GREENFIELD
BROWNFIELD SITES
SITES
 The land has never been used
before so is not polluted
 Greenfield sites are often near
the rural-urban fringe where
transport links are good
 There is often less congestion
near the rural-urban fringe
 You can normally choose the
ADVANTAGES
size of your site and ensure
that there is room to expand.
 Developers will find it easier
selling houses, offices, etc.
near the rural-urban fringe
because this is where the
demand is.
 You may come into conflict with
other land users
 Many greenfield sites are now
protected by the government
 The sites might be less
DISADVANTAGES
accessible by public transport
 There maybe public protests
when trying to build on
greenfield sites.
‍Changing Location of Retail Land Use
Traditionally most main shopping
areas have been concentrated in the CBD. However, in
recent decades there has been a trend of shopping areas moving to the rural-urban fringe.
Below are some of the reasons why they have moved.
Central Business District (CBD)
Advantages  Most public transport links
(trains, subways and buses)
tend to head towards CBDs
 There are main nice buildings
in the CBD, giving the area
much more character.
 There are often other
associated services that you
can visit at the same time
e.g. banks, restaurants, post
offices or even libraries.
 The land is often cheap to
buy because it has been
used before
 Many brownfield sites are
located near the CBD.
 Government policy is to build
more on brownfield sites.
 People are more likely to be
able to access the site by
public transport because it is
near the CBD
 The land is often polluted so
it is expensive to clean-up
 Brownfield sites are not
always located where you
want them
 Brownfield sites don't always
have room to expand
 Brownfield sites are not
always the shape that you
want them to be.
Rural-Urban Fringe
 There is plenty of land in the rural-
urban fringe so shopping centres
are able to expand
 Because of the availability of land
(often flat and easy to build on)
rents rents are normally cheaper.
 The extra land allows shopping
centres to build more car parking
spaces.
 There are often main roads near
the rural-urban fringe so it is easy to
access the shopping centres in
cars.
 It is possible to make the shopping
centres very large and put them all
under one roof, eliminating any
 issues of bad weather

 It is easier for the shopping centres

to receive deliveries.
 There is often a shortage of
space, so shops and
shopping centres are unable
 Customers without cars may find it
to expand.
hard to access shopping malls in
 Because of the shortage of
rural-urban fringe. However, some
space, land is very
will develop public transport links
expensive, making shop
(buses and even trains).
rents very high.
 It can cause environmental damage
 Roads leading to the CBD
as greenfield sites are destroyed in
are often small and not
the rural-urban fringe.
designed for cars.
Disadvantages  Although the new shopping centre
 There is limited parking in the
may create new jobs, other jobs
CBD.
may be lost in the CBD as other
 Some CBDs have a lot of
shopping areas are forced to go out
derelict buildings and high of business.
crime rates which scares
potential customers visiting
the area.  It encourages greater use of the
car, furthering congestion and
pollution
 Because of the small roads
deliveries may be hard and
delayed

ADVANTAGES TO LOCAL RESIDENTS IN DISADVANTAGES TO LOCAL RESIDENTS IN

RURAL-URBAN FRINGE
 New public transport links may be
developed
 There will be new facilities that local
residents can access and use
 Local residents may get jobs in the new
shopping centre.
RURAL-URBAN FRINGE
 There will be an increase in congestion
as more people travel to shopping
centre by car.
 The shopping centres may create noise,
air and visual pollution all affecting local
residents (negative externality)

 The shopping centre may pull more  Shopping centres may destroy
people into the area and may benefit greenfield sites that have previously
existing services, possibly owned by been used and enjoyed by local
local residents. residents.
Urbanisation: The increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. Although this can
be caused by natural increase (higher birth rates in urban areas than rural areas), it is more likely
to happen because of rural-urban migration.

Urban growth or Sprawl: A growth in the size of the urban area. This normally happens
because of building in the rural-urban fringe, although it may also include things like land
reclamation.

Rapid urbanisation and urban growth can cause many problems in urban areas including:

 Congestion (an increase in the amount of traffic leading to traffic jams)

 Destruction of greenfield sites
 Pollutions (air, water, noise, visual)
  Electricity blackouts
 Water shortages
 Unemployment
 Homelessness
 Growth of informal settlements
 Crime

‍Spiral of Decline
Often one urban problem can lead to many other urban problems. This is often called the spiral of
decline or also the negative multiplier effect. For example the diagram to the right shows how
deindustrialisation (closure of factories and movement overseas) led to unemployment. Once you
have unemployment local residents have less money. They do not spend money in local shops or
on local facilities. They also invest less in their houses. Local businesses start to close or move to
new locations (disinvestment). The local government starts to collect less money in tax while
having to pay more unemployment benefit.

As local shops and facilities either close or move elsewhere unemployment rises still further.
Some people will start to move causing depopulation. This out migration leaves behind
abandoned businesses and houses which are often vandalised and become derelict.

Remaining residents take less care of their houses and the local government has less money to
spend on roads, schools and hospitals. Education levels fall and so does residents health leading
to more sickness and days missed from work.

This decline can continue on indefinitely until some intervention, usually by the government tried
to regenerate and improve and area. Later we will look at the London Docklands and how it is
being regenerated after decades of decline.

Congestion (London Case Study)

Probably one of the most common problems is congestion. The problem of congestion is caused
by multiple factors, including:

 Increase in car ownership

 Limited amount of public transport or expensive public transport or overcrowded public
transport
 Roads not designed for cars, but rather horses and people.
 Population growth and rural-urban migration
 The movement of freight (containers) onto lorries

The problems caused by congestion can be divided into social, environmental and economic
problems.

ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL PROBLEMS CAUSED ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
PROBLEMS CAUSED BY
BY CONGESTION CAUSED BY CONGESTION
CONGESTION
 As car ownership  More vehicles on the  Building new roads is
 increases so does the
very expensive,
amount of pollutants
especially when private
released by cars. This
roads increase the property is purchased,
can lead increased
amount of air pollution, thus cost the
chest problems e.g.
but also noise pollution. government money.
asthma.
 Increased car  Late deliveries caused
 People travelling to
ownership has by traffic jams costs
work have to leave
increased road building companies and the
home earlier and arrive
which often leads to the economy money.
back later, therefore
destruction of greenfield  Workers also arrive late
spending longer away
sites. to work because they
from their families.
are stuck in traffic.
 More cars on the roads
increases the frequency  The air pollution can
of accidents contribute to acid rain  It creates a reliance on
and the greenhouse oil and more oil is used
effect at slow speed than
 More traffic jams can
normal travelling
increase the frequency
speeds
of road rage.
London in the UK has tried a number of different things to reduce the problems of congestion.
They include:
 Congestion charge: Drivers are now charged to drive into the centre of London. The
charge is about $15 a day. The idea is to encourage people from cars and onto public
transport.
 Barclays bike hire and bike lanes and work showers: The is now a bike hire scheme
in London sponsored by the bank Barclays. People can now borrow bikes for a short
period at minimal cost. Bike lanes are being create to make using a bike cheaper and
workplaces have been encouraged to install showers, so people can cycle to work and
wash when they get there.
 Reintroduction of trams: Trams which are like buses that run on train tracks in the road
have been reintroduced to South London. Trams were an early form of public transport
common in most British cities. Unfortunately most were removed as car ownership
increased. They are environmentally good because they run on electricity and don't
release greenhouse gases.
 Extension of the underground: New lines have been recently built or upgraded. The
Jubilee Line was the latest big extension which goes from Central London out to East
London (near the site of the 2012 Olympic Games).
 Pedestrianisation: Some areas of London including the north side of Trafalgar Square,
Leicester Square and much of Covent Garden have been pedestrianised to make it safer
for people walking and to discourage car use. Pedestrianisation means removing cars
from the roads and making them walking only areas.
 Improved rail links (Crossrail and East London Overground and Docklands Light
Railway): London is currently undertaking one of the biggest engineering projects in
London by building a railway from east to west underground. This railway will increase
travel times and is called Crossrail. London is also improving or extending railways in the
East of London near the site of the Olympics.
 Bus lanes and priority traffic lights: The amount of buses have been increased and
old ones renewed. Also some bus lanes have been created to avoid the traffic lights and
also bus lanes are given priority at lights. This should hopefully make buses quicker than
cars and encourage more people to use public transport.
 Car sharing (pooling) and car sharing lanes: Websites have been created to
encourage people to share cars who travel an similar routes. Also road lanes have also
been dedicated to people with more than one person in them.
 Working from home and Flextime: Improved technology has allowed more people to
work from home and also flexitime has meant people can travel at different times
 reducing the traffic peaks. Flexitime is people have to work a set number of hours a
week, but aren't given specific start and finish times. This allows people to start early or
finish late, or do both and then earn days off.
 Reurbanisation: This means the movement of people back in the centre of urban areas
(near the CBD). By encouraging people back into the centre then commuter time and
traffic jams decrease.
 Increased car tax and petrol duty. Possible carbon tax and car park tax: Already the
government has increased petrol tax and increased car tax on big cars to encourage
people to drive smaller cars. In the future it has been proposed to introduce further
carbon taxes and possibly a tax on car parking spaces.
 Park and ride: This is not used widely at the moment but will be used a lot during the
Olympics. Car parks will be built on the edge of London next to train stations and bus
routes. People will then park their cars on the edge and transfer to public transport to
reduce traffic.

Integrated transport network: This is linking different forms of public transport with each
other. For example every underground station will have a bus stop by it and every
mainline train station will have an underground station under it. Departure and arrival
times will also be coordinated so people can move from one form of transport to another.

Rush hour: The period of time when most people travel to work. This normally between 7-9
in the morning and 5-7 in the afternoon. Traffic is normally worst during these periods.

School run: This is parents driving their children from home to work and back again. The
school run can cause significant traffic around schools at opening and closing times.

Urban Regeneration

Deindustrialisation: The process of factories closing down. This has happened in many MEDCs
over the last 50 years and was largely caused by offshoring (industries moving overseas to
cheaper locations).

Disinvestment: Companies and or people leaving an area and taking their investments with
them.

Unemployment: When people don't have a job.

Counterurbanisation and Suburbanisation: The movement of people away from the CBD
towards rural areas or towards the suburbs (the edge).

Reurbanisation: The movement of people back towards the centre of urban areas.

Decentralisation: The movement out of businesses and people away from the CBD and out to
more peripheral locations (possibly in the suburbs or smaller cities in other parts of the country.

Regeneration: The improvement of areas through investment, rebranding (improving its image
and possible its functions), advertising, etc. Regeneration may involve knocking down derelict
buildings and building new ones.

Gentrification: When people move into an area and starting making improvements which slowly
improves and regenerates an area.

UDC: UDC stands for urban development corporation - they are organisations aimed at improving
urban areas. The UK government created UDCs to improve deprived and poor urban areas like
the London Docklands. They made redevelopment a lot easier by reducing tax, relaxing
planning controls (making building cheaper and quicker) and improving local transport
and training schemes.
‍London Docklands Case Study
‍Newcastle Case Study
The Docklands is found in the East of London and
used to be one of the world's most important docks
Newcastle CBD has seen large scale
(ports). It exported products made in the UK around
regeneration in recent years in an attempt
the world to its Empire. However, with the advent of
to encourage people back to the CBD. It
containerisation ships started to get a lot bigger and
has built some landmark buildings,
they became to big to sail up and down the River
improved transport links, improved public
Thames. Also the UK lost its Empire so became less
safety, built new shopping areas and
important globally. Many of the UK's factories also
marketed itself better.
closed (deindustrialisation) and moved overseas
(offshoring). The process of deindustrialisation and
Two landmark projects are the Baltic
containerisation meant that the Docklands suffered a
Centre and The Sage. The Baltic Centre is
spiral of decline and became very deprived.
a new art gallery built on the Tyne River in
a former flour mill. The Sage is a
During the 1980's the British government decided that
multipurpose arts centre also built on the
it needed to regenerate these poor areas and
banks of the Tyne.
launched UDCs (organisations aimed at regenerating
areas). London Docklands became one of the first in
Transport and ease of movement has been
1981. Since the UDC came into existence, physical,
improved by pedestrianising large areas of
social and economic improvements have been made.
the CBD, building the Millennium bridge
across the Tyne and improving the
Physical (environmental): 200,000 trees planted,
integration of Newcastle's rail, metro and
760 hectares of derelict land reclaimed, 150 hectares
bus system.
of open space created and 17 conservation areas
made.
The main shopping centre Eldon Square
has seen its parking improved and its
Social: 22,000 new homes built, 10,00 council houses
disabled access improved. It has also been
refurbished, shopping centres and sports centres have
expanded an now accommodates 140
been built along with new colleges. About $160 million
shops. A new shopping area Eldon
has also been spent on education, healthcare and job
Gardens has also been developed for
retraining.
smaller independent retailers.
Economic: Docklands light railways was built, over
Newcastle now also has more visual
135km of roads built, the city airport was opened and
policing and better CCTV. It has also
the underground extended. The number of businesses
marketed itself better and even applied for
doubled and the number of jobs tripled. Major
the European city of culture. Newcastle
businesses like HSBC and Citigroup moved into the
United's promotion back to the Premiership
area.
has also increased visits to the city. St.
James Park remains very close to the
On a slightly wider scale the Greenwich Peninsula
CBD.
was cleaned and the O2 arena built and nearby in
Stratford the 2012 Olympic Games will take place.

Rio de Janeiro Case Study

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil and it is located on the SE coast. It is famous for
its football, carnival, beaches and mountains. However, it is also known for its favelas and high
crime rates.
It is estimated that over 1 million people live in Rio's favelas. The favelas suffer from many
problems including:

 Landslides caused by the deforestation of the steep hills they are situated on
 Risk of eviction. Most of the land they are built on is illegally occupied so they could be
thrown of it at any time.
 No proper electricity connections leading to illegal and dangerous connection to the city's
electricity supply
 Housing that is only made out of temporary material which is vulnerable to flooding, etc.
 No clean water supply which can lead to diseases like typhoid.
 Overcrowding (high population density) which allows diseases to spread quickly
 No toilets, showers or proper sewer systems which can cause disease to spread and
attract mosquitoes which cause diseases like malaria
 No proper rubbish collections which can attract animals like rats
 No proper schools and medical facilities
 Shortage of entertainment and facilities for all ages
 High unemployment
 High crime rates, including gangs, drugs and murders

A number of schemes are now in place to try and help people living favelas.

Self-help schemes

This is a local government and resident partnership. Residents are given legal ownership of their
property and houses are upgraded by materials provided by the local government. Houses are
connected to the city's electricity supply and sewers built. Local labour is used which means the
government doesn't have to pay anything, but also local residents are learning new skills. Legal
ownership should also mean local residents are prepared to invest in the ir houses. Electricity
and water should also mean that peoples health starts to improve.

ADVANTAGES TO LOCAL RESIDENTS ADVANTAGES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

 Local residents will now start paying taxes
to the government
 They get an improved house to live in
 There should be less health problems that
 They gain legal ownership of their
the government has to pay for
house and the land it is on
 There should be a positive multiplier effect
 Health should improve with better
as local residents try to improve their local
water supply and sewers
area
 They should have a safer more reliable
 Hopefully crime rates will reduce as
electricity supply
residents find work and care for their
 Houses should be at less risk from
community
landslides (better foundations and
 Residents have new skills so should be
better drainage)
able to find work.
 New skills will be learnt when they are
 The labour is free, even the government
carrying out improvements
may provide some of the materials

 Locals health should start to improve.

 Better roads should mean policing and
rubbish collections are easier
Site and Service Schemes

The local government provides land and builds new roads with electricity and water connections.
Local residents are then given or sold plots of land that they can build their houses on. Some site
and service schemes will also have the houses built which again given or sold cheaply to low
income families.

Favella Bairro Project

This scheme started in the 1990's with $300 million and was designed to help 60 of the poorest
favelas. Houses were made legal and extended. Roads were built so rubbish collections could
start, schools and medical facilities were improved and sports facilities upgraded. Local labour
was used to reduce unemployment and teach new skills.

Barra de Tijuca

This was a new city built 20km outside Rio. Its aim was to reduce pressure on housing in Rio. By
2000, 140,000 people lived in the new city. It was a completely self-contained city with its own
shops, schools, medical facilities, etc. However, the houses in the new city were only really
accessible for the rich and now Barra de Tijuca even has its own favelas.