Introduction


Urban problems are a major concern to countries at both national and international levels. Cities consume 75 per cent of all energy generated in the world. This energy is needed for transport, industrial and commercial activities, infrastructure, water supply and food production. As well as consuming three-quarters of the world’s energy, cities are also responsible for roughly 60 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases, meaning that cities are highly polluted. This impacts on the environment – locally and globally – and also impacts on the daily lives of the people who live in cities. Through new planning methods and new technologies, some of these issues are being addressed. However, with the world becoming more and more urbanised, these problems are likely to continue. This chapter focuses on problems such as: l


Urban sprawl l l l l


Traffic congestion Urban decay


Heritage issues


Environmental damage: namely air and water pollution.


Solutions to some urban problems are also discussed in this chapter: l


l l


Urban planning Urban renewal


Sustainable cities of the future. 6.1 Problem 1: Urban Sprawl


Urban sprawl refers to the uncontrolled spread of cities into the surrounding countryside. This is caused by the rapidly growing populations of the cities, who are housed in the suburbs along the fringes of cities. The more rapidly a city’s population grows, the more rapidly urban sprawl occurs. Urban sprawl is a problem that is being experienced by all Irish urban areas, especially Cork and Dublin. In these cities, housing and industry are spreading into greenbelts of neighbouring counties. In 2006 the European Environmental Agency stated that the city of Dublin was a ‘worst-case scenario of urban planning’ as high-rise or high-density accommodation is not used, meaning the city grows outwards rather than upwards.


Increased car ownership in Ireland means that people are able to live longer distances from the CBD and commute to work each day. This has resulted in large areas of land being rezoned for residential housing,


URBAN PROBLEMS 157


: Fig. 6.2 Aerial view of Dublin City shows its impact on the surrounding countryside


: Fig. 6.1 Air pollution is a major issue in China’s cities.


GEO DICTIONARY


European Environmental Agency: agency responsible for providing independent advice on the environment to the EU


A


Z


Elective 5: Human CHAPTER 6


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194