LANDSCAPE

CASE
STUDY
Presented by: Linh Bui
 Map
"Maps present information
about the world in a simple,
visual way."- National
Geograpic
WHAT IS
CONSIDERED AN
URBAN AREA?
A densely populated area is
considered to be an urban
area. In comparison to the
neighbourhood, there is a
larger population density. It
is an area with numerous
buildings. Rural, where there
are farmlands and natural
areas, is the reverse of
urban. Urban areas typically
refer to cities and towns, as
well as their surrounding
suburbs. Villages typically
belong to rural areas. In
terms of connectivity and
access to infrastructure,
such as houses, roads,
railways, and ports, urban
regions have advanced more.
Typically, infrastructural
By: Linh Bui
development in rural areas is
little.
 Change
Moving water, ice, wind, and waves are the factors that cause
geomorphological processes to take place. Even in the absence of
climate change, these dynamic actions or events in
geomorphological systems do lead to changes in the shape of the
earth's surface.
 Introduction
Geomorphic process essentially means 'change' in the geographic
elements that makes up the Earth. Moving water, ice, wind, and waves
are the factors that cause geomorphological processes to take place.
Even in the absence of climate change, these dynamic actions or
occurrences in geomorphological systems do lead to changes in the
shape of the earth's surface. The term geo in geological processes
translates to earth in Greek, it means changes made by the Earth,
however, in recent times this word no longer excludes itself only to the
Earth but also the human population habiting this planet. 'Human
activities shift ten times as much material on the Earth's surface as all
natural geological processes put together', according to the BBC. The
rate of weathering, for instance, is accelerated by some types of air
pollution. Nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide are among the substances
released into the atmosphere by the burning of coal, natural gas, and
petroleum.
 Earthquake
As the map has shown, Japan is one of the densest islands in the world in terms
of urban share, in 2011, a massive underwater Earthquake just off the coast of
Tohoku wiped the entire urban landscape of the coastline out of existence in just
over six minutes, buildings, railways, cars, streets, trees were destroyed and over
15,500 casualties were uncovered beneath the shambles.

Earthquake is not a process that creates an urban landscape but rather one
that affects it significantly, not just in rural areas but also in many major cities
around the world such as Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles with a massive urban
population. Sudden movement along Earth's fault lines causes earthquakes. The
motion releases "elastic strain" energy that has been accumulated in the form of
seismic waves, which travel through the Earth and cause the surface to tremble
and buildings and roads to suffer serious damage or even collapse due to the
imbalance in the structural grounds. Earthquakes can also cause fires due to it
disrupting the underground electrical wiring, which is an infrastructure
prominent in most major cities as well as damage the waterlines causing a
shortage of water that is often used to put out those fires. For example, after the
Great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, the city burned for three days. Most of
the city was destroyed and 250,000 people were left homeless.
 Soil Erosion
According to statistics released in late 2021 from Medium, in the United States alone
approximately 175,000 acres or 36 million trees are cut down per year for the purpose
of urbanization. The effects of urban deforestation are far beyond contributing to
climate change.

More over half of Earth's natural forest cover has been lost by people since the start
of the Industrial Revolution. Deforestation removes the trees from the land, which
may cause the ground to be unstable. This makes it easier to build fields and houses
but makes the area more vulnerable to landslides, wind, and other natural weather
patterns. Because trees retain so much water deep in their roots, the ground in
forests stays moist; without the trees, the soil dries out quickly and loses essential
nutrients, which can be blown away by strong winds. This is a serious issue in urban
areas due to the loss of vegetation from construction, neglect, or overuse of surfaces
in public recreation and assembling areas. Soil erosion primarily occurs when dirt is
left exposed to strong winds, hard rains, and flowing water, which is usually protected
by trees. The word "soil erosion" refers to the progressive process of the topsoil's
movement and transport by many forces, most notably water, wind, and mass
movement, which over time results in soil degradation degradation of the soil. Soil
erosion causes soil-saturated water to push downstream, which may result in thick
layers of sediment that obstruct rivers and streams from flowing freely and eventually
cause flooding. Just a few months back, Melbourne, Australia experienced severe
flooding which destroyed human lives, roads, homes, cars as well as many other
infrastructures and left people homeless for days on ends. However, even the issue of
flooding, which is caused by soil erosion can also be prevented using trees, trees acts
as barriers, protecting vegetation and ecosystems from weathering such as flood and
this system has brought benefits for as long as life exists on Earth.
 Interconnection
Interconnection. The concept of interconnection describes how environmental
factors and human action link people and/or geographical phenomena together.
Interconnections have a significant impact on the characteristics of locations and
might be straightforward, intricate, reciprocal, or interdependent.
 New York City
The City of Dreams, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps
are just few of hundreds of names people have called New York
City. Home to the most iconic skyline on Earth with soaring
skyscrapers and architectural wonders there are truly no place
like New York. According to the United States Census Bureau,
more than 2.5 million people lives on the island of Manhattan and
over 9 million lives across the five boroughs, with a city of its size,
New York is undoubtedly one of the most heavily human
influenced places on planet earth.
 How has humans
change the
landscape (NYC)
The urban story of NYC began on the Hudson River in 1624 where the Dutch
first settled and established the colony of New Amsterdam which the
British then took over in 1664 and renamed it after one of their own city in
England, New York. Over the centuries to come, New York became a hot
spot for merchants al over the globe due to its perfect location for
intercontinental trading. Knowing this, immigrants begins flooding into the
city looking to create a better life, developing infrastructure such as ports,
homes and roads on modern day lower manhattan. Over the years to come
as plots in lower Manhattan becomes more difficult to acquire, people begin
to migrate North and inhabit the region of middle Manhattan and upper
manhattan. Interestingly, when city planners were developing plans for
these new regions, they wanted to create a giant green space for
recreation, similar to how the French had the Parlaid-Royal garden in the
middle of Paris and the iconic Central Park was born. Furthermore, New
York City is also has a very unique grid-like street systems, avenues run
North to South whereas streets run East to West. As technology develops,
the first skyscraper running 11 stories tall were built in the financial district
in 1889, unfortunately, it was demolished in 1913. However, by the 20th
century, with NYC becoming increasingly popular skyscrapers were the
norms in Manhattan, with architectural wonders such as the Chrysler
Building, the Empire State Building and Twin Towers standing tall over this
city.
 Impacts of changing
landscape (NYC)
In a big city like New York with so many homelessness problems, the only way to continue housing people is to
built skyscrapers which only takes up a small amount of ground space, lots and lots of skyscrapers.
However, they come with a fair share of problems for humanity themselves. Building high requires the use of
more materials, which must be durable enough to resist 400, 600, or 800 metres of air pressure. The carbon
footprint is significantly increased as a result. Grouping skyscrapers in a single urban area in a city like New
York, where endless rows of skyscrapers cast shadows upon the streets, results in heat islands because,
when temperatures are high, heat is trapped between the street level and the buildings, preventing the
temperature from naturally cooling as the Sun sets. Carbon emissions directly impact human life by
increasing respiratory problems as a result of rising air pollution. Even worse, carbon emissions severely
harm humans by destroying food and killing some animal species. Heat islands are equally hazardous; they
cause higher daytime temperatures, less effective nighttime cooling, and higher levels of air pollution. These,
in turn, contribute to heat-related ailments include general discomfort, respiratory issues, heat cramps,
heat exhaustion, and non-fatal heat stroke, as well as heat-related mortality. Living in a big city like New York
comes with these issues, however, city planners had an ingenious way of combating them using some
greenery. The Central Park in Manhattan, New York, is not a "typical park," but rather the result of a variety
of leisure activities and a sentimental connection for the residents of New York. The Central Park New York,
which spans 51 blocks through Manhattan, was established in 1858 on an area of 843 acres, including 150
acres of water. With approximately 42 million people annually, the lush park known as "The Green Heart of
the Big Apple" can be considered a destination for recreation, relaxation, and pleasure. More than simply our
health and wellbeing are benefited by having greenery around us. In built-up regions, it helps with water
management, encourages biodiversity, and can even lessen the effects of noise pollution. Additionally, green
areas can improve air quality, limit the consequences of climate change, keep cities cool, and have a
favourable psychological and physical influence on city dwellers. Urban green areas may mitigate the
consequences of climate change, enhance air quality, keep cities cool, and have a positive psychological and
physical influence on locals.
 How humans engage
with urban landscape
(NYC)
In New York City, people uses the city to travel to work through the subway transit
system which is deemed one of the best in the world, people visits central park to
escape the noise and pollution of the city, Its original intent was to provide urban
residents with a rural experience, a getaway from the pressures of city life, and a
chance to connect with other New Yorkers and the natural world. New York City,
especially Manhattan real-estate are among the most expensive and elusive in the
globe due to the limited space in this landscape. With this being the case, a basic 1
bedroom 1 bath rental in The Big Apple hit a peak of $5000 a month (3 zeros) during
August and September, this is also the leading cause of another major problem in
New York City; homelessness. How many people live on the streets? Nearly 70,000
men, women, and children—or one in every 106—New Yorkers—are homeless in this
city of more than 8.3 million people. 3,400 individuals are reportedly living without
shelter on the subways, on Manhattan's streets, or in one of the other boroughs.
REFRENCE LIST
National Geographic 2022, Urban Area, viewed 14 November 2022,
<www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Geography/Curriculum/F-10>.
Ritchie, Roser, H 2019, Urbanization, University of Oxford, viewed 14
November 2022, <https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization>.
Soil Science Society of America 2022, Deforestation, viewed 15 November
2022, <https://www.soils4teachers.org/deforestation/>.
The Department of Education n.d., Year 9 unit overview — Australian
Curriculum: Geography, Australian Government, Queensland, viewed 14
November 2022,
<www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Geography/Curriculum/F-10>.
Thank you!
For reading :)