Sustainable Cities (OCR GCSE Geography B)

Due to London's popularity, buildings have been built to be lived and worked in as the city has changed

Many factories shut down as manufacturing moved overseas to countries like China.

• Areas became abandoned as their desirability changed, with factory buildings falling into disrepair and nearby houses becoming vacant and boarded up

These areas can become environmentally damaging due to toxic leaks, asbestos, rubble, rats, foxes and unwanted plant growth and socially they are an eyesore and a place of danger for children

London needs 63,000 new homes a year to keep up with its population growth

The obvious answer is to redevelop derelict sites, but issues arise, and developers' costs increase

Brownfield sites are land that has previously been built on e.g. Battersea Power Station or the Olympic Park where they have been converted into new homes 

Environmental problems include more waste production as land needs to be cleared first and made safe before building can begin, this makes it more expensive overall and pushes the price of the finished buildings up 

Location:

• The Lea Valley, East London - site chosen for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

The problems:

• The aim was to create a lasting legacy for London without building on greenfield sites

• Areas such as Stratford, Bow, Leyton and Hackney Wick were deprived areas in desperate need of regeneration

• An area of 100 hectares within Newham borough was chosen as host to part of the 2012 London Olympics

• The soil was contaminated by past industrial pollution 

• The river Lee was polluted and needed to be cleaned

• Transport was poor in the area, making it disconnected and preventing good jobs

The solutions:

• The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) bought the land

• People who lived there were forced to sell their homes and move – this caused protests

• The land had to be decontaminated and large electricity pylons had to be buried under the ground

• Bridges were built over the river and the river was cleaned; habitats were created on the banks

• New houses were built along with new schools, nurseries and community facilities

• Once the Olympics was over, much of the green space was sold to build new housing and pay back the debt created by the Olympic games

• The Olympic stadium is West Ham's new home, but also an athletic stadium in the summer

• 500 media jobs were created in the media centre called Here East

• The aquatics centre and velodrome are now open to the public and schools

There are a number of ways that some of the challenges in Lagos have been or are being managed:

• Sustainable urban development:

  • Through improving residents lives now without destroying opportunities and the environment for later generations

• Top-down action:

  • Intervention by local and national governments and business projects 

• Bottom-up action:

  • Communities and individual action

• Help from non-governmental organisations (NGOs):

  • Funding by donations with no formal links to any government (WaterAid, Educate Nigeria etc)

The authorities encourage the residents of Makoko to recycle plastics, metals and paper

Some of the waste to the Olusosun dump is diverted to Makoko, where it is gathered up, compressed down, covered in sawdust and sand to create new land in the lagoon

This helps to alleviate waste but also creates new land for the residents

Air pollution is being managed through improving the road and rail networks

The new light railway will reduce the amount of traffic and congestion along with reducing air pollution

Residents are encouraged to use public transport or car share to reduce congestion and air pollution

Public information and education have seen a reduction in the amount of raw sewage entering the waterways

Stricter pollution controls are enforced, with factories being fined for polluting the waterways

Alternative transport options such as rail are being created

Seven new lines on a new light-rail network are being constructed

A Fourth Mainland Bridge along with improvements on 360 inner roads restored are due to begin in 2023

Google Maps and radio bulletins advise on traffic issues

Businesses are encouraged to allow people to work from home or to work flexible hours to avoid “rush hour” traffic