Becky //
Over the years Blackpool’s tourism has declined dramatically. A new project named ‘Re-Blackpool’ launches in March 2003 aims to rejuvenate the town and bring tourists back to the area. Projects include:
All these things combined will help Blackpool to rejuvenate itself, but re not guaranteed to work.
Groynes
Groynes are wooden barriers constructed at right angles to the beach to retain material. Material is trapped between these groynes and cannot be transported away by longshore drift. Groynes encourage a wide beach which helps absorb energy from waves, reducing the rate of cliff erosion. The advantages are that they are cheap, retain wide sandy beaches and do not affect access to the beach, but the disadvantages are that beaches to the south of the defenses are starved of beach material due to their affect on long shore drift. They cost approximately £7000 each.
Sea Wall
Sea walls are usually built along the front of cliffs, often to protect settlements. They are often recurved which means waves are reflected back on themselves. This can cause the erosion of material at the base of the sea wall. The advantages of sea walls are they provide excellent defense where wave energy is high, reassures the public and long life span, but the disadvantage are that they are expensive, can affect beach access, and recurved sea walls can increase the erosion of beach material. They can cost up to £3000-4000 per meter.
Rock Armour
These are often large boulders placed along the base of a cliff to absorb energy from waves. They are cheap and efficient but are unattractive, dangerous access to beach, and costs increase when rock is imported. They cost approximately £3000 per meter.
Break water
Break waters are structures built to reduce the intensity of waves coming into shore and the wave energy so therefore there is less coastal erosion, and are designed to mainly protect against slowly sloping shores. The Advantages of this method are that it works well to stop coastal erosion and also long shore drift. Disadvantages of this are that they are quite ugly, they ruin the chance of good surf in the area, and restrict easy access to boats.
These methods prevent help to prevent most forms of coastal protection but to the north - east of the beach we can see that part of the cliff has slid into the sea due to it being made of soft rock and attack from coastal erosion, but this is hard to prevent from coastal protection methods and could only be prevented by a short term measure by placing steel poles into the cliff to prevent it sliding.
Mass Movement
Mass Movement is basically the movement downslope of rock fragments and soil under the influence of gravity. The material moves of its own accord, and slides are often triggered by increase in water pressure on rocks and soil.
There are many types of mass movement: fall, flow, slump, creep and slide, but all work in a similar way. In hard rock cliffs, such as the chalk Cliffs at Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex, there will be sliding and falling, where as in soft rock cliffs, such as the Cliffs at Charmouth, Dorset, there will be creeping, slumping and flowing.
Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rock in situ; this involves any chemical or mechanical process by which rocks exposed to the weather undergo changes in character and eventually break down. Chemical weathering includes the processes of hydration, hydrolysis, oxidation and carbonation, whilst mechanical weathering is the physical disintegration of the rock, as in pressure release, crystal growth, salt weathering, and thermal expansion.
Rainwater is a weak, carbonic acid and when in contact with certain types of rocks, such as the chalk cliffs at Charmouth, it will dissolve the rock. Another type of weathering is organic (biological) weathering; this is where the roots of vegetation may break up the rock causing them to fall. Organic weathering also includes the process of birds excreting on the rocks, and due to the acid in the excrement, this will also cause the break down the rock and subsequently rock fall.
Erosion
There are four processes of erosion on a cliff: attrition, hydraulic action, corrosion and abrasion. Attrition is caused when materials carried by wave's crash into each other and in this process are smoothed and broken down into smaller particles. Hydraulic action involves the force of water against the coast; the waves enter cracks (faults) in the cliff and compress the air within the crack. When the wave retreats, the air in the crack expands quickly causing a minor explosion. Corrosion is the chemical action of sea water. The acids in the salt water slowly dissolve rocks on the coastline. Abrasion is the process by which the coast is worn down by material carried by the waves; the waves then throw these particles against the rock.
In the chalk cliffs at Charmouth you can see that corrosion has occurred where the rock has slid down the side of the cliff, also the base has been submerged by the high tide allowing hydraulic action to take place.Explain why a named settlement you have studied can be considered sustainable (6 marks)
A sustainable settlement needs to meet three essential criteria - it has to meet the social needs of people, preserve the environment, and has to serve the economy.
BedZED is an environmentally - friendly housing development in Hackbridge, London, and is a great example of a sustainable settlement as it meets all of these needs.
To preserve the environment, it uses zero energy aimed to use only energy from renewable resources generated on site from the 777m² of solar panels and from tree waste fuels.
The largest environmental reductions of CO2 have come from green lifestyle features. The green transport plan - which includes a car club, promotes walking, cycling and the use of good local public transport as well as local food links, waste recycling, architectural savings and solar panels.
The economy thrives with its high standard apartments aimed at attracting urban professionals who bring a high amount of money into the economy as well as also providing workspace for around 100 people. It has a super fast broadband connection in the development to allow residents to work from home which, as well as benefiting the workers, it also helps to reduce the traffic pollution made from driving to work.
The social needs are met by creating a socially inclusive sustainable community, with housing for social tenants, key workers and owner occupiers.
Who are they?
The Zabaleen are an Egyptian community of Coptic Christians who collect and dispose of Cairo’s waste from the higher - income parts of the city, hauling it away by donkey carts or small trucks.
Where do they live?
The Zabaleen live in an area of Egypt known as ‘Garbage City’ which at times occupies around 65,000 to 75,000 people. They originated from a group of migrants, known as the Wahiya, who moved to Cairo at the 19th century where they assumed responsibility for the collection and disposal of the city’s household waste whilst working under contract with building owners.
How do they make a living from rubbish?
The Zabaleen make a living by sorting through the waste materials for reuse or recycling Waste food is fed to livestock (often pigs) or poultry whilst other materials, such as steel, glass and plastic bottles are sorted by hand and sold a raw materials.
In what ways do the Zabaleen offer a sustainable solution to waste disposal?
Until the 1980s, there was no formal system of waste collection in Cairo. All collection was performed by Zabaleen. This garbage collection system is still a fundamental part of the city's solid waste management as the Zabaleen collect between a third and a half of the 6,500 tonnes of that Cairo produces every day, with half being collected by the city and private companies and the remaining 1,500 tonnes left uncollected – often in the poorest areas. Any uncollected garbage will be burnt which severely intensifies the air pollution problem in Cairo.
What problems do they face?
As well as the many health problems that the Zabaleen face, such as hepatitis, many authorities in Egypt have also tried to replace the Zabaleen with modern collection and disposal methods from European contractors. Another problem that they face is with disease within their neighbourhoods. The Egyptians were criticised for acting far too slowly with the epidemic of bird flu so with the announcement of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) strain, the government targeted the potential role of pigs in the virus. The Government were afraid of shift of the virus between person to person so ordered the execution of the entire pig pollution even though they were not affected. This process attracted controversy in the area, with many residents accusing them of coming to the decision without the necessary research but the government defended themselves by expressing that it compensated the Zabaleen, but those who reared pigs say they received only a fraction of what their animals were worth.
What is it?
In 1995, The Programa Favela Bairrio was launched in Rio de Janeiro as an initiative that seeks to develop shanty town slums into proud neighbourhoods. With community groups and improved health care facilities, it is focussed on the social inclusion of neighbourhoods.
How much is it and who pays for it?
The scheme cost more than $600 million which was supported financially by the IDB and national government.
Give some examples of infrastructure improvements:
Infrastructure improvements included the creation of essential services such as sewage systems, easily accessible water, garbage removal and public lighting. It also included the creation of parks, playgrounds, public spaces and pebbled streets.
Give some examples of community projects:
Community projects included the relocation of families to bigger and better housing for the demolishing of their previous housing to make way for wider roads. They also created after school counselling and leadership programs.
Why has the scheme be successful?
The scheme has transformed the lives of millions of people, who before didn’t have the chance to have an education and lived in slums, often not suitable for human use. It has given the sense of community to the shanty towns which has also lowered the crime. The quality of life for the people had improved dramatically having no longer to walk round on mud being careful not to step in feces.
There are two main problems that modern day cities face, firstly urban decay when parts of the city become run down and undesirable to live in, and secondly traffic congestion. This is because the C.B.D is the place everyone wants to be. It is where all the main shops and buildings are.
Traffic congestion is caused by:
To try and solve this problem of congestion, many cities have tried the following solutions:
Exeter uses all these things with 3 park and ride systems, numerous cycle paths and lanes, the pedestrianised city centre and a car share system in place. They are a good example of a city trying to solve congestion.
http://www.carsharedevon.com/Default.asp?uxi=&cr=check – Exeter’s Car Share Website
http://www.devon.gov.uk/exeter-park-and-ride1004.pdf - Exeter’s Park and Ride Leaflet
http://www.cycleexeter.org.uk/ - Exeter’s Cycle Lane Website
