In more detail
In England, 4 out of 5 of us in live in urban areas. These are defined by the government according to the density of population and other factors. The map derived from this definitions is shown below:
Urban neighbourhoods differ from villages and small towns in a number of significant ways. These factors make planning urban neighbourhoods different to planning rural villages:
Urban dwellers are younger – the median age for rural and urban residents is 45 and 37 years respectively. In large and diverse urban centres like Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol and London the median age is less than 34 years ; in Leciester and Manchester, it is 31 and 29 years respectively. In 2011, more than a fifth (21%) of the urban population was aged 15-29 compared with about a seventh (15%) of the rural population.
Urban communities are more diverse - 15% of residents are born outside the UK (compared with 5% in rural areas); and there are 23% non-White British (compared to 5%). The proportion of households consisting of one family with a married couple or civil partnership is less than one in three (32%) in urban areas (as opposed to 2 in 5 – 40% - in rural places). Urban neighbourhoods have a wider variation in household types – in particular there are more single people and lone parents.
Certain communities only really exist in urban areas - the homogeneity of the rural population is particularly pronounced in respect of non-White ethnic groups. Pakistani communities are, for example, the third most common ethnic minority in English towns and cities but only the 13th largest group in rural areas. In small towns and villages in England, such ethnic minorities as there are, are overwhelmingly ‘other White’ or Irish.
Housing tenure is more diverse in urban places – three fifths (61%) of urbanites are owner-occupiers as against three quarters (75%) of country-dwellers. In urban neighbourhoods, more households rent a home- increasingly in the private rented sector which offers less security of tenure than in social housing. In rural places, households are much more likely to live in properties that are owned outright.
There is a higher turnover of population in towns and cities – the population growth rate 2001-11 was 6% in rural places, 8% in urban areas and 9% in the major English conurbations around Birmingham; Leeds-Bradford; Manchester and London. In urban places, the increase in non-White British population over the same ten year period was 15% to 27%; and the proportion of households in private rented accommodation leapt from less than 1 in 8 (12%) to nearly 1 in 5 (19%). There are more students in urban neighbourhoods.
Urban neighbourhoods – particularly in the Midlands and North – tend to be more deprived than country areas. There are more households with skilled occupations, managers , directors and senior officials in rural areas. There is higher unemployment in towns and cities. Despite having an older population, rural residents are generally in better health - this difference is particularly marked in towns and cities in the North and Midlands. Urban neighbourhoods have a far greater density of public service interventions than there is in rural areas.
| Key Facts:
Urban places are more interconnected. They are shared by more diverse communities and have more intense relationships with public services as well as having a wider range of potential and actual land uses. For these reasons, local planning in urban areas is likely to benefit, in particular, from being integrated with wider community planning which deals, for example, with community relations and publ;ic service delivery. |
Page Links from here
OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.
BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.
| created: 2016-06-15 09:16:11 | by: admin | status: f published |