Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. March, and I'm here today to teach you all about challenges created by urban change, particularly environmental.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how urban change has led to environmental challenges for Liverpool and use place-specific details to evidence the problems. There are three key terms for today's lesson, and those are dereliction, brownfield site, and greenfield site.

Dereliction refers to when a building or structure is abandoned and becomes dilapidated.

Brownfield site refers to land that has been used and abandoned, mainly in urban areas, that awaits redevelopment.

Greenfield site refers to land, often rural or on the edges of urban areas, which has not been built on before.

There are three learning cycles for today's lesson, and we're going to start with the first learning cycle, which is industrial and residential dereliction.

Changes to the economy and industry of Liverpool have created problems for the city's environment.

This may relate to the industrial and residential dereliction, by which I mean the abandonment and deterioration of industry and residential areas, the development of brownfield and greenfield sites, and finally, waste disposal.

And during today's lesson, we're going to look at each of these three features in front of you, starting with the industrial and residential dereliction.

So urban dereliction is a result of two things, the first of which is the movement of activities to different locations, and the second of which is the depopulation of an urban area.

Now, in terms of those activities, these may be economic or employment activities, which may move to a different area of the city or perhaps even outside the city itself.

This may trigger a depopulation of that urban area as people move from that area to another area in search of those employment opportunities or those education opportunities, whatever it actually is.

What are the consequences of that, though? Well, this could cause a physical deterioration of that area.

As people move away from the area, buildings and structures may become abandoned and become derelict over time.

There's going to be economic impacts as perhaps industry moves away from an area and also its people have become depopulated.

Then naturally, there's going to be an economic impact as also small businesses move away from that area with so few people still living in that area.

That may also lead to increase crime, with more abandoned structures which are deteriorated as well.

And finally, there will also be some public health concerns, again relating to the dereliction and abandonment of that area.

So in terms of industrial dereliction, during the 1960s and 1970s, de-industrialization led to the widespread closure and abandonment of Liverpool City Centre Docks as you can see on the screen in front of you.

The introduction of containerization shifted the dock operations northwards to Seaforth, where there was more space, leaving the old docks to become derelict and full of silt.

The Albert Dock was last used in 1971, followed by the south docks' abandonment in 1973.

But it was not only the docks that faced dereliction in Liverpool as high unemployment during the 1970s resulted in depopulation, and many older, poor-quality houses were abandoned and left to deteriorate, particularly in areas like Toxteth.

There was significant demolition in the area in the 1980s, and along with other areas that had been demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, large areas of land in the city were left vacant and derelict.

In recent times, Ducie Street in Toxteth has remained one of the last areas of derelict housing in Liverpool awaiting demolition.

Aside from housing, several buildings in the city, including the Wellington Rooms, which you can see on the screen in front of you, the Stretford Memorial Hospital, and Margaret Beavan School have remained abandoned for many, many years.

So, time for a quick learning check.

It says, why did Liverpool move its docks northwards to Seaforth in the 1960s and 1970s? There are three options in front of you.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video here whilst you read through those three options and then consider and select your answer.

And the correct answer was C.

It was moved northwards to Seaforth because it needed more space for large container ships.

Our second learning check is to decide who is correct.

And we have three statements, one from Jacob, one from Aisha, and one from Jun.

What I'd like you to do again is to pause the video whilst you read through those three statements and then consider and select who you think is correct.

And the correct answer was Jacob.

Now, Jacob says that from the 1960s to the 1980s, large areas of abandoned housing in Liverpool were demolished.

Really, really well done if you also selected Jacob's answer.

Our third and final learning check says, in 2024, which street in Toxteth was one of the last remaining areas of derelict housing in Liverpool? Now remember, there are four options in front of you.

So once again, what I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through the options, consider your answer, and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was C, Ducie Street.

So really well done once again if you were able to recall that piece of information.

So urban dereliction remains a significant challenge, but many areas have undergone successful regeneration.

We can see this on the screen in front of you with the example of the Albert Dock in Liverpool.

It is now a thriving cultural hub, but if you were to go back to the 1970s and '80s, the Albert Dock would've looked a lot like the top image in front of you.

But thanks to that regeneration, it now looks like it does in the bottom image there: a thriving cultural hub.

And this is just evidence of what successful regeneration can look like.

So, we have two practise questions for our first learning cycle, and the first one says to annotate the images with the story of industrial dereliction in Liverpool.

So you can see you've got three images in front of you.

What I'd like you to do is annotate those images to really tell the story of industrial dereliction in Liverpool.

The second practise question says for you to complete the paragraph below using the words in the word bank provided.

Not all words, though, will be needed.

So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise questions.

Best of luck.

So in terms of feedback then for the first question, you may have included something like this.

Let's start with the image on the left, and you may have included that in the 1960s and 1970s, the City Centre Docks were abandoned, and port activity moved northwards to Seaforth, where there was more space.

Then, in the middle image, the Albert Dock was abandoned in 1971 and became silted and derelict.

In the 1980s, we saw the start of redevelopment of some city centre docks, such as the Albert Dock.

For the second question, this is what the paragraph needed to be written as.

It says, industrial and residential dereliction creates problems for urban environments.

Firstly, there are problems with the physical deterioration of buildings, which can make them unsafe and unsightly.

There are also areas which attract a lot of crime, such as graffiti and antisocial behaviour.

The lack of care for derelict buildings can mean that rodents invade the areas, which brings public health concerns.

The dereliction of the built environment can bring significant consequences to the area as less people want to live and visit them, meaning the area becomes run-down socially and economically too.

So really, really well done if you were able to answer the paragraph in the same way, and let's move forward now onto the second learning cycle.

The second learning cycle, then, is all about the development of brownfield and greenfield sites.

Now then, changes to the economy and industry of Liverpool created many problems, as we discussed earlier.

Now let's look at the development of those brownfield and greenfield sites.

A brownfield site is an area or a piece of land that has been used before, has become abandoned, and is mainly found in urban areas and awaits redevelopment.

So we're thinking perhaps more about sort of abandoned industrial areas or abandoned residential areas as well.

Industrial and residential dereliction has resulted in many brownfield sites in the Liverpool City Region, and there are many significant challenges that are associated with brownfield sites.

These can include soil and water contamination from previous use, particularly if it was industrial, the health risks from the release of toxic substances, costly cleanup of that contaminated land in order for it to be able to be used again, and finally, planning can be extremely complex and time-consuming to meet those environmental laws that are existing in the UK when trying to clean up an old industrial area such as this.

Liverpool City Region has numerous brownfield sites linked to its docks, old factories, and abandoned housing.

The map in front of you that you can see on the screen is doing a great job of showing exactly the location of those brownfield sites.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has identified over 400 such sites offering space for 28,000 new homes, which are much needed due to population growth and poor-quality housing in some areas of the city.

The majority of these are concentrated in Liverpool, but not all are suitable for redevelopment due to reasons around cost, contamination of land, and pressure on existing infrastructure.

Brownfield sites can be successfully developed, such as the Albert Dock that you can see in front of you.

The Merseyside Development Corporation, established in 1981, is leading efforts to restore historic buildings, transforming the old city centre docks area into a vibrant entertainment hub featuring museums, hotels, and restaurants.

In 2024, Homes England awarded £56 million to accelerate redevelopment of the central docks, which will include a new public park and 2,350 houses.

It's time for a learning check, and it says to complete the challenges of redeveloping brownfield sites.

You have four options there with four gaps that you need to complete.

So what I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you try to recall this information and complete the gaps.

And the answers were: A says about soil and water contamination from previous use, particularly if it was industrial; health risks from the release of toxic substances; costly cleanup of contaminated land; and finally, planning can be complex and time-consuming to meet environmental laws.

So really, really well done if you were able to recall those four pieces of information.

The next learning check says how many brownfield sites has the Liverpool City Combined Regional Authority identified? Once again, I would like you to pause the video whilst you try to recall and then select the correct answer.

And the correct answer was A, 400.

So really well done if you were able to recall that piece of information.

And the final learning check says, who is correct? You've got two statements on the screen in front of you, one from Andeep and one from Sofia.

Can you please pause the video whilst you read through their statements and then decide who you think is correct? And the correct answer was Andeep.

Now Andeep says that in 2024, Homes England awarded Liverpool £56 million to accelerate the redevelopment of the central docks to include a park and over 2,000 houses.

Really well done if you were also able to select Andeep's answer.

Now let's turn our attention to greenfield sites.

And greenfield sites is land, often rural, so out in the countryside, or on the edges of urban areas, on the edges of towns and cities, which has never been built on before, as the image in front of you does a great job of showing.

It can be more costly and time-consuming to build on greenfield sites than on brownfield sites.

But why? Well, it's because the infrastructure, such as the roads and the transportation and drainage all has to be considered and built in preparation for these housing developments.

Greenfield sites need to be developed to meet the housing demand that we currently have in the UK, but this development is not without its challenges.

And those challenges can be multifaceted, beginning with the loss of natural habitats.

By building on greenfield sites in countryside areas, in rural areas, this is undoubtedly going to lead to a loss of natural habitats and affect wildlife.

It's also going to lead to an increase in carbon emissions due to the location and reliance on cars for transportation.

By being located outside the city, it's going to lead to more commuting from people travelling to work or to school each and every single day, and that's going to increase the carbon emissions.

There's also going to be water management issues from disruption to natural drainage by building roads and building houses and leading to urbanisation of once rural areas.

This is going to limit the amount of absorption or infiltration of water that previously existed, and thereby it's going to cause a reduction in natural drainage, and this may lead to an increased flood risk as well.

There's also the impact of urban sprawl, as urban areas sort of move more and more and grow more and more into rural areas.

And finally, there's the high infrastructure cost as building from scratch.

So you can see how there is a range of both social, economic, and environmental challenges associated with the construction on greenfield sites.

In 2019, plans were submitted to develop over 700 homes on 70 hectares of greenfield site land around Halewood, part of the Knowsley local authority.

This area you can see identified on the map in front of you.

And it's known as part of a sustainable neighbourhood project.

The development is not only looking to provide housing but is also aiming to enhance access to leisure facilities and improve sustainable transport connections with the wider Liverpool area.

And time now for our learning check, and it says, who is correct? Once again, you have three statements on the screen in front of you, one from Izzy, one from Aisha, and one from Jun.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through those three statements and then consider and select who you think is correct.

And the correct answer was Aisha.

And Aisha says that greenfield sites are often more expensive to develop than brownfield sites, and this is absolutely correct.

The second learning check says, in which local authority is Halewood? So what I'd like you to do once again is pause the video whilst you read through those four options and try to recall the correct answer.

And the correct answer was B, Knowsley.

And third and final learning check says that in 2019, permission was requested for 700 new homes to be built on a greenfield site around Halewood.

In which two other ways did the new development aim to enhance the area? You have three options right there.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you consider and then select your two correct answers.

And the two correct answers were A, better access to leisure facilities and B, improved sustainable transport connections.

So really well done if you were able to select those two correct answers.

We have just one practise question for the second learning cycle, and it says, Halewood, a greenfield site, and the Central Dock, a brownfield site, have both been awarded millions of pounds for development.

I would like you to annotate with the challenges of developing those two separate sites.

So please pause the video here whilst you attempt this practise question.

In terms of feedback, then, let's start with the Central Docks, our brownfield site.

What are the challenges with developing the Central Dock? You may have included something like this: the soil and water contamination from previous use, especially as it's a post-industrial area; the health risks from release of the toxic substances which may be there; there is a costly cleanup associated with that contaminated land; and the planning can be extremely complex and time-consuming due to the need to meet environmental laws.

In terms of Halewood, the greenfield site, you may have included the high infrastructure cost as it needs to be built from scratch; there's the associated challenge of urban sprawl as urban areas continue to grow into rural areas; there's the environmental impact of a loss of natural habitats and the effects on wildlife; there's also the water management issues from disruption to natural drainage; and finally, there's the increased carbon emissions due to location and the reliance on cars for transportation.

So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our third and final learning cycle, which is all about waste disposal.

Now, once again, changes to the economy and industry of Liverpool have created problems for the city's environment, and we're going to focus on that waste disposal aspect.

So, in the year 2020 to 2021, Liverpool averaged 635 kilogrammes of waste per household.

Only 18% of Liverpool's waste is recycled, and this is the second lowest in England.

So here we have Liverpool at 18% whilst the national average is 44%.

So you can see how Liverpool is really lagging behind in terms of its household recycled waste.

Up to 67% of the waste from Liverpool's household bins could be recycled, and yet only 18% of it actually is.

There's a further 33.

5%, which is food waste, which again could be recycled and also goes to show the great waste that we're experiencing in many parts of our country.

9% of Liverpool's carbon emissions are from transporting waste over 150 miles away to Teesside, away into the northeast of England, as you can see on the map in front of you.

Low recycling rates really do have some significant consequences, such as the overflowing bins affects vermin and can therefore cause public health incidents.

It is more expensive for the council to incinerate the waste than it is to recycle it.

And finally, incineration and the transportation of that waste emit significant levels of carbon dioxide, thereby contributing to our carbon footprint and, in effect, to cause of the global warming.

It's time now for a learning check, and it says, which of the following percentages relates to how much household waste is recycled in Liverpool? You have three options in front of you.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you try to recall the piece of information and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was A, 18%.

Our second learning check says, which of the following percentages relates to how much household waste could be recycled in Liverpool? Once again, you have three options.

So once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you try to recall that piece of information.

And the correct answer is C, 67%.

So you can see a huge disparity between the amount that could be recycled and how much is actually recycled.

Now Liverpool is trying to improve its ability to recycle, and amongst other initiatives, Liverpool is increasing recycling through education, new food waste bins, and finally, carbon-neutral bin lorries in an effort to try to encourage and stimulate recycling across the city region.

We're on now to our practise questions.

And as you can see on the screen in front of you, you have six questions which you need to try and answer.

So, what I'd like you to do then is pause the video whilst you read through the questions, recall the information, and answer those practise questions.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback, then, the first question says, what percentage of Liverpool's household waste is currently recycled? The answer: only 18% of Liverpool's household waste is currently recycled.

The second question says, how does Liverpool's household recycling rate compare to England's average? It says that on average, 42% of England's household waste is recycled.

Liverpool has the second lowest recycling rate in the country.

The third question says, what percentage of Liverpool's household waste could be recycled? And the answer was 67%.

The fourth question says, of the household waste that could be recycled, what percentage is food waste? And the answer was 33.

5%.

Question five says identify three problems that are caused by low recycling rates in Liverpool.

The answers included: overflowing bins attracting vermin, financial costs as incineration is much more costly than recycling, and also increased carbon emissions through transportation of household waste 150 miles away to Teesside.

The sixth and final question says, what is Liverpool doing to increase the amount of household waste recycled? And the answers was increasing education as to why recycling is important, providing food waste recycling bins, and finally, investing in carbon-neutral bin lorries.

So, really well done if you were able to include any of those answers in your own.

And now to summarise.

So changes to the economy and industry of Liverpool have created many problems for the city's urban environment.

For example, residential and industrial dereliction has led to run-down areas, for example, Toxteth and the Central Docks.

Then we have the development of brownfield and greenfield sites.

The development of sites is expensive.

For example, the central docks and Halewood.

Finally, there's the issue around waste disposal.

In Liverpool, we have low rates of recycling, and this is impacting the costs but also carbon emissions, as well vermin and also public health incidents.

So, really, really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you.

And I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye!.