing great access
○ Disadvantages:
■ Lack of public transport in rural areas → more need for cars
■ Increases urban sprawl
■ Valuable farmland /recreational ground may be lost
■ Natural habitats may be destroyed
● Brownfield site = an old industrial or inner city site that has been cleared for a new building development
○ Large supply of brownfield land in London → was previously used for industry
○ 250 hectares available → equivalent to area just smaller than the size of Hyde Park
■ eg/ 2012 Olympic Park was originally derelict land
○ Advantages:
■ More sustainable → existing developed land is being used
■ Reduces need for urban sprawl
■ Road networks/public transport already exist → less need for cars
■ Easier to gain planning permission → councils are keen to reuse brownfield sites
■ Closer to CBD for job opportunities/social activities
○ Disadvantages:
■ Old building may need to be demolished first
■ Ground may need to be decontaminated
■ Land is more expensive in urban areas
Pollution:
● London suffers from air pollution → caused by:
○ Size of the city
○ Dense road network
○ High buildings
● Types of pollutants:
○ Ozone pollution
○ Particulate matter from carbon emissions → resulted in over 4000 premature deaths a year
○ Nitrogen dioxide from burning fuels → most of London is above the EU limit of 40 mg/m 3 for NO 2
● Management of pollution:
○ Free to download app → informs people of air quality/ encourages public to help reduce pollution
○ Making bus fleet less polluting
○ Introducing congestion charge
○ New/tighter standards for London Low Emission Zone
○ Record investment in cycling
Waste disposal:
● London uses a mixture of recycling, landfill and energy recovery to deal with large amounts of waste
● London Waste Management Strategy:
○ Achieve zero municipal waste direct to landfill by 2030
○ Reduce amount of household waste produced by 20%
○ To recycle or compost atleast 45 % of municipal waste
○ To cut greenhouse gas emissions
○ To generate maximum energy from organic and non-recycled waste