Albion
09-15-2011, 08:55 PM
When looking at a map of Europe you can't help but notice the sheer amount of towns and cities that stretch from the North West England to North West Germany and the Netherlands.
These areas are amongst the most densely populated in Europe and recently we hear planning laws in England (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/sep/10/planning-regulation-changes-countryside-danger) are set to become simpler.
In all these areas there is a concern in the surrounding countryside that towns and cities could encroach onto farmland and in these areas there are many examples of cities silently expanding outwards to incorporate neighbouring towns and villages.
I think it is very likely that we will eventually see massive cities brought by via the merger of subsumed towns and the expanding cities.
I think it is very likely that Birmingham will subsume the rest of the West Midlands urban area and some surrounding areas of Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
I also think Manchester and Liverpool will continue to grow into the space between them, along with Warrington.
London is already expanding into the surrounding towns and the south Dutch cities and those in NW Germany look set to do the same.
Some people, namely this organisation (http://www.megacities.nl/congress/brochure-congress.pdf)are for megacities and I personally believe that the expansion of cities should be planned for by incorporating the surrounding towns (i.e. Walsall or Wolverhampton into Birmingham).
If megacities are to develop then we shouldn't just allow for buildings to be thrown up here, there and everywhere, instead we should create megacity regions with different planning laws and encourage the building of properties in these areas instead of in small towns and the countryside.
In England the population mainly resides in a band stretching from Liverpool / Manchester, down to Birmingham and then to London and the South East.
All other towns and cities outside of this zone are basically "outposts" of this area, with East Anglia, the South West, North East and North of England having a much smaller population density and less towns and urban sprawl.
In the Netherlands much of the population is concentrated in the SW of the country.
To keep these countries from being ruined by urban sprawl we must limit large scale building to the existing densely populated areas only and allow for this by creating policies which will create megacities around existing large cities.
In England the threat to the countryside from urban sprawl is in the belt from London to Liverpool as mentioned, there isn't much of a problem outside of this area.
We need to keep the bulk of the population within this area. England is a small country for 55 million people, but so far the population is largely limited to this area and for the sake of the country it needs to stay that way.
By planning for megacities in England, the Netherlands and parts of Germany we can stop urban sprawl from encroaching where it does need to and plan properly decent cities for the future instead of watching them form and then planning for them.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Population_density_Europe.png
Population density map of Europe
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Blaue-banane.png
The most important economical areas of Europe with the densest populations in many areas.
Opinions?
These areas are amongst the most densely populated in Europe and recently we hear planning laws in England (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/sep/10/planning-regulation-changes-countryside-danger) are set to become simpler.
In all these areas there is a concern in the surrounding countryside that towns and cities could encroach onto farmland and in these areas there are many examples of cities silently expanding outwards to incorporate neighbouring towns and villages.
I think it is very likely that we will eventually see massive cities brought by via the merger of subsumed towns and the expanding cities.
I think it is very likely that Birmingham will subsume the rest of the West Midlands urban area and some surrounding areas of Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
I also think Manchester and Liverpool will continue to grow into the space between them, along with Warrington.
London is already expanding into the surrounding towns and the south Dutch cities and those in NW Germany look set to do the same.
Some people, namely this organisation (http://www.megacities.nl/congress/brochure-congress.pdf)are for megacities and I personally believe that the expansion of cities should be planned for by incorporating the surrounding towns (i.e. Walsall or Wolverhampton into Birmingham).
If megacities are to develop then we shouldn't just allow for buildings to be thrown up here, there and everywhere, instead we should create megacity regions with different planning laws and encourage the building of properties in these areas instead of in small towns and the countryside.
In England the population mainly resides in a band stretching from Liverpool / Manchester, down to Birmingham and then to London and the South East.
All other towns and cities outside of this zone are basically "outposts" of this area, with East Anglia, the South West, North East and North of England having a much smaller population density and less towns and urban sprawl.
In the Netherlands much of the population is concentrated in the SW of the country.
To keep these countries from being ruined by urban sprawl we must limit large scale building to the existing densely populated areas only and allow for this by creating policies which will create megacities around existing large cities.
In England the threat to the countryside from urban sprawl is in the belt from London to Liverpool as mentioned, there isn't much of a problem outside of this area.
We need to keep the bulk of the population within this area. England is a small country for 55 million people, but so far the population is largely limited to this area and for the sake of the country it needs to stay that way.
By planning for megacities in England, the Netherlands and parts of Germany we can stop urban sprawl from encroaching where it does need to and plan properly decent cities for the future instead of watching them form and then planning for them.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Population_density_Europe.png
Population density map of Europe
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Blaue-banane.png
The most important economical areas of Europe with the densest populations in many areas.
Opinions?