Urban life Essay Example

people should want to come here, work, study, and build their lives in such a multicultural environment.

Housing and wealth are Just two problems though. Others include unemployment in times of recession and differences in cultural understanding. For example in some cultures and countries, there are very efferent rules and laws about the ways in which people can behave.

This can create tension and a lot of recent news stories have focused on immigration in a very negative way through associating it with a crime. Again this is another problem of urban life. There are no clear rules given to people regarding their behavior when they arrive in a new country. Perhaps this would be an idea for the future.

New immigrants should be given an induction in the same way as students setting out on the path of their academic studies.

This would help to make them feel more closely integrated to the culture and avoid any misunderstandings. Through having this integration, they can then make the same positive contribution as other generations of immigrants have done, such as the Caribbean and Irish immigrants of the sass. In conclusion, then, the best thing about urban life is the diversity that is created by having different races and cultures living in the same city.

In practical terms this means that you can go to the Noting Hill carnival, eat-in Indian or African restaurants, drink Guinness in Irish pubs, see people professing their faith in churches, mosques, or synagogues, and hear people communicating in almost every engage that exists on the planet.

This is why many people, such as myself, have chosen to make this city their home, to

work, live, and study in harmony with so many others. Even if the population keeps growing, the people of London are smart enough to work together to come up with creative solutions to problems such as overcrowding, unemployment, and other tensions.

Co. UK The sights and sounds of the city have a negative impact on the ability to focus Cities really do disrupt people's ability to concentrate, suggests research. Researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London have studied a remote tribe in Africa - where some people have remained in the countryside while others have moved to urban areas. It found the urbanites group found it much harder to focus their attention.

Rater than expected. It might also confirm the worst fears of all the caffeine-fuelled office workers trying to multi-task. Dry Linnet, from the university's psychology department, carried out cognitive tests with the Him tribe in Iambic in south west Africa - and also included a further imprisonment with young people in London. She found that the Him tribesmen and women who had stayed in a rural, gatherings setting were much better at tests requiring concentration than members of the same tribe who had been urbanites and were living in towns and cities.

Bright lights, big city The results for urbanites Him were "indistinguishable" from the results of undergraduates taking the same tests in London, said Dry Linnet.

URBAN LIFE ARTICLES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH REPORT

The researchers suggest that people in an urban setting have too much stimulation, with an overload of sights and sounds competing for attention. The rural Him people were much better at concentrating than the city dwellers. Concentration is improved when people's

senses are aroused, says Dry Linnet, but if this becomes excessive it seems to have the opposite effect and reduces the ability to focus on a single task.

As such the people living in cities were not as good at tests which required sustained focus and the ability not to be distracted.

The rural living people were much better at such tests of concentration, even computer-based tasks, where they might have been expected to be less familiar with the technology. This is tot necessarily a case of being better or worse, says Dry Linnet, but it could be a reflection of what is needed to survive in an overcrowded urban setting. It is also not a "fleeting" impact, she suggests, as the tests show that urbanites people from this tribe have developed a different way of looking at events. There are really quite profound differences as a function of how we live our lives," she says.

Another finding is that the Him people who have moved to the city are more likely to be dissatisfied and show signs of unhappiness. In contrast, the simpler, frugal life of the rural tribeswomen seems to leave them with a greater sense of contentment. When so many of the world's population are now living in urban settings this has breaching significance, says Dry Linnet. It could mean that many urban dwellers are performing below their capacity when it comes to tasks requiring sustained thinking. What if, for example, companies realizes certain tasks would be better carried out by employees based outside of the urban environment where their concentration ability is better? " she says.

Dry Linnet also suggests that this urban disruption

of concentration could be linked to a reduction in attention spans.

READING TEXT THREE

From website. Although Lagos state is the smallest state in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands, yet it has the highest population, which is over five percent of the national estimate.

As at 2006, the population of Lagos State was 17.

5 million, (based on the parallel count conducted by the state during the National Census) with a growth rate of 3. 2%, the state today has a population of over 21 Million. This was corroborated by the recent immunization exercise carried out across the State, where 4. A million children were minimized.

Children within the Immunization bracket are estimated at 20% of the entire population. The UN estimates that at its present growth rate, Lagos state will be the third largest mega city the world by YOU 5 after Tokyo in Japan and Bombay in India.

Of this population, Metropolitan Lagos, an area covering 37% of the land area of Lagos State is home to over 85% of the State population. The rate of population growth is about 600,000 per annum with a population density of about 4,193 persons per sq. Km. In the built-up areas of Metropolitan Lagos, the average density is over 20,000 persons per square km.

Current demographic trend analysis revealed that the State population growth rate of 8% has resulted in its capturing of 36. 8% of Insignia's urban population (World Bank, 1996) estimated at 49. 8 million people of the national million populations.

The implication is that whereas country population growth is 415% and global 2%, Lagos population is growing ten times faster

than New York and Los Angles with grave implications for urban sustainability.

READING TEXT FOUR

- magazine article. Christopher Powell - 'The Problems of Urban Life today. - From London Times Magazine - 25th November 2013.

There are many positive sides to urban life. Living in a city can be very convenient. There are many places to go shopping where people can buy things that they need.

Many of these places are open until late at night.

So, you can buy almost anything you want very easily at almost any time of day. There is usually a lot of variety in a city. There are many different choices of things to do and places to go. There are different choices for entertainment and recreation. People can go to see a movie or a show. They can go shopping or enjoy a walk in a park.

They can visit museums and art galleries. They can go to a zoo or to sporting events. Cities also usually have a wide selection of restaurants, cafes, and places to eat. You can usually find many different kinds of restaurants in a big city.

These restaurants usually offer a good selection of international cuisine and local food.

People who live in a city also have many different things, depending on their interests. An urban environment also provides a wide variety of employment opportunities. There are many different kinds of Jobs in many different fields and professions. A city is usually very convenient in terms of transportation.

People can take a bus, a train, a subway, a taxi, or other kinds of transportation. There is usually an airport near a city so it can be convenient for flying

as well.

Some cities are located near water, so this makes travel by water possible too. Generally, urban life is convenient and offers people who live there a lot of variety and different opportunities. However, there are many negative sides to urban life. Urban environments are generally crowded because many people live in small area.

This also affects the traffic situation. Cities often have traffic Jams that can delay a person's plans and make them a little frustrated. Sometimes workers need to repair the roads in a city. This also can cause traffic delays and hold-ups.

These kinds of things can be annoying for people who live in a city.

Other problems associated with urban life are litter and pollution. Sometimes urban environments can be dirty. This is because some people are not responsible with their trash, and throw it on the ground. This causes litter on the streets. Air pollution is caused by the traffic in the city.

Cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses are constantly polluting the air with their exhaust fumes. Another source of pollution is factories. Factories produce industrial pollution. Some other problems associated with urban life are crime and a high cost of living.

READING TEXT FIVE

BBC ARTICLE. Taken from www.

BBC. Co. UK - Geography section - no author. Last accessed 5th February 2014. Problems of arbitration in the CAB - traffic congestion Traffic Jam on the MM motorway As more people move to the edge of towns and cities, traffic congestion may get worse. Many people will drive their cars into the city centre to get to work.

It is compounded by people being brought into city on large roads or motorways. These

roads then link up with smaller, older, narrower roads in the city centre. This causes a bottleneck and congestion.

Some cities have tried to manage this problem by introducing traffic management schemes. These schemes may include: park and ride schemes congestion charging schemes, such as those in Durham and London car-pooling, as used in the USA, to encourage people to share cars Low Emission Zones, as in London Local councils have also tried to make the roads in urban areas safer by introducing traffic calming, pedestrian zones, vehicle-exclusion zones and permit-only parking schemes.

Problems of arbitration in the inner city - inequalities Inequalities exist in all urban areas.

Inequality means extreme differences between poverty and wealth, as well as in peoples' wellbeing and access to things like jobs, housing, and education. Inequalities may occur in: housing provides access to services access to open land safety and security Page 9 Often people who live in inner-city areas experience a poor quality of life. This is because the inner-city is typically a zone with older housing and a declining industry. The diagram below compares the quality of life for someone living in an outer London borough with that of someone who lives in an inner London borough.

Graph showing the quality of life in Inner London Unemployment and incidents of long-term illness is higher in the inner-city boroughs, while households are more likely to have central heating and multiple cars in the authority boroughs. Governments and planners often step in to help redevelop run-down inner-city areas. Inner-city redevelopments, such as those in Loon's Docklands or Manchester Sailors page 10 Quays, may improve the physical environment of the area

and improve the quality of housing. But it can also create even greater inequalities because the local residents may not be able to afford to live there anymore.

Often the old industrial Jobs are replaced by skilled Jobs and new people move to the area. Demand for housing 'For Sale' signs outside a house Social and demographic changes are leading to a greater demand for housing.

People are living longer, and choosing to marry later, and in recent years there has been a rise in the number of single-parent families. Added to this, the UK is experiencing immigration from other countries, for example from Eastern Europe, as countries like Poland are now members of the ELI. A result is an ever-larger number of smaller households, all requiring accommodation.

However, building new, affordable homes in urban areas is difficult. Land values are very high and land is in short supply.

Out-of-town retail centers Regional shopping centers, such as Cribs Causeway near Bristol, are often built on land in the urban-rural fringe. Their location allows easy access to transport routes. There is also room for car parking. The land is cheaper here than in the city center. Hotels, conference centers, and science parks Modern technology give firms a freer choice of location.

Hi-tech industries, located in science parks, are attracted by good transport links.

The areas can offer pleasant Netscape environments, with less traffic problems and pollution. Sewage works and landfill Urban centers cannot dispose or treat their own waste as the land is limited. Therefore space is used outside of urban area. The I-J is short of suitable housing.

Approximately 3 million new homes are needed by 2030. They need

to be built somewhere. The options are using Brownfield sites or Greenfield sites. Page 1 1 Brownfield sites A derelict industrial pottery site, due to be redeveloped Are often on disused or derelict land.

Are more available in the North and Midlands (but most housing demand is in the southeast).

Are valuable as existing buildings can be split up into more homes on any one site. The site has already been developed so reduce urban sprawl. Use unsightly areas for building developments, so improves the urban environment.

Are found in urban areas, so building housing there reduces demand for car use. Are more expensive to build on as often the land needs to be cleared first (especially if the land is contaminated from previous industrial use). Greenfield sites A residential housing development at Priors Park, Teakettles, Gloucester. Many people are working towards trying to make cities more sustainable.