AQA Contemporary Urban Environments: Urban Forms (A level)

What does Urban form mean?

• The land use model appropriate to the city e.g. Burgess

• The physical characteristics that make up the city, including its size and shape, population density and how the city is arranged (land use)

• The topography of the Urban areas whether it is built on flat on sloping land

• When Urban development is planned through mixing residential, commercial and leisure uses combined

Cities have often developed in locations of multiple functions. What is a function?

• The reason, job or purpose for being. This may be a defensive site or dry point site

• The amount of infrastructure built into the city

• The value of land in the city centre (CBD)

• Is the city’s size and shape, population density and how it is arranged (land use)

Which of these would be factors which would facilitate development of a city

• Regular water supply

• Nodal site with the development of trading links

• Defensive position

• Plentiful natural resources

• All of the above

Urban forms change over time. Changes can be influenced by physical factors and human factors. Identify the physical factors which affect urban development (select more than one)

• Infrastructure- developments built along transport routes leading to linear growth

• Land values- highest value land is in the CBD so businesses which can afford the higher rents will locate in the city centre

• Topography- steep slopes are harder to build on and less accessible so poorer housing may be built on them

• Natural resources- rich resources e.g. coal and metal encourage growth in size and population of cities

• Land type- some ground surfaces are more difficult or expensive to build on than others, e.g. swamps and wetlands can limit urban growth

Urban forms change over time. Changes can be influenced by physical factors and human factors. Identify the human factors which affect urban development (select more than one)

• Infrastructure- developments built along transport routes leading to linear growth

• Land values- highest value land is in the CBD so businesses which can afford the higher rents will locate in the city centre

• Topography- steep slopes are harder to build on and less accessible so poorer housing may be built on them

• Natural resources- rich resources e.g. coal and metal encourage growth in size and population of cities

• Planning- urban expansion can be planned and unplanned. In LICs and NEEs

Cities in the developed and developing world have the same urban land uses in similar locations

• True

• False

In a developed world city, the land value is highest in the CBD, but the housing around the CBD decreases in value further away from the city centre.

• True

• False

In a developing world city, the land value is highest in the CBD, but the housing around the CBD decreases in value further away from the city centre.

• True

• False

Areas of high land value will have high rise housing

• True

• False

The CBD will contain what facitilities?

• Shops

• Offices

• parks

• Factories

• leisure facilities