CONTEMPORARY URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
Summarise the benefits of river restoration and conservation in
urban areas. (5 marks)
River restoration and conservation is greatly beneficial in urban areas where a complete back
to nature approach is impractical since the built environment is so established. Urban river
restoration must be partial with a greater emphasis on conservation. Sheffield’s city centre’s
blue loop has undergone river restoration with the help of British Waterways alongside
Sheffield Cooperation of regenerating the polluted lifeless Don and the canal. Additionally,
the Blue Loop Community Project has aims to rejuvenate 13km waterfront for cyclists,
walkers and runners. This will discourage the use of public transport like cars and buses
which are great contributors to reducing air and water quality by emitting harmful pollutants,
whilst motivating people to commute to places in a clean environmentally friendly way.
Another aim is to encourage biodiversity by restoring natural ecosystems and protesting
wildlife species and habitats -song thrushes, water fowl, herons and kingfishers now thrive.
This provides the area a visual advantage by making the area look more aesthetically pleasing
and again encourages people to walk alongside this and admire the natural beauty.
Describe the recent ‘boom time’ in many cities in less
developed economies, the deterioration of air and water quality
in these locations threatens to stifle further growth.’ Assess this
statement (9 marks)
In less developed economies especially those in Low Economically Developed Countries
(LEDCs) and Emerging countries are more prone to the Detroit in air and water quality This
is because processes like industrialisation (the development of industries in a country or
region on a wide scale) and urbanisation (the proportion of people moving to urban areas
compared to rural areas increases). As the population growth increases more people are using
public transport, there is increased car ownership. A lot of nitrous oxides and harmful gases
are being emitted from the exhaust engines- carbon monoxide, one of the toxic gases that gets
released, is responsible for heart problems. headaches and tiredness- this can pose a threat to
people’s lives and health. In addition, bigger buses thus larger engines are being made to
accommodate for the larger population and bigger cars become more idealised as a luxury
purchase which also leads to poor air quality as larger engines emit more gases into the
atmosphere. This leads to increased levels of congestion and pollution and subsequently
deteriorating air quality thus stifling further growth and endangers the health of a civilian.
On the other hand, you could argue that during the ‘boom time’ of these less developed
countries, processes like urbanization and industrialization were inevitable to occur without
contributing to the development of the country. China, a very well-known industrialized
country is now the leading industrial power in the world in terms of output which suggests
that its air and water quality is significantly impacted from its rapid growth of development
and industrialization. The current industrial pollution is so dangerous that it has been the
leading cause of cancer according to the Chinese Ministry of Health. Although this is an
, alarming fact it is to be reminded that China is a renowned hub for manufacturing and
exporting goods, with over $2 trillion worth of exports. With that many goods being
produced, it is likely that a lot of machinery releasing toxic gases and therefore contributing
to air quality will be affected. It can be argued that China’s economy is at the expense of its
deteriorating air and water quality. It can also be argued that China’s further growth that the
deterioration of air and water quality threatens to stifle is quickly overcome by their
increasingly huge GDP (13.6 trillion USD) and boost in its economy. Therefore, leading
manufacturing hubs like China must sacrifice their air and water quality considering their
immense contribution to many goods and services we receive today.
In conclusion, the deterioration in air and water quality in less developed countries somewhat
threatens to stifle further growth but is only significant to countries that aren’t manufacturing
hubs or don’t have a well-developed and successful industrial area that have the money to
overcome the effects of air and water pollution.
To what extent does urban form determine the nature of
precipitation received in urban areas (9 marks)
Urban form greatly determines the nature of precipitation received in urban areas due to the
physical characteristics of the built-up area. Urban areas can be said to be urban heat islands
because there is a significantly warmer ‘island’ which is the city centre surrounded by a rural
‘sea’ of cooler temperatures like the suburbs or countryside.
Urban areas have significantly more infrastructure and business industries, all of which
generate their own heat, e.g. power stations, factories and vehicles. This causes heat to rise
and water to vaporize which are favoured conditions for precipitation to occur. Additionally,
these buildings generate higher levels of pollution like smoke and diesel particulates which
are also favoured conditions because they increase the density of condensation nuclei and
‘seed’ the cloud droplets. Therefore, the urban air pollution results in more condensation
nuclei to form which allows the tiny particles to form cloud droplets thus contributing to the
formation of clouds-leading to higher precipitation. Furthermore, the colour and material of
buildings and roads is another factor that determines the nature of precipitation received in
urban areas. Urban areas have lower albedo so the dark surfaces such as tarmac and roofs
have very high heat storage capacities as they absorb heat during the day and release it slowly
at night, adding warmth to the urban atmosphere. This keeps the urban microclimates high
and the contrast between the urban centre and the rural-urban fringe greatest at night,
strengthening the thermal gradient. Again, warmer temperatures lead to up draughts of hot,
humid air that rises and condenses to form precipitation e.g. hail and ice which charge
thunderclouds and discharge as lightning. Hot rising air also triggers heavier and more
frequent late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
It can be said that urban forms do not determine the nature of precipitation received in urban
areas and instead there are other factors involved. One factor is wind and its role in
precipitation patterns in an urban area. As warm air rises over an urban area from the
surrounding rural fringe, it draws in heat from the surrounding area and creates an area of
localised low pressure, causing winds to converge. However, buildings play a more
significant role in precipitation patterns because they can interfere with wind by slowly,
redirecting and generally disturbing the overall airflow. The height, shapes, orientation and
Summarise the benefits of river restoration and conservation in
urban areas. (5 marks)
River restoration and conservation is greatly beneficial in urban areas where a complete back
to nature approach is impractical since the built environment is so established. Urban river
restoration must be partial with a greater emphasis on conservation. Sheffield’s city centre’s
blue loop has undergone river restoration with the help of British Waterways alongside
Sheffield Cooperation of regenerating the polluted lifeless Don and the canal. Additionally,
the Blue Loop Community Project has aims to rejuvenate 13km waterfront for cyclists,
walkers and runners. This will discourage the use of public transport like cars and buses
which are great contributors to reducing air and water quality by emitting harmful pollutants,
whilst motivating people to commute to places in a clean environmentally friendly way.
Another aim is to encourage biodiversity by restoring natural ecosystems and protesting
wildlife species and habitats -song thrushes, water fowl, herons and kingfishers now thrive.
This provides the area a visual advantage by making the area look more aesthetically pleasing
and again encourages people to walk alongside this and admire the natural beauty.
Describe the recent ‘boom time’ in many cities in less
developed economies, the deterioration of air and water quality
in these locations threatens to stifle further growth.’ Assess this
statement (9 marks)
In less developed economies especially those in Low Economically Developed Countries
(LEDCs) and Emerging countries are more prone to the Detroit in air and water quality This
is because processes like industrialisation (the development of industries in a country or
region on a wide scale) and urbanisation (the proportion of people moving to urban areas
compared to rural areas increases). As the population growth increases more people are using
public transport, there is increased car ownership. A lot of nitrous oxides and harmful gases
are being emitted from the exhaust engines- carbon monoxide, one of the toxic gases that gets
released, is responsible for heart problems. headaches and tiredness- this can pose a threat to
people’s lives and health. In addition, bigger buses thus larger engines are being made to
accommodate for the larger population and bigger cars become more idealised as a luxury
purchase which also leads to poor air quality as larger engines emit more gases into the
atmosphere. This leads to increased levels of congestion and pollution and subsequently
deteriorating air quality thus stifling further growth and endangers the health of a civilian.
On the other hand, you could argue that during the ‘boom time’ of these less developed
countries, processes like urbanization and industrialization were inevitable to occur without
contributing to the development of the country. China, a very well-known industrialized
country is now the leading industrial power in the world in terms of output which suggests
that its air and water quality is significantly impacted from its rapid growth of development
and industrialization. The current industrial pollution is so dangerous that it has been the
leading cause of cancer according to the Chinese Ministry of Health. Although this is an
, alarming fact it is to be reminded that China is a renowned hub for manufacturing and
exporting goods, with over $2 trillion worth of exports. With that many goods being
produced, it is likely that a lot of machinery releasing toxic gases and therefore contributing
to air quality will be affected. It can be argued that China’s economy is at the expense of its
deteriorating air and water quality. It can also be argued that China’s further growth that the
deterioration of air and water quality threatens to stifle is quickly overcome by their
increasingly huge GDP (13.6 trillion USD) and boost in its economy. Therefore, leading
manufacturing hubs like China must sacrifice their air and water quality considering their
immense contribution to many goods and services we receive today.
In conclusion, the deterioration in air and water quality in less developed countries somewhat
threatens to stifle further growth but is only significant to countries that aren’t manufacturing
hubs or don’t have a well-developed and successful industrial area that have the money to
overcome the effects of air and water pollution.
To what extent does urban form determine the nature of
precipitation received in urban areas (9 marks)
Urban form greatly determines the nature of precipitation received in urban areas due to the
physical characteristics of the built-up area. Urban areas can be said to be urban heat islands
because there is a significantly warmer ‘island’ which is the city centre surrounded by a rural
‘sea’ of cooler temperatures like the suburbs or countryside.
Urban areas have significantly more infrastructure and business industries, all of which
generate their own heat, e.g. power stations, factories and vehicles. This causes heat to rise
and water to vaporize which are favoured conditions for precipitation to occur. Additionally,
these buildings generate higher levels of pollution like smoke and diesel particulates which
are also favoured conditions because they increase the density of condensation nuclei and
‘seed’ the cloud droplets. Therefore, the urban air pollution results in more condensation
nuclei to form which allows the tiny particles to form cloud droplets thus contributing to the
formation of clouds-leading to higher precipitation. Furthermore, the colour and material of
buildings and roads is another factor that determines the nature of precipitation received in
urban areas. Urban areas have lower albedo so the dark surfaces such as tarmac and roofs
have very high heat storage capacities as they absorb heat during the day and release it slowly
at night, adding warmth to the urban atmosphere. This keeps the urban microclimates high
and the contrast between the urban centre and the rural-urban fringe greatest at night,
strengthening the thermal gradient. Again, warmer temperatures lead to up draughts of hot,
humid air that rises and condenses to form precipitation e.g. hail and ice which charge
thunderclouds and discharge as lightning. Hot rising air also triggers heavier and more
frequent late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
It can be said that urban forms do not determine the nature of precipitation received in urban
areas and instead there are other factors involved. One factor is wind and its role in
precipitation patterns in an urban area. As warm air rises over an urban area from the
surrounding rural fringe, it draws in heat from the surrounding area and creates an area of
localised low pressure, causing winds to converge. However, buildings play a more
significant role in precipitation patterns because they can interfere with wind by slowly,
redirecting and generally disturbing the overall airflow. The height, shapes, orientation and
