Urban+environment

Syllabus Summary

 * Definition of Terms **


 * Urban populations **
 * Define urbanization and explain the variation in global growth rates and patterns.
 * Explain the processes of centripetal movements (rural–urban migration, gentrification, re‑urbanization/urban renewal).
 * Explain the processes of centrifugal movements (suburbanization, counter‑urbanization, urban sprawl).
 * Explain the contribution of natural change to patterns of population density within urban areas.
 * Explain the global increase in the number and location of megacities (population over 10 million).


 * Urban land use **
 * Explain the location of residential areas in relation to wealth, ethnicity and family status (stage in life cycle).
 * Examine patterns of urban poverty and deprivation (such as slums, squatter settlements, areas of low‑cost housing and inner city areas).
 * Examine the causes and effects of the movement of socio-economic groups since the 1980s.


 * Areas of economic activity **
 * Explain the spatial pattern of economic activity, the zoning of urban and suburban functions and the internal structure of the central business district (CBD).
 * Describe the informal sector; its characteristics and location in urban areas.
 * Examine the causes and effects of the movement of retailing, service and manufacturing activities to new locations, including brownfield sites.


 * Urban stress **
 * Examine the effects of structures and human activity on urban microclimates, including the urban heat island effect and air pollution.
 * Examine the other symptoms of urban stress including congestion, overcrowding and noise, depletion of green space, waste overburden, poor quality housing, social deprivation, crime and inequality.


 * The sustainable city **
 * Describe the city as a system in terms of: inputs—energy, water, people, materials, products, food (urban agriculture), outputs—solid, atmospheric and liquid waste, noise, people.
 * Distinguish between a sustainable circular system where inputs are reduced and outputs are recycled and an unsustainable (open/linear) city system with uncontrolled inputs and outputs.
 * Referring to at least two city case studies, discuss the concepts of:
 * sustainable city management
 * the urban ecological footprint.
 * Evaluate one case study of each of the following.
 * One socially sustainable housing management strategy.
 * One environmentally sustainable pollution management strategy.
 * One strategy to control rapid city growth resulting from in‑migration.