What Are Cities Like? Definition Function: the ‘Function’ of a City Is Its Purpose Or What It Is Mainly Used For
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GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures What are cities like? Definition Function: The ‘function’ of a city is its purpose or what it is mainly used for. A city’s function can change over time. Examples of functions can be residential (housing), commercial (retail and business. In the 60, 70s and 80s, this was in the form of markets or a port), financial, tourism, entertainment and leisure. Figure 1: Place-specific examples of historical city functions for locations within the UK Function Example City Market/commercial Watford Docks Bristol Resort Bournemouth Manufacturing (steel) Sheffield Manufacturing (cotton) Leeds Manufacturing (steel) Port Talbot Commercial Bristol Port Cardiff Case Study Example: Bristol, SW England In the 17th Century, Bristol was home to some of the main collieries (coal mines) in the South West of England. After these mines became nationalised (owned by the government) the collieries went into debt and closed. Bristol also became famous in the 17th and 18th centuries with the wealth and prosperity brought about by the slave trade and the Industrial Revolution. Later, the construction of the Floating Harbour in the 19th centuries solved the problem of boats having to battle with the tidal passage up the Avon Gorge. This, along with Isambard Brunel’s design of the Great Western Railway, which connected Bristol to London, caused the population to grow fivefold in the 19th century. Later, the port migrated downstream to Avonmouth. Bristol’s heavy reliance on the manufacturing of tobacco and cigarette was one of the iconic changes the city has experienced in its history. Bristol firm Imperial Tobacco closed its last remaining UK factory in 2014. The world's fourth-largest tobacco company, Imperial Tobacco, blamed the closure on falling demand for products and the growth of the black market in the UK and Europe. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures The firm issued a statement that blamed the decision on "declining industry volumes in Europe, impacted by tough economic conditions, increasing regulation and excise, and growth in illicit trade". Unite officer Rhys McCarthy said: "This is shocking news that will have a devastating impact on not only hundreds of workers and their families, but also on the local community. "We will be giving full support to our members over the next two years before the site closes at the latest in March 2016. What we were not expecting was the wholesale closure of the Nottingham site and an end to Imperial Tobacco manufacturing cigarettes in the UK and moving production to eastern Europe." He added: "We believe that Imperial Tobacco is cynically using the EU directive as cover to dump on UK workers and ship production to low-cost workers in eastern Europe. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures 2) What is Urbanisation? Definitions: Urbanisation: The increase in the proportion of people living in cities. Rates of urbanisation are particularly high in LICs. World Cities: Cities which have the greatest influence on a global scale because of their financial status and worldwide commercial power e.g. NY, London, Tokyo. Megacities: Cities with populations of over 10 million people. The pattern of urbanisation of the world’s cities over time can is shown on the map linked here. Figure 2a: Map to show cities with over 5 million people in 1955 In 1955, there were only 11 cities across the globe with a population of over 5 million people. These cities included Chicago, NY and Los Angeles (USA), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Paris (France), London (England), Moscow (Russia), Calcutta (India), Shanghai (China) and Osaka-Kobe and Tokyo (Japan). There were no cities containing over 5 million people in any country in Africa or in Oceania. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures Figure 2b: Map to show cities with over 5 million people in 2015. Since 1955, there has been rapid growth of the cities in Asia. In 2015 there were 38 cities with a population of over 5 million people, compared to 4 in 1955. Most of these rapidly growing cities are in China. Cities on the African continent are also growing quickly. Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasha in DRC, Khartoum in Sudan and Cairo in Egypt grown since 1955, with populations of 16.1 million, 9.3 million, 6 million and 13.1 million respectively. Cities in Asia are growing rapidly for many reasons: Many cities located on the coast are experiencing economic growth due to trade. These cities are more accessible via shipping routes and therefore many cities have grown up around ports. Improved transport links in EDC cities means that travel to the city is now easier. People are therefore able to reach the city more easily and move there to live. Rural-to-urban migration common in EDCs as people move to cities in search of a better quality of life. Farming in rural areas is often based on subsistence and quality of life is low. Many people living in rural poverty move to urban areas to follow the ‘bright lights’ (excitement and hope) that they perceive life in the city has to offer. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures Rapidly growing economies due to reliance on the secondary sector (manufacturing) e.g. China. Many cities, such as Shanghai, have grown due to ACs locating factories in EDCs because of cheaper labour and therefore higher profit. Factory work allows migrants from the countryside to earn a higher wage than they would in rural locations. Greater economic growth of EDC cities causes greater rural-to urban migration. As cities in EDCs grow and expand, this attracts more rural migrants due to the increase in jobs available. Additional notes on growth of cities to be added here. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures 3) Causes and Consequences of Urbanisation Definitions: Rural-to-urban-migration: Movement of people from the countryside to the city. This is most common in EDCs. Internal growth: Growth of a city’s population due to higher birth rates than death rates. Push factor: These are reasons people want to leave the countryside, and are always negative. Pull factor: These are reasons people want to move to the city and are always positive. Push factors include: Poverty in the countryside. Many rely on subsistence farming. In war-torn countries, people move to cities before moving to a safer country. Damage to the environment and climate change means that subsistence farming is now more difficult. Houses in the countryside are often of low quality. Number of people relying on subsistence farming is increasing in low income countries, so finding enough land to grow crops is difficult. Pull factors: Schools in LIDCs are thought to be better in cities than in the countryside. Standard of living (how comfortably you are able to live) is better in the city. People live a more comfortable life. Finding a job is easier in the city than in the countryside, where jobs are often seasonal. Wages in LIDCs tend to be higher in the city than in the countryside. Figure 3: Positive and negative consequences of urbanisation Positive consequences (Benefits) Negative consequences (Problems) Jobs in the city often pay more than Vast areas called shanty towns have people earn through farming in the grown up on the edge of cities. There are countryside. This greater income helps to an eye-sore and make the city look run- support families of those working. down. Urbanisation can cause cities to develop Conditions in shanty town are unsanitary. and grow. There are often too few toilets and GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures human waste is found in the streets. People often defecate in the streams where water is extracted for drinking. Low-cost labour brings the price of goods Jobs in the city are not guaranteed and down in the city, meaning city-dwellers workers expect long hours, so migrants can buy more goods for less money. have to work hard to survive. People moving from rural to urban areas People in shanty towns have little provides a source of cheap labour for electricity and no access to a clean water business within the city. supply. Water often comes from polluted streams or gutters. The poorest people end up living in dirty and unsafe condition in shanty towns. Conditions ate overcrowded and crime can be a big problem. GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures 4) What is Copenhagen Like? Location Copenhagen is the capital city of the country of Denmark. Denmark is a European country and borders the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the East. The city of Copenhagen is found in the east of the ‘Capital Region’ state of Denmark and to the east of Denmark’s mainland. Introduction to Copenhagen Today, Copenhagen has a population of over 1,280,371 (2016). At only an average of 14m metres above sea level, Copenhagen is a low-lying city at risk of coastal flooding. Much of this area was carved out by glaciers in the last ice age, while hilly areas can be found to the north and west of the city. Many of these peaks reach over 50m in height. Close to the centre of the city are the lakes of Sortedams Sø, Peblinge Sø and Sankt Jørgens Sø, also created during the ice age. The ‘Lakes’ area of Copenhagen Figure 4: Development indicators relating to Copenhagen (Right) History GCSE Revision Guide People and Society: Urban Futures Originally a Viking fishing village, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the 15th century. Following the Plague and raging fires in the 18th century, many parts of Copenhagen were rebuilt.