Cities - Redevelopment of urban centres

Touchwood, Solihull

• Shopping centre on the south-east of the West Midlands conurbation – opposite side from Dudley
• On redeveloped land in the town centre, close to bus and railway stations, with it’s own multi-storey car park
• Prosperous area
• National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham airport
• Less derelict land than Dudley and has far more employment in growing sectors of the economy
• Touchwood was becoming old fashioned in the 90’s, and therefore refurbished itself
• 60,000m² space, opened in Sept 2001, modern theme
• Won UK Retail Destination of the year and Best major new shopping centre, also in the top 50 shopping centre destinations
• Created 2,000 retail jobs
• 80 stores, 20 restaurants, 9-screen cinema, 6,000 parking spaces
• Links to M42
• Architecture reflects Solihull very well and looks very pretty
• Largest arcade centre and most courtyard gardens and open spaces in the UK for a centre
• 2 internal courtyards
• 3 special arcade rooms
• 4 new gardens

Cities - Merry Hill

Merry Hill is an out of town shopping centre.

• Located west of Birmingham, 10/15km from central Birmingham, south of Dudley Hill
• Main section built from 1984-89 and is still ongoing extensions
• Touchwood shopping centre made from competition
• 50ha, 10 screen cinema, 2 floors, car park – 10,000 spaces
• 185 shops and kiosks, two supermarkets, 24 catering outlets – 2,200 seats e.g. M&S
• 3^rd largest centre after Bluewater and The biggest Metro Centre
• 21 million customer visits a year in a catchment area of 3 million
• Bus station en route to many places e.g. Birmingham and Wolverhampton
• Waterfront building opposite overviews canal with bars and restaurants 
• Previously railway underneath, failed due to safety and problems over ownership
• Enterprise zone in 1980’s made planning easy
• The area it was built on was over the steelwork industry factory and Merry Hill farm and wildlife area, even though it received many complaints and protests
• The building was so big that the canal was shut off for a while due to safety concerns

Reasons for success

• Close to highly populated cities (conurbation)
• Easy access from M5 motorway with buses and A roads
• One of the enterprise zones and people took advantage of planning conditions
• Need for jobs and business in the area
• Plenty of space, including both Brownfield and Greenfield
• No other shopping centres in the West

Impacts

Positives

• Many new easy jobs made
• Large area for eating shopping and for entertainment
• Unique and larger shops led to the multiplier effect
• Friendly and cheap
• Variety of shops in one place
• Dry, warm, clean
• Policed well
• Over 4,000 new jobs compared to 1,200 at steelworks
• Compacted area reduced sprawl
• All types of people can shop there, including elderly and disabled
• Free parking
• Trying to turn more eco-friendly now
• High streets and other businesses trying harder for work

Negatives

• Destroyed Merry Hill farm, the steelworks, wildlife and green space
• Temporary access restriction on canal
• Many people protested
• Many stores in surrounding area knocked out of business e.g. 70% of Dudley, whole M&S left and moved to Merry Hill
• Increased pollution and traffic, especially in that area
• Mainly accessible by car
• Loss of jobs at certain areas
• Cycle of decline

Cities - Decentralisation of retailing

Over recent years there has been a trend where shopping has moved from town centres to outer areas of cities and towns.

Causes

• Increased car ownership so people can drive to shops
• High parking prices in city centres
• Cheaper to build retail parks out of town
• Increased road building

Impacts on city centres

Positive

• Investment to improve the centre and attract customers like building pedestrian crossings
• Reduction of congestion and air pollution

Negative

• Hard to compete so shops might close causing job losses
• Services will also close with a reduction of people visiting the city centre 
• General decline of the area

Impacts on rural-urban fringe

Positive

• Create jobs for people in the suburbs
• Can be build on brownfield sites
• Houses close by may increase in value

Negative

• Require a lot of construction
• Congestion on the way to shopping centres especially at peak times

Cities - Gentrification

Gentrification is when wealthier people move into a run down area and regenerate it by improving their houses.

Positives

• Housing is improved
• Value of housing increases so people already in the area can make more money on their homes
• New businesses in the area so jobs are created
• Crime rates fall

Negatives

• High demand for housing so rents may be pushed up so original residents have to move out
• Loss of shops original residents need like laundrettes
• Tension between locals and new residents

Notting Hill

• Previously a working class neighbourhood
• Very close to central London
• Houses have secluded communal gardens so good for families
• Victorian architecture makes it very attractive
• The film Notting Hill continued to popularise the area
• New fashionable restaurants and bars opened like Trailer Happiness

Cities - Urban decline

Urban decline is when a decrease in economic activity in an urban area causes it to become run down.

Characteristics

• Poor quality housing
• Derelict buildings
• High unemployment
• High levels of pollution

Causes

• Deindustrialisation
• Outmigration of wealthier people 
• Recession
• Polarised economic growth
• Suburbanisation
• Crime
• Poor education
• Lack of ethnic integration

Cities - Mumbai

Mumbai is a city in the state of Maharashtra in India.

Urbanisation

• Mumbai has rapidly urbanised over the past 60 years
• This has been due to a high natural increase, and the booming economy attracting people due to the large number of jobs
• Mumbai is on an island making it harder to grow outwards

Dharavi

• Dharavi is the biggest slum in India with over one million inhabitants
• There are open sewers in the streets so disease spreads easily
• Homes are very small with many people living in them
• Water is also rationed
• 85% of people who live in the slum work in the slum
• There is a recycling zone where 80% of the plastic in Mumbai is recycled
• A $2 billion redevelopment project is threatening Dharavi with the slums bring replaced by high rises. The sense of community will be lost as well as many peoples jobs.

Cities - Re-urbanisation

Re-urbanisation is the movement of people back into an urban area.

Causes

• Redevelopments on brownfield sites with high quality housing
• Lots of universities are in cities so in brings in young people
• Young single people want to live close to work - can lead to gentrification
• Counter-urbanistaion may cause high house prices in rural areas pushing people out
• Rural areas may be too boring e.g. lacking nightlife 

Effects

Positive

• New shops and services open
• Jobs created from businesses opening
• Tourism can increase in the area
• Local schools can benefit from the increased number of students

Negative

• Original residents may not be able to afford homes as house prices increase
• Jobs may be unskilled and low pay
• Shops may cater to newer, wealthier residents rather than the original ones so they'll have to go elsewhere

Case study - London Docklands

• Enterprise zone (where taxes are lowered and planning restrictions are relaxed) was set up.
• By 1998, 2700 businesses were trading on the docks and attracted £7.7bn in investment.
• 24,000 new homes were built
• DLR connected central London with the docks
• Sailing and watersports centre built
• New schools and colleges built