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SIte and Situation of Glasgow

For any city you have studied, show how its location and site encouraged its growth.

Glasgow’s original site was on the banks of the Molinder burn at a natural ford in the river. The terraces of the river provided an ideal location for early settlement as it was protected from flooding whilst having a sheltered location. The River Clyde in early times provided food and water and the ford allowed it to develop as a trade centre as it was a route centre for people travelling from the north to south of Scotland. The River Clyde continued to be influential in the growth of Glasgow as its location on the west coast of Scotland allowed trading with the Americas, whilst laterally its sheltered location and the proximity to raw materials led to the growth of the city through the shipbuilding industry.

For more info on the Site and Situation follow the links

Coastal Mapwork

This is a part of the course which you need to look at. Use the link below to look at coastal features on a map.
Coastal features click here

Urban Exam Question (SQP 2005)

This question asks to describe and explain the changes in either the CBD or the inner city for a city you have studied. Note in this answer how key words have been used (highlighted in red) and place names have been mentioned (highlighted in blue). Answer written by Claire Hughes.

There have been many changes that have taken place in the CBD of Glasgow over the past few decades. They are mainly to do with traffic problems and decentralisation, but also gentrification to a certain extent. One of the main problems associated with traffic is that the roads are very narrow as they were built when there were few cars on the road. The solution to this problem is that one way traffic systems eg St Vincent Street have been put in place. Another problem involved with traffic in the CBD of Glasgow is that too many cars in the area are causing pollution and can be a danger to shoppers. However, the solution to this is that the main shopping centres have been pedestrianised eg Argyll and Buchanan Street. Finally, lack of parking and the prevention of cars coming into the town has posed a major problem for people and the way in which this has been dealt with is to introduce the new ‘park and ride’ scheme at Shields Road. Examples of decentralisation are the moving of shops to out of town centres eg Braehead, this is because land is cheaper on the outskirts and it is more accessible to people as it is near to the M8 motorway. As a result of this shops like GAP in Argyll Street are leaving the city centre and cheap shops are beginning to take over city centre locations on a temporary basis. The government may also provide subsidies to encourage clubs, pubs and resturants to take up places in the city centre to prevent it becoming too run down and unused. Gentrification plays a role also in the changes within the CBD over the past few decades, for example, many old factories and offices leave the city centre creating brown field sites in which new luxury appartments are built eg Glasgow Green. This encourages high income young people to move into the area as they want to be closer to the amenities the city centre offers.

Cairngorms answer

“What are the main social and economic opportunities in the Cairngorms?”

The main social opportunity in the Cairngorms is tourism (/); however, it is also an economic factor, as it brings in money for the local area (/). An average of 1.2 million people visit the Cairngorms each year (/); an average of £240 million is brought in by tourism each year (/). Typical tourist activities involve skiing or snowboarding in Corrie Cas (/), fishing in Loch Morlich (/), rock-climbing at Lurcher’s Crag (/), camping in the Muir of Alvy or sightseeing in Lochan Eilan Castle (/). The skiing alone brings in £149 million per year (/). As a result of this, there are 4000 jobs – employing local and non-local people (/) – in the skiing industry alone. About 61% of those visiting the Cairngorms come from outside of Scotland (/).
All this has greatly affected the local villagers from Aviemore, and has greatly impacted upon their lives. For instance, many tourists are purchasing holiday homes in Aviemore (/); this drives up the prices of houses there, leading to conflict between holidaymakers who buy the properties, and local residents who then become unable to purchase these properties as a result. Also, the tourism creates many other jobs, such as hotel staff, workers in restaurants or bar employees (/); 37% of Aviemore’s population are employed in such vocations (/). The economic side of tourism has led to the expansion of the Aviemore village – the current population of Aviemore is around 2700 (/).
This has all contributed toward an increasingly efficient infrastructure: examples include Aviemore train station (/) and the A9 bypass (/), both of which were brought about to ease tourist access, therefore allowing extra passing trade into Aviemore (/).
The main economic opportunities in the Cairngorms are quarrying, farming, hydroelectric power schemes and reservoirs.
There is a quarry at Kincraig (/), extracting minerals such as bauxite and iron ore in what is known as primary industry (/).
Farming in the Cairngorms – e.g. Guislich Farm (/) – would be mainly hill-sheep farming (due to the land’s relief); also, sheep require a lot of grazing land, and vast areas are available.
Hydroelectric power (HEP) uses the motive power of water in streams to generate and store a renewable (/), cheap, non-polluting source of energy.
In the high land of the Cairngorms, a lot of rainfall is received, making the area ideal for reservoirs; an example of this is the area surrounding Loch Einich (/), which is already an ample store of water.

Prelim – Paper 2

Prelim will be 21st March. You should be able to answer questions on Developement & Health and Rural Land Resources. Comment for any help required.

You need to be able to describe how these feature…

You need to be able to describe how these features are formed. Look at these links and try and write a detailed answer.

Simple info on coastal features

BBC Bitesize – for more detail including animations

Example of excellent answer (Colin MacNicol) In t…

Example of excellent answer (Colin MacNicol)

In the Dorset Coast area the following social and economic opportunities are provided by the landscape.
Energy: Wytch Farm, the biggest onshore oil and gas field in Europe employs some 240 people in the area and benefits hugely the local economy. The area is also important for cooling purposes for nuclear power stations, which uses the water along the coast. Important new developments in wave and wind power are also attracted to the area.
Settlement: Many towns are located near to or on the Dorest Coast and many poeple depend on the nearby sea for their livelihoods, eg. fishermen. An example of a setttlement would be Poole.
Maratime Industry, this involves boat and leisure craft manufacture and retail. In the Dorset Coast region 2000 people are employed in such a manner, making the local economy approximately £180 million every year.
Conservation projects may be undertaken in rare environments such as the salt marshes, eg. coastal RSPB sites for endangered bird species.
Tourism: the coastline here is an important tourist destination, for example sightseeing along the coastal zone, cycling along the Purbech Cycle path or jet skiing in Eyemouth. Tourism in this region creates jobs in establishments such as hotels, Bed and Breakfast and public houses. An average of 3.5 million visitors use accommodation each year, around 1 million of which are from overseas. An annual income of £830 million is made from tourism alon, an average of £29 is spent per person each day by the 16.5 million annual visitors to the area.

Prelim Revision

Look at these images. These are all taken from the Dorset Coast. Describe the Social and Economic opportunities this area offers. The following link gives a detailed report on Tourism in Dorset, this will provide valuable background information. Click here for link. Answer to follow.

Malaria – Teacher’s Answer

Compare your answer to the teacher’s. Note where the marks are awarded.

Describe the physical (environmental) and human factors that put people at risk of contracting the disease. (approx 5 Marks)

Possible answer:

Malaria is found within the Tropics (/), affecting 100 countries and over 2 billion people. In Africa alone, over 400 million people live in areas where malaria is endemic. The location reflects the presence of the parasite-carrying mosquito (/). This tends to be at altitudes up to 3000 metres (/) with high humidity (/) and where temperatures are above 16°C and below 30°C (/. Stagnant pools of water (/) are factors that allow the mosquito to live as it uses them to breed (/) like in marshes, lakes and river pools.
While marshlands have been drained development has meant the construction of new dams, reservoirs and irrigation ditches creating stagnant water pools (/). In Vietnam old bomb craters (/) prove rich breeding grounds for the mosquito. With greater mobility people on the move can transmit (/) the disease to a new area or even reintroduce (/) it into a previously cleared area. Increasing population growth can encourage people to live closer (/) to affected areas (e.g. close to river pools). Normally the mosquito cannot travel move than 2 km from a water source. Poverty is a crucial factor (/) as avoiding malaria costs money.