Land use in London

There are various types of land use in London including industrial, commercial and residential. The 'central business district' in London consists of three areas:

1. The west end
2. The docklands
3. Centre of the city

Each of these areas contains high value, high density and high rise buildings. These are all located in the centre of London where there is a major transport link such as the River Thames.

Surrounding this area, there is the inner city housing which consists of cheap, compact housing originally built for the factory workers. These are usually the most deprived. Examples include Tower Hamlets and Newham.

Surrounding the inner city, the inner suburbs are situated. These include quite affluent areas such as Camden and Greenwich. The housing here is not as cramped and there is still good access to the CBD.

The outer suburbs such as Edgware and Golders Green are the most affluent places with high value properties. The housing here is spacious, there is hardly any air pollution and there is good access to the CBD through transport links hence many people can commute to work regularly in a small time.

Deprivation and poverty in HIC cities.

The multiple deprivation index contains all the factors that may affect their wellbeing.

Deprivation is defined as the standard by which a person's wellbeing falls below that thought of as an acceptable minimum.

1. Income
2. Health
3. Employment
4. Education
5. Access to housing
6. Crime rates
7. Living environment

Cycle of poverty:

It is generally very difficult to break out from the cycle of poverty.

Growing up with poor parents results in children receiving minimal support and minimal education.

Poor accommodation - poor health - poor education - poor occupational skills - poor employment - poor accomodation etc.

London and Ethnic segregation

Gentrification is the process of renovation and revival of a deteriorated neighbourhood. Increasingly, more and more areas in London are being gentrified, minimising the development gap as well as gap of ethnic segregation.

There are external and internal factors that influence ethnic segregation:

Internal:

1. Mutual support for families i.e. community organisations
2. Favourable shops and places of worship close by.
3. Friendships within the ethnic groups.
4. Protection against racial abuse.
5. More opportunities to speak native language.

External:

1. Uneducated/ unemployed ethnic group is forced into cheap housing areas.
2. Discrimination by estate agents.
3. Social hostility from majority of the population.
4. Racially motivated violence against the ethnic group.

Ethnic segregation is the separation of ethnic groups in daily life.

Kibera

Kibera is Africa's largest slum. It is situated in the heart of Nairobi. It is on abandoned land hence it is not the Kenyan government's responsibility.

Statistics:

1. More than one million people live in one square mile in cramped, informal housing made from scrap metal and mud.
2. One toilet can be shared by up to a thousand people.
3. Only 20% of the population have access to electricity.
4. The lack of security and lack of employment leads to crime and gang violence.
5. Only 50% of the population are employed.
6. 20% of the population live with HIV.
7. Only two water pipes flow into Kibera, each laced with Cholera and Typhoid.

St. Vincent de Paul Community Organisation

This is an organisation committed to helping vulnerable children in Kibera. There are so many children whose parents may have passed away due to HIV and St. Vincent's is dedicated to helping these children reach their full potential. There are four programmes:

1. Women's support
2. Nursery centre
3. Rescue centre
4. Education support

1. The women's community support programme is centred around training. Young women are trained to develop their skills into business plans and then set up these businesses and support themselves.

2. The nursery centre and education support is relation to helping young children pay for school fees and provide them with an education. The children are provided with textbooks, stationery and tuition.

3. The rescue centre is a home for orphaned children. It provides them with food and shelter. There is a 'house mother' who looks after these children. These children can reside in a nurturing environment which is important for their development.

Morphology and city-models

Morphology is the study of the internal structure of a city.

There are numerous models depicting cities in varying developed countries such as HICs and LEDCs.

The Burgess and Hoyt model show cities in HICs. The Burgess model is based off of Chicago in 1925.

There are similarities amongst the two models:

1.The outer areas of the model have expensive housing. This is because there is more space, less pollution and easy ways to commute into the city.

2. The cheapest housing used to be the factory-workers'. This is situated around the factories and industries. As this housing is currently undergoing regeneration and re-imaging due to gentrification from young adults, the value is rising. These young adults require easy and quick access to the CBD. In the Burgess Model, this is situated as a circle shape around the factories and industrial areas. In the Hoyt model, the industrial areas are situated along a route of transport i.e. main road/ river. The cheap housing lies besides this.

3. The CBD is full of high value/ dense buildings. Predominantly full of businesses and large corporations who need access to good communications systems. [Agglomeration].

LEDC model:

This model is a portrayal of the inner structure of a low-economically-developed country. Most of its features are reversed to that of an HIC such as the location of expensive properties.

1. The outskirts of the city are concentrated with informal, cramped housing rather than spacious wealthy land like in HICs. These are called favelas.

2. The wealthy areas are located around the CBD where there is easy access to business. This may be a result of no proper way of commuting from the outskirts. Cities such as London and Bangkok have intricate transport systems.

3. Industry is situated along transport routes.

Problems with rapid urbanisation

There are physical and health-related problems associated with rapid urbanisation:

1. Increase in crime rates as more people may be homeless due to overcrowding and lack of housing.
2. Overpopulation puts a strain on public services such as healthcare and education.
3. Limited access to water and electricity due to overcrowding.
4. Lack of housing and employment. May be a rise in the informal sector.
5. Possible deterioration in health due to increases in air pollution and traffic congestion.

Push and pull factors [counter-urbanisation included]

Counter-urbanisation is the movement of people and businesses to rural areas and small towns. It is influenced and increased by several push and pull factors. However, there are various factors propelling urbanisation:

Push:

1. Few employment opportunities in the suburbs.
2. Bad quality education and healthcare in the suburbs.

Pull:

1. Better quality education and health services.
2. Better access to electricity and water.
3. More job opportunities.
4. Good quality accommodation.

Counter-urbanisation:

Push: [note that these expand into problems with rapid urbanisation]

1. Traffic congestion
2. Air pollution
3. Overcrowding
4. Social problems

Pull:

1. Cleaner environment
2. Safer
3. Possible good education and healthcare