Urban stability case study - Birmingham
Birmingham is located centrally in England, in the Midlands. It is the UK's second-largest city and has strong connections with other countries in the world as a result of its A variety of different ethnic groups.. The city presents many positive opportunities such as:
- Social - ethnic and Many different cultures within a society. allows people to experience different religions and foods. The Balti Triangle is an area of Birmingham famous for its restaurants and curry houses. St Paul's Square is a popular venue for live music. The Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra help to create a culturally-rich city. The city also has five universities, which cater for over 80,000 higher education students.
- Economic - the Bullring shopping centre includes 140 shops generating employment and income for the local economy. Brindley Place is a city centre development which includes bars, retail, offices and entertainment facilities which generates a large income.
- Environmental - canals in Birmingham have been cleaned up. The towpaths have been upgraded to encourage people to walk and cycle along the canals in the city. Birmingham also has over 8,000 acres of green space and is home to Sutton Park, which is one of Europe鈥檚 largest urban parks. In order to reduce pollution, traffic has been managed by creating a park and ride scheme, encouraging the use of buses and the Birmingham Metro tramline.
Despite the many opportunities Birmingham now has, it has faced many challenges. Some of these challenges include social, economic and environmental problems.
Social and economic challenges
Urban decline - Birmingham used to have a large Factories which make goods, such as TVs, clothes and cars.. Due to competition from abroad, most of Birmingham's manufacturing industry has now gone. This has led to urban decline as manufacturing buildings were left empty and became derelict.
A lack of basic materials needed for a decent quality of life, eg housing, food etc. - with the closure of the manufacturing industry and high unemployment, parts of Birmingham experienced a spiral of social and economic decline leading to deprivation.
Inequalities in housing - Birmingham's high population has resulted in pressures on housing. There is not enough good quality and affordable housing for people in the city.
Education - the quality of education was particularly poor in The land use zone made up of the old industrial zone and old housing zone. areas such as Aston. Aston is an area of deprivation with an ethnically diverse community where many children struggled to access and succeed in education.
Health - in Aston people with poorer English language skills found it difficult to access healthcare facilities.
Unemployment - the closure of factories in the manufacturing industry led to high unemployment.
Environmental challenges
Dereliction - derelict buildings from the manufacturing industry are common in The land use zone made up of the old industrial zone and old housing zone. areas.
Building on An area of land that has not been built on before. - this results in the loss of more green space and may make The spread or expansion of the urban area into the surrounding countryside. worse. However, building on An unused or derelict area of urban land that has been built on previously. will improve a derelict site as the space is reused for a new development.
Waste disposal - a large urban population produces a lot of household and commercial waste which creates challenges for how to manage and dispose of this waste.
Atmospheric pollution - with more people in a city there are more vehicles on the road leading to atmospheric pollution.
