8 minute read
MArch Year 1 Semester 2: Specialist Study: Growth Beyond the City
from Ali, Shafiq
GROWTH BEYOND THE CITY
Project Type
Area of Study
Duration
Software Used
Word Count
Specialist Study (Research)
Multiple locations, London
Nov 2019 - Feb 2020
Microsoft Word Photoshop Illustrator InDesign
± 9500 words
abstract
London is in the midst of rapid urban growth, driven in large part by the growing economy and the densification of people and commerce in the city centre. Rising land values and subsequent increases in house prices have forced people out of the city in search of more affordable homes in the suburbs. This phenomenon is not new to London as suburbanisation had occurred ever since the Industrial Revolution, influenced by changes in mobility. More recent developments in information technologies redefined the degrees of connectivity between people and businesses, further transforming spatial distribution of jobs and the patterns of settlements. This study seeks to analyse the growth and transformation of suburbs and suburbanisation in both historical and contemporary contexts. It also investigates the scale of which the city should be perceived due to the increasing mobility and connectivity of the twenty-first century. The final section briefly speculates the potential of suburbanisation and the decentring of cities in accommodating future growth of London and Kuala Lumpur.
introduction
The present-day city of London is thought to be bigger and richer than ever, establishing itself as a preeminent global city and a leading centre of culture, finance and technology (Parker, 2019). Since the Big Bang of 1986, London has remained a leading source of venture capital and the global destination of choice for company headquarters. Immigrants and foreign investment flowed into the city, spurring its unprecedented economic, physical and population growth. It is currently home to more than 8.8 million residents which is expected to grow to as much as 10.8 million by 2041 (Greater London Authority, 2017). The resulting increase in concentration of people and businesses in central London has caused land values to rise exponentially. Consequently, housing prices have soared beyond the reach of average Londoners, forcing even well-paid professionals to move out of central London in search of affordable suburbs more suitable for a family (Parker, 2019). With advancements in transportation and communication, people are living further away from their workplaces, with some establishing communities of their own beyond the city, leading to urban decentralisation. The actual population of London is, therefore, much more than the numbers mentioned before. The London Metropolitan Area, which also includes the city’s suburbs and commuter towns, has a population of more than 13.7 million, signifying the actual size of the capital and how much it has grown over the decades.
Such movement of people away from the city centre and the subsequent growth of peripheral areas are not new to London as major suburbanisation had occurred throughout its history, nor unique to the city as such trends are also happening in growing cities worldwide. Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, is currently experiencing suburbanisation, though at a different scale to London, due to rapid increases in urban population as well as improvements in transport infrastructure (Abdullah, 2003). This global urban phenomenon had received mixed reactions from architectural critics and the general population, with some condemning the dystopian premises of suburban living, while others advocating the idea of suburbs as the most feasible approach to house the ever-increasing urban population. With suburbs set to grow larger and farther, it is of utmost importance to have a clear understanding of suburbanisation, both its historical and contemporary forms, characteristics and patterns. Hence, this research seeks to analyse the historical background of suburbs and suburbanisation, and how they have evolved into more contemporary forms as a response to rising degrees of mobility and interconnectedness. It also aims to identify the position of the suburb in the current and future urban contexts as well as its potential for accommodating urban growth.
page excerpts
conclusion
Suburbs grew from the outward movement of people from city centres in response to changes in the urban core. The growth of suburbs was often spurred by the overconcentration of people and businesses in the city centre, shown through the examples of the Industrial Revolution and the urban renaissance. Suburban housing offers what cities could not – easy access to vast green landscape, better schools, better healthcare, safer neighbourhoods, less traffic congestion and less pollution. The process of suburbanisation suggests people’s aspirations of having a better quality of life and the limit of which people are prepared to travel was conditioned by the degrees of mobility and connectedness. The two have dramatically increased in scale through advancements in transportation and information technologies, leading to further decentring of cities and transforming the demographics of suburbs. Suburbanisation, which once was limited to the wealthy, is now more accessible to the many and this has reinterpreted the contemporary suburban image.
Cities rarely shrink, and because of that, suburbs will continue to expand to cater this growth. The city and the suburb are interdependent and should be considered with equal importance. Urban areas provide the medium for valuable in-person interactions while the suburbs offer decent living spaces for workers who keep the city alive. Hence, the focus should no longer be limited towards a single city, but should also include its surrounding suburbs, as well as other peripheral cities and their suburbs. Growth Corridors and the MegaCity Region as forms of integrated planning approach broadens the potential strategies for accommodating urban-suburban growth. The London housing crisis, for instance, should be perceived as a regional problem, and therefore be addressed regionally, through utilising the modern systems of transport links and telecommunications. Such model of urban and suburban planning could potentially be applied to other growing capitals which will assist in important decision makings that may involve the livelihoods of millions of people.
It is also important to acknowledge the ideals of the suburban lifestyle which, in a sense, have changed very little from the seventeenth century up until this modern age. Suburbs ought to give people access to better living spaces and this should still apply in the current context. Constructing monolithic tower blocks in the suburbs may be seen as a rather counterproductive approach to catering the rising population. Hence, suburban developments need careful and considerate design approaches to ensure that they continue to provide what they should be providing to its residents, which is a decent suburban lifestyle and community. Suburbs hold the key to catering future urban growth and should be perceived and considered as such.
key references
Clapson, M. (2003) Suburban Century: Social Change and Urban Growth in England and the USA. Oxford: BERG.
Hall, P. and Ward, C. (1998) Sociable Cities: The Legacy of Ebenezer Howard. Chichester: Hall, P. (1969) London 2000. 2nd ed. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Hall, P. (1989) London 2001. London: Unwin Hyman Ltd.
Hamnett, C. (2003) Unequal City: London in the Global Arena. London: Routledge.
Howard, E. (1944) Garden Cities of To-Morrow. London: Faber.
Urban Task Force (1999) Towards and Urban Renaissance. London: Taylor and Francis.
Saint, A. (1999) London Suburbs. London: Merrell.
Sudjic, D. (1992) The 100 Mile City. London: André Deutsch.
Vaughan, L. (2015) Suburban Urbanities: Suburbs and the Life of the High Street. [online]. Available at: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/83511 [Accessed: 8 December 2019].
Ward, S.V. (2004) Planning and Urban Change. 2nd ed. London: SAGE.
