Unit B6 Urban environments New stuff

Week 16 & 17 – New stuff Key idea 3: Changes occur as urban environments age and the needs of people change. The nature of, and reasons for, the changes taking place at the edge of HIC cities (eg retail complexes, business parks and industrial estates). The ‘greenfield’ versus ‘brownfield’ debate. Areas of social deprivation and poverty in HIC cities: symptoms and locations. The changing fortunes of inner-city areas. The roles of managers (planners, politicians, property developers and industrialists) in urban regeneration and re-imaging. Annotated sketches of urban change based on the analysis of photographs and maps. A case study of one named urban area in an HIC to explain how and why changes are taking place.

The Rural-Urban Fringe What is the rural-urban fringe? It is the area where the city meets the countryside.

Today we are going to talk about … ..the rural-urban fringe, which is area between the edge of the built-up area and the surrounding countryside. The discussions that take place over what should happen between various groups – the greenfield-brownfield dabate that arise. Then we will look at the big regional town shopping centres and in particular Trafford Centre, outside Manchester. Then finally we will take a few minutes to look at a whole Urbanisation question to make sure that you are picking up on the clues it offers as to how to answer it – that’s homework

Recently there has been increasing demand for land on the RUF because: Land is cheaper There is less traffic congestion and pollution There is easier access and a better road infrastructure There is a more pleasant environment with more open space

What do developers want the land for? Housing developments as urban sprawl continues Science and business parks Hyper-markets and superstores Office developments Hotels and conference centres

Shopping Centres Why do they want to locate at the RUF? Cheap land Room to expand Close to motorways Space for parking Leisure facilities can also be provided Local suburban work force

Housing Why is housing built at the RUF? Land is cheap More housing is needed as more people are living alone and living longer. Peace and quiet Less crime Good access to countryside Easy access to motorways But do check out P165 in the textbook for a really good table on the pros and cons for greenfield v brownfield

What are the problems caused by developing the RUF? Large areas of countryside may be lost Buildings may be out of character with existing rural buildings Villages become suburbanised Traffic is likely to increase ( both cars and lorries) There may be some noise or pollution NIMBYism

Where the managers of change come in All these ideas need people to plan what is the most appropriate. It is not just the planners in the planning offices of local authorities that decide what can and what cannot be built and making sure all the building regulations are followed. It is the local and national politicians who decide the policies, who permit or forbid individual developments, who decide what publicly-funded building they can finance. It is also these people who are setting out what they want to achieve, the objectives for the development – how many houses to build and where. Together with private sector designers, they create an image to fulfil their objectives

Other people who are involved in the planning process The people who own the land, on which development are to be built, have a say in how much it will be sold – not much of a say in the current climate but up until 2007, it was very much a matter of think of a number! The developers decide where they want to build (within the limits of government policy), acquire the land and organise the finance. The architects and builders plan and carry out the work. Industrial business, housing associations and pressure groups all have ideas about how the built environment should change.

As we know… … there was widespread inner city development immediately post WW2. But this did not create enough housing units for all those who needed them. Others were built on the edge of towns and cities, as we discussed earlier, when talking about the suburbanisation of London. Most of the residential growth is outwards into the suburbs. Population density is lower than in the inner city and the houses are usually larger as the land is cheaper. From the 1970s, out of town shopping centres took advantage of cheaper land prices and more space. After that many companies moved their offices and factories to the edge of the urban area for similar reasons, where they could take advantage of better transport links as well.

From the late 1970s, many cities have lost population to counter-urbanisation – people leaving the cities for a variety of reasons. People want a better quality of life in quieter, cleaner rural surrounding More people are willing and able to travel further to work Relocation of businesses to places with better transport links and cheaper building costs Flexible working and new technology have increased part-time homeworking. Retired people leave the city where they once worked. This has led to the smaller towns and villages in areas with good communication links to expand – a lot of ‘in-filling’ has taken place. In-filling is building in gaps within the village or town boundary (known as the village/town envelope).

All this extra building on city margins and in villages and towns has led to a long debate. For many years, just adding a bit here and there, mostly on easy-to-develop undeveloped or Greenfield sites appeared to be the way to go. During WW2, the UK lost a lot of housing in air-raids and much of the Victorian stock was not really habitable so more houses were needed fast. This meant that the planners were keener to see any houses, rather than look at the best environmental solution, which could take up valuable time to achieve. In 1944, government legislation went through establishing a ‘Green Belt’ around London and other big cities. It meant that building was forbidden within these zones, it was the government’s attempt to stop the suburbs growing and to give the city some ‘lungs’. The only permitted development in these areas was to provide open spaces and sporting facilities for those who lived in the cities.

Once this was established, the planners saw no reason not to build everywhere else. But in the meanwhile many sites, that had been used previously – Brownfield site – were left derelict. The builders were not keen to develop them as the preparation was too expensive.

So what is the argument? It is about sustainability and not concreting over swathes of countryside. It is about making good use of services that are available – reducing the need to drive long distances, making it possible for people to walk to where they need to go or have reliable public transport if they need to go further. Greenfield sites, because they are undeveloped do not have gas, water, electricity or sewage systems put in – all these have to be installed, requiring lots of materials and a lot of disruption to the surrounding land. Brownfield sites have all these nearby. They occur where there is public transport and so cut down on the carbon footprint of those living there.

A lot of interest groups want this development to go ahead Where green fields meet built-up area. The open land – greenfield sites – in great demand for shopping centres, housing, recreation, reservoirs, sewage works. Why move out? Push factors: Houses too close together, poor air quality, not enough space for factories, offices Pull factors Land is cheaper so larger housing plots, more space for factories, parking etc Near to main roads, rings roads etc Easier to reach by car – fewer traffic jams

Not everyone happy with loss of countryside around the cities. Environmentalists want brown field sites used for reasons of sustainability Farmer fear damage from visitors. They dislike their farms being split by new roads that carry more traffic. They resent the loss land to redevelopment. Village people resent changes: more people live there, as more houses are built. This often leads to house price increases, which prevents the young people from the village buying a house there. The ethos of the village changes.

So you end up with a conflict of interest Many want suburbanisation and/or counterurbanisation to take place While there are those who believe ‘urban sprawl’ and such other developments should be stopped. What is urban sprawl? The public like out of town shops I don’t want any more townies. They trample my crops Business cut cost by being next to the motorway Urban sprawl is the spreading of a town over the RUF My farm is split in 2 by the new motorway

Retailing In HICs great increase in out-of-town superstores and shopping centres The number of superstores in the UK rose from 733 to 1,147 between 1990 and 19981. 29 Asda supercentres! Why? More people own cars – free car parking – easy access – bright modern surroundings – more facilities e.g. bowling , multiscreen cinema, Why not city centre? Traffic congestion, expensive parking, crowded narrow pavements.

The major out of town shopping centres in the UK Prior to 1980, all new shopping centres were within the city centres, eg the Arndale in Manchester. After 1980, more out of town developments were built The map has names and shop numbers on it http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?gbv=2&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114294639013811556926.000475bae77cc455b6e36&ll=53.278353,0&spn=6.703442,19.621582&z=6

Where might you find them? Small out of town supermarkets and super stores and small shopping centres are found outside many towns but the really big ones are much more spaced out, as you saw from the map. Why is this? Where might you find them? Why do you think there are 2 close together in SE England? Mostly high order, comparison goods – greater range and sphere of influence, high threshold into 100’s of thousands Good transport links near large city Very high population nearby on different sides of the river so attract different parts of London to them

Their success has exceeded expectations! The shoppers love them and many are hoping to expand. Bu not everyone is in favour! The local councils and the shopkeepers in the CBD are not in favour! Both are loosing money as some shops close as they no longer have the footfall (the number of people coming through the door) that they used to have. The high street deteriorates and even fewer companies want to invest. Income from business tax fall and the council becomes concerned. This is a spiral of decline.

More opponents The planners and the environmentalists are against large greenfield sites being swallowed up, and the encouragement to increase car use that goes with the development. As a result, the owners and developers have dropped the ‘out-of-town’ label. They say that in fact they are really new towns. This view is supported by the 5000 new homes planned to be built around the Bluewater site that was built in 1999.

Manchester Trafford Centre Location: NE edge of Manchester between junctions 9 and 10 Opened in September 1998 Formerly a waste land that was part of the Trafford redevelopment area

Manchester Trafford Centre Location: NE edge of Manchester between junctions 9 and 10 – not what it says in the book!! Opened in September 1998 It cost £880 million Formerly a waste land that was part of the Trafford redevelopment area Contains shops restaurants and leisure facilities – see above for a restaurant in the ‘Orient’ – which has 36 restaurants and food outlets

You can see one of its 3 distinctive domes It covers about the same area as 30 football pitches It has 20 screen cinema An indoor market Parking for 10,000 cars Good for disabled users with a Shop-mobility scheme There is a play area, a crèche and entertainment for children

Restaurants and takeaways Street Market Restaurants and takeaways

Getting there It attracts people from all over North West England and even further afield Most come by car There are very reliable and frequent bus + metrolink to the city centre – but you have to change. It goes right to the main line rail service at Manchester Piccadilly. But from just over 1 year ago, an express bus service, taking just 25 minutes, runs from the centre to Trafford (and back) every half hour. There is metrolink tram service on the drawing board, but then it has been there for 10 years and they have not yet started it.

Who goes there? 27 million visitors a year Over 3,500 coaches visit annually bringing more than 100,000 people to the Centre. 95% come from within and 80km/50 mile radius Which geographical phrase would you use to describe that number – the …… of the Trafford Centre is 50 miles 7000 employees – mainly shop workers

Who goes there? The Centre has a very loyal customer base with 24% of visitors visiting the Centre once a week or more often and 38% of visitors visiting 1-2 times a month. Average spend £100

The visitors are divided up into ABC1 and C2DE

6. Urban Environments (a) Study Figure 6 which shows part of an HIC town. (i) Underline the term shown in the diagram central business district inner city rural-urban fringe (1) (ii) Choose A or B for the areas represented by the 2 terms (1) outer suburbs greenfield land

(iii) What feature separates these two areas?(1) (iv) Suggest why the area of greenfield land has not been developed.(2)

(b)(i) Name two groups of people who are likely to be interested in developing the greenfield land shown. For each group, give a reason for your choice.(6) Group 1 Reason Group 2 (ii) For one of the groups named in (i), explain how their development of the land might bring them into conflict with local residents and environmentalists. (4) (b) Explain the challenges* facing urban managers in managing change in the rural-urban fringe. (9) * demanding or stimulating situations