The Urban Environment  Blog– Study Task 30/09/16 

Having looked through the PowerPoints and done further reading about The Urban Environment I have now developed a clear understanding of what an urban environment is and it has allowed me to evaluate my own environment in which I live in and see how its content effects the world as a whole. I live in a small town in the south side of Glasgow called Giffnock. The majority of Giffnock is houses, all different types: bungalows, semi-detached, flats etc. There are also local shops but not any big shopping centres, we have small businesses such as: dentists, doctor’s surgeries etc. In Giffnock there are a couple of parks with large areas of greenery however it is mostly filled with properties.

There are many different types of transport used in the environment today, in Giffnock the majority is cars. However buses are very common as well, they run regularly and can go to many different destinations. In Giffnock there are quite a lot of elderly people and having regular buses allows the elderly to still get around easily. However even though there are many positives about the variety of transport, this is no good for the environment, all the pollution from the fuels is damaging the environment and will have effects in the future.

Giffnock is a small town however there are many people who live and work in this town and spaces are sometimes an issue for parking. In the community we have 2 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, all of which have a mass numbers of pupils attending. There is a local library which holds reading classes for different age groups and it also has a study from for students to go somewhere quiet to complete work. In this community people do take advantage of these community resources. In Giffnock, there is not a lot of work opportunities as you would get in cities, like Glasgow for example. As I said previously, this town is mainly just filled with houses and a few local shops, there are some restaurants and retail shops in the area as well as the council building however it is not easy to get a job here due to the limited number of employees.  In terms of big industrial estates or factories, there are none in Giffnock which means less pollution.  

Recently in Giffnock a big new sports centre has just been built which is providing this town with more spaces for the community and it also is providing the locals with a new community centre in which we can keep fit and healthy. There is also a small theatre but again this area is very populated as the majority of this town is housing. All the greenery is getting used to build more houses to continue providing housing for our rapidly growing population. In term of air quality, I would say that in Giffnock there is not a lot of fumes passing around due to not having factories and industrial estates meaning we have a relatively good air quality. However the amount of cars could be reduced to make our environment more eco-friendly.

B.A. 2

Learning Log 1 – The Environment

Theme: Urban Environment

Key Learning: This week I learned all about the urban environment in which I live in. Having looked more closely into the surroundings I can now see all the factors which are effecting our environment. I also have a clear understanding of what an urban environment is and what it may contain that effects the community, i.e. buildings, transport methods and industrial factories etc. Having studied into these factors in which are effecting the environment I have discovered the amount of harmful gases which are let off in our environment and this pollution is effecting our life and community.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice: My views on the urban environment has changed having done a bit more research and looking more closely at my surroundings. Before looking into the environment in more depth, I never really noticed or realised all the different factors which are effecting our environment in which we are living in. For example transport, industrial estates and factories are effecting the environment due to the number of fumes coming off these different types of fuels. Having now realised the damage in which we are doing to our environment it is important to try and reduce the pollution in which we are creating to help not only our environment in which we live in but help the whole world to try and stop pollution everywhere.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop:  Areas in which I would be interested in exploring more are:  ·         Looking at my local area and seeing the major cause of pollution ·         Comparing a very busy environment to a quite area where not many people pass