Pilot GCSE - Option 6: Urban Transport – Finding Sustainable Solutions

Pilot GCSE - Option 6: Urban Transport – Finding sustainable solutions

Context

Urban populations are increasing at a rate three times faster than the total population of our planet. Associated with urbanisation is the growth in range and scale of urban transport. People need to move around easily in order to go about their work and daily lives, yet many journeys for work, shopping or leisure activities contribute to environmental problems such as air pollution and resource depletion. This unit will enable candidates to assess whether more sustainable solutions to urban transport can be found and implemented to combat the drawbacks of more traditional and less sustainable approaches.

Much current geography teaching rests on a simplified representation of place. This can be unhelpful in preparing candidates for a changing and complicated world. An over-descriptive approach to urban transport issues can reduce the learning to a culture of passive acceptance of perceived ‘right answers’. This unit promotes critical creative enquiry with more open-ended questions.

Furthermore much current geography teaching of the urban system rests on models and theoretical approaches that are less relevant than previously, providing candidates with a narrative that, at its worst, is misleading. This specification takes its lead from recent research on urban transport systems.

A good opening could be developed by critiquing the first two sentences of the unit: ‘This applied option investigates some of the problems arising out of the movement of people and goods in towns and cities. It will examine why the unstoppable growth of urban areas, and the associated development of urban transport, is becoming an important management issue.’ The use of the word ‘unstoppable’ is interesting. ‘Unstoppable’ is value laden. In theory, with green belts, an urban area should not grow in terms of geographical coverage, but in terms of density. The pressures on land use are indeed causing leapfrogging of the greenbelt, hence the debate about the construction of housing on greenfield sites and the associated transport infrastructure in the South-East of England.

Sustainable solutions are as much about people’s choices as ‘new measures’. The notion of individual choices leading to unsustainable cities is also worthy of further exploration. For example, 38% of households in Birmingham do not have access to a car - for some this will be a lifestyle choice, for others an economic reality. Choice operates at many levels, e.g. what and where we buy produce and local sourcing has a major effect on the transportation of goods, what mode of transport we choose, how and where we plan and design new developments, where we choose to live. Of course city living is on the increase. Sustainable options (e.g. park and ride) still depend on individual’s choosing to use them.

Content

This unit is divided into four sections: . Moving around in cities, explores urban transport through an overview of the past, present and future. . Exploring urban transport problems, engages candidates in critically evaluating local transport proposals on the basis of their knowledge and understanding and their own views. . Investigating urban transport, involves outlining the main urban transport issues in two case study cities, relating these to the form of each city and the characteristics of the country.

1 Pilot GCSE Urban transport unit downloaded from www.geography.org.uk . Looking for sustainable solutions, requires candidates to explain the meaning of sustainability in relation to urban transport and critically evaluate specific examples of sustainable solutions.

Concepts

Urban Transport – Finding sustainable solutions reflects the five organising concepts that underlie the Pilot GCSE as a whole:  Uneven development. Areas that become transport ‘hot spots’ usually develop at the expense of others. Even when a local route becomes established there is often uneven development that can mirror uneven development between nations.  Interdependence. Urban transport is made up of the flows of people and products between areas. Transport at any scale involves decisions, compromise, power relations, use and abuse of resources, views, values and perspectives. This specification emphasises understanding though global interconnectivity rather than places being seen as independent and isolated nodes.  Futures. The future of urban transport is not just the responsibility of the industry, but governments, consumers and local populations.  Sustainability. Environmental, cultural and economic sustainability are important in preserving a sustainable future for urban transport.  Globalisation. The impact of global media and global travel brands influence the development of transport in places as well as the lifestyle transport decisions consumers’ make.

Assessment objectives

The unit involves aspects of all three of the Assessment Objectives, i.e. AO1, AO2 and AO3. A knowledge and understanding of ‘sustainability in relation to urban transport’ is part of AO1. Developing interpretations of ‘future trends in urban transport planning and express their own views about these’ is part of AO2 but also has some overlap with A01. The ability to select and use skills by demonstrating ‘abilities to draw on primary and secondary data to analyse specific local transport problems and suggest alternatives’ is part of AO3. Candidates’ ability ‘to decide on their own views about likely future trends in urban transport planning’ is split between AO2 and AO3. Although the unit is an ‘applied option’ there is a slight emphasis on AO1 and AO2. Primary data could be collected as part of this unit so that candidates can have opportunities to achieve the objectives described in AO3.

Opportunities for linking themes

This unit provides opportunities to identify and develop links with other units in this award. This encourages the use of fieldwork and residential study visits to allow candidates to study a particular location across several core themes and option al units:

Core theme – My place - opportunity to look at urban transport in own region and/or UK Optional units  Planning where we live - planning issues about urban transport  Investigating geography through fieldwork - opportunities for urban fieldwork  Geographical information systems - use of GIS techniques for handlin and /analysing data

Ensuring that this is an ‘applied unit’

Although this is an ‘applied unit’, it requires candidates to have a sound knowledge and understanding of key features of urban growth and change and apply it to the problem of

2 Pilot GCSE Urban transport unit downloaded from www.geography.org.uk investigating more sustainable transport solutions. The concept of sustainability is central to this unit and should be clearly understood before in-depth analysis of the topic. The unit should also provide opportunities for young people to question their attitudes towards urban transport in their own locality as well as to find out about urban transport and sustainability in other parts of the world.

Planning content

A planning grid for the Urban Transport unit is available as a download via the Pilot GCSE web pages.

Diane Swift (GA) and Peter Wright (Birmingham Planning Department)

3 Pilot GCSE Urban transport unit downloaded from www.geography.org.uk