8.2 Urban systems and urban planningIB Environmental Systems and Societies HL: Subtopic test

1. 1
   Country P (hypothetical) had a population of 100 million in 2000, of which 38% lived in urban areas. By 2020 its population was 130 million, of which 52% lived in urban areas. Most of the growth was in its largest city, which has spread across former farmland. The city contains parks, gardens, a river and a large forest reserve within its boundary.

   (a)

   How many people lived in the urban areas of Country P in 2020?

   [1 mark]

   • A52 million
   • B62.4 million
   • C67.6 million
   • D130 million

   (b)

   Which of the following is part of an urban ecosystem?

   [1 mark]

   • AParks, gardens and rivers and the organisms that live in them
   • BOnly farmland on the edge of the city
   • COnly buildings and roads
   • DOnly sewage systems

   (c)

   Use the data to show that the urban population grew faster than the total population between 2000 and 2020.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   Singapore is a compact city-state of about 5.5 million people on a small island. Homes, shops, offices and schools are often built close together in the same neighbourhoods, and most people live in public housing estates linked by a dense network of trains and buses. Rules on the ethnic mix of residents in each housing block were introduced to prevent the formation of single-group neighbourhoods. Large areas of the island are kept as parks and nature reserves.

   (a)

   Which feature of Singapore is an example of urban compactness?

   [1 mark]

   • ALow-density housing spread over a large area
   • BDense development close together, linked by public transport
   • CLarge areas of land reserved for car parks
   • DSeparate districts for shopping and housing connected by motorways

   (b)

   What is the main environmental benefit of mixed land use?

   [1 mark]

   • AIt increases the area of the city
   • BIt prevents all population growth
   • CIt removes the need for public transport
   • DIt reduces the distance people travel for work, shops and services

   (c)

   Explain how the ethnic mix rules in Singapore's housing estates illustrate social mix practice.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   Amsterdam adopted the doughnut economics model as the basis of its city policy in 2020. The doughnut has an inner ring, the social foundation that everybody's basic needs must meet, and an outer ring, the ecological ceiling that must not be crossed. The city has also adopted a circular economy strategy that aims to halve its use of new raw materials by 2030 and to be fully circular by 2050. Building materials are reused, and construction waste is sorted and recycled.

   (a)

   Distinguish between a linear economy and a circular economy in the context of a city.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Explain how the doughnut economics model can be used to promote sustainability within an urban system.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   Milan, Italy, has two residential towers called the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), completed in 2014, whose balconies hold hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs. The wider ForestaMI plan aims to plant 3 million trees across Milan and its surrounding area by 2030. Milan has had serious air pollution because it lies in a basin where polluted air is trapped, and its summers have become hotter.

   (a)

   Evaluate ForestaMI as an example of ecological urban planning.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss how green architecture, such as the Bosco Verticale, can reduce the harmful effects of construction on human health and the environment.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions