Urban Sprawl & Commuter Settlements Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

What is urban sprawl?

The unplanned spread of a city's built-up area outwards onto the surrounding countryside.

What is the rural–urban fringe?

The zone at the edge of a city where urban land uses meet the countryside.

What is a commuter (dormitory) settlement?

A village or town where most working residents travel out each day to work in a nearby city.

Give two ways urban sprawl damages the environment.

Loss of countryside, farmland and habitats (reducing biodiversity), and increased flood risk as impermeable surfaces replace vegetation.

True or false? The growth of commuter settlements only brings negative impacts to villages at the rural–urban fringe.

False. It also brings more housing supply, better transport links and improved social facilities such as pubs and leisure centres.

True or false? Green belt land around a UK city is protected from most new building.

True. Green belt is protected to limit urban sprawl, which is why there is pressure to build on it as cities grow.

Give two negative impacts of the growth of commuter settlements on villages near a city.

Any two: rising house prices push out local young people who cannot afford to stay; more cars bring rush-hour congestion, parking problems and air pollution; large new housing estates change the village's character and cover nearby green fields.