Urban Change presents more challenges than opportunities (9 marker)
I somewhat agree with the statement Urban Change presents more challenges than opportunities. I will be
presenting my statement using the case study London as my example from the UK.
One of the first opportunities for urban change is International Migration. This to a certain extent has the
equal number of opportunities and challenges. An example of this is Brick Lane in London where curry
houses and restaurants have been opened by Bangladeshi immigrants. About 90% of these restaurants are
owned by people of Bengali origin. This opportunity of a cultural mix allows people to experience diverse
types of foods and cultures. Also, more restaurants and business opening create more job opportunities for
people to fill. This helps with the increasing population of London and increases the social wellbeing as there
is a higher percentage of people who earn enough to have a better quality of life. However, international
migration does also create challenges. For example, in areas with a large immigrant population in London
often leads to overpopulation and overcrowding in houses. The holland Estate in Bethnal Green shows this
as the majority of the tenants are immigrants that have moved into a high – density housing, they have no
other choice but to live in crowded areas. This would also make it easier for viruses such as Covid and the flu
to get around quicker creating more stress on the NHS. Due to this, I think that international migration into
London has mostly opportunities instead if challenges.
Another reason for almost an equal amount challenges and opportunities of Urban Change is
redevelopment. An area in London that has gone through Redevelopment in London is Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park. This is an opportunity as it creates a better quality of life because when redeveloping a park,
they end up inputting urban green space. This creates less air pollution which benefits the environment.
Adding 225 hectors of green space also create cleaner air which would overall be healthier for people.
However, redevelopment can also create challenges in London, for example in the East Village is not
affordable for previous residents because rent had gone up 800% since the Olympics, creating a larger gap
between the north and south divide. This is an economic challenge as there would be less people able to
afford living in this area, and previous tenants would struggle to afford to live in their old homes, which
would most likely result in an increase in the homeless population. This would mean the redevelopment of
an area would have more challenges all together.
Overall, I think that Urban change has more challenges than opportunities as the redevelopment and
international migration has more negatives than positives.
I somewhat agree with the statement Urban Change presents more challenges than opportunities. I will be
presenting my statement using the case study London as my example from the UK.
One of the first opportunities for urban change is International Migration. This to a certain extent has the
equal number of opportunities and challenges. An example of this is Brick Lane in London where curry
houses and restaurants have been opened by Bangladeshi immigrants. About 90% of these restaurants are
owned by people of Bengali origin. This opportunity of a cultural mix allows people to experience diverse
types of foods and cultures. Also, more restaurants and business opening create more job opportunities for
people to fill. This helps with the increasing population of London and increases the social wellbeing as there
is a higher percentage of people who earn enough to have a better quality of life. However, international
migration does also create challenges. For example, in areas with a large immigrant population in London
often leads to overpopulation and overcrowding in houses. The holland Estate in Bethnal Green shows this
as the majority of the tenants are immigrants that have moved into a high – density housing, they have no
other choice but to live in crowded areas. This would also make it easier for viruses such as Covid and the flu
to get around quicker creating more stress on the NHS. Due to this, I think that international migration into
London has mostly opportunities instead if challenges.
Another reason for almost an equal amount challenges and opportunities of Urban Change is
redevelopment. An area in London that has gone through Redevelopment in London is Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park. This is an opportunity as it creates a better quality of life because when redeveloping a park,
they end up inputting urban green space. This creates less air pollution which benefits the environment.
Adding 225 hectors of green space also create cleaner air which would overall be healthier for people.
However, redevelopment can also create challenges in London, for example in the East Village is not
affordable for previous residents because rent had gone up 800% since the Olympics, creating a larger gap
between the north and south divide. This is an economic challenge as there would be less people able to
afford living in this area, and previous tenants would struggle to afford to live in their old homes, which
would most likely result in an increase in the homeless population. This would mean the redevelopment of
an area would have more challenges all together.
Overall, I think that Urban change has more challenges than opportunities as the redevelopment and
international migration has more negatives than positives.
