Manchester Notes – UK Major City

The Location and Importance of Manchester in the UK and the Wider World.

• Population - One of the largest populations in the UK (500,000 in the city and 2.7m in Greater
Manchester)
• Culture – A large centre for music with many bands starting here (e.g. Oasis, Stone Roses, Take That
etc) and large music festivals (e.g. Parklife)
• History – A major centre of the cotton trade in the Industrial Revolution, so it became known as
‘Cottonopolis’
• Education – A highly rated university (Manchester) and others e.g. MMU, Salford Uni.
• Business – The Cooperative Bank’s headquarters are based in the city
• Media – BBC and ITV have major studios in Salford, Greater Manchester
• Sport – Two Premiership football teams (United and City) successful and known globally

Manchester Migration

Key Terms:
International Migration:
Migration from another country to Manchester in the UK.

In the 1970’s Chinese people began moving into Manchester. This led to the growth of China Town. In the
1950’s many people moved from India Bangladesh and Pakistan e.g. to work in the mills. This led to the growth
of the Curry Mile.

National Migration:
Migration within the UK from a different area to Manchester
There is a high student population migrating into Manchester to study at the universities. (University of
Manchester and University of Salford) This led to the growth of the nightlife scene in Manchester e.g. bars
and clubs in the Northern Quarter and Spinning Fields.

Social and Economic Opportunities in Manchester

Social Opportunities Include:

 University of Manchester and University of Salford Increases people’s opportunities to get a better
education and job.
 There is the Lowry Outlet Mall and Theatre where people can go and enjoy the recreation activities.
 There is the Etihad Campus and Old Trafford where people can go and watch football enjoy the
recreation activities.

Economic Opportunities Include:

 The Cooperative have their headquarters in Manchester

 There are 30 companies in Media City
 BBC and ITV have their studios in Media City where 2300 work in BBC alone
 People who are not skilled can work in the Trafford Centre/Lowry Outlet Mall and Theatre

How urban change has created challenges?

Urban Change is simply when an urban area (city) changes e.g. Urbanisation, Regeneration, Urban Greening,
Urban Sprawl and Deindustrialisation.

For example, deindustrialisation is when the industrial and manufacturing industry closes down. This can lead to
many urban problems. Urban problems include:

 Unemployment
 Dereliction
 Outwards Migration
 Crime
This is an example when an area goes into Urban Decline (which is when an area experiences many social,
economic and environmental challenges)

The cycle of urban decline is basically when:

 The manufacturing/industrial industry shuts down.

 This means businesses shut down and people loose their jobs (3000 people lost their jobs when Salford
Docks experienced deindustrialization)
 This means people have less money to spend in local shops and restaurants which means these
businesses shut down.
 This negatively impacts the local economy and tax system
 People either outwards migrate to look forms of employment or people turn to crime/vandalise the
derelict buildings.
 When people outwards migrate to find other forms of employment, schools and health clinics might shut
down as there aren’t enough people and there is lack of tax to fund these.
 People turn to crime and become less aspirational to find a better job.
 People are uneducated and have a low skill set which doesn’t attract businesses to invest in the area
which creates lack of jobs.
 Derelict buildings that were once factories then become vandalized and make the environment look bad.
Urban Change has created many social, economic and environmental challenges in Manchester. Even though
there are many social, economic and environmental opportunities.

This has created many inequalities within Manchester. This means people have access to better opportunities
compared to others. As you can see in the table above:

East Manchester is more socially and economically deprived in comparison to South Manchester.

You can see more people live in poverty in East Manchester (18%) compared to South Manchester (11%). More
young people attend university in South Manchester (78%) in comparison to East Manchester (15%). The life
expectancy in East Manchester is lower at (58 years) in comparison to South Manchester (68 years)

This is all linked to East Manchester experiencing Urban Decline as a result of urban change
(deindustrialization).
Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is… the expansion of an urban area into surrounding less populated areas.

It is a problem because it is putting pressure on land on the rural-urban fringe, leading to loss of greenfield
sites and congestion.

Manchester has experienced the fastest population growth outside of London.

By 2021, the population is expected to reach 532,200.
Many of these people arriving in Manchester are young professionals and initially they often choose to live in
the city centre.

However, as these people settle down and have families, there is a general outwards movement of people to
the suburbs e.g. Chorlton, Didsbury and Sale / Altrincham.
This urban sprawl has led to the city growing out to the south of the region.

The journey to work presents problems of the rush hour, traffic jams and delays for commuters.
Cities have the tendency to sprawl further and further out into the countryside, as people look for housing that
is away from the congested, polluted environment of the city centre, but still within commuting distance.

Brown Field Sites

• A site that has been built upon before e.g. Factory sites.
• If these buildings aren’t regenerated then they will be left derelict and vandalised.
• If these buildings have been regenerated Into apartment blocks or shopping malls then this will boost
the area e.g. Salford Quays.

Greenfield Sites

A site that has never been built on before e.g. farmland.

This can create so many environmental drawbacks e.g. habitat destruction or loss of a carbon sink.
If greenfield sites get built on then this can create traffic congestion, air pollution and overpopulation which
can put pressures on healthcare, education and other public services.

Urban Sprawl

The GMSF (Greater Manchester Spatial Framework) plans to build new homes on greenbelt land in several
places around the Greater Manchester area including Bury.

One area is around the Elton Reservoir. It will provide nearly 3500 homes
Commuter Settlements
A commuter settlement is a place where people live but work elsewhere. This leads to problems.

A) Large numbers of commuters create pollution and B) Demand for houses increases prices and so locals
congestion. may be priced out of the area.

D) Businesses in commuter settlements may suffer as

C) The development of new houses would remove the majority of the population is absent most of the
habitats and damage the environment. time and prefers to spend their money where they
work.

Congestion and Air Pollution: Manchester City Centre.

Key Problems:
 Journey times in Manchester have steadily increased since 2008.
 91, 000 cars travel on the roads of Manchester each day
 Manchester drivers spend an average of 40 hours a year stuck in traffic.
 Nitrogen Dioxide levels in Manchester currently exceed the legal limits set by the EU. In
Manchester, 60% of these levels come from cars.

Urban Change = Environmental Opportunities

The Second City Tram Crossing:

Recently completed second tramline through the city centre.
This connects St. Peter’s Square with Victoria Station.
This was done to reduce tram traffic along Market Street, where several accidents had happened.

Oxford Road Green Corridor:

Oxford Road is one of the busiest commuter routes in Europe.
Currently, 1602 pedal cycles use the route each day, (Oxford Road Green Corridor)
The ORGC is a plan to widen pavements and segregate cycle lanes.
Large parts of Oxford Rd will be open only to buses, cyclists, hackney carriages (black cabs) and pedestrians. It
is part of the Bus Priority Package.

Urban Greening

Grow Wild Project:

The project ran in 2014 and aimed to help people in deprived areas create more green space.
One project ran in Hulme (an area of high social and economic deprivation) and encouraged local people to plant
cheap and fast growing wildflower seeds.
The project was successful in creating small pockets of green space in some of the most deprived
neighbourhoods of Manchester improving the quality of the environment.
Integrated Transport Network
In Greater Manchester – they are trying to create a ‘integrated transport network’ which will reduce the
number of cars on the road, which will reduce traffic congestion, which will reduce air pollution and improve air
quality.

Old Metrolink Map

Expanded New Metrolink Map