What makes an urban community sustainable, and how can cities reduce their impact?
Sustainable urban communities: the features of a sustainable city (transport, housing, energy, water, waste and green space), the challenges of making UK cities sustainable, and a UK example of a sustainable urban initiative.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to sustainable urban communities in Theme 2, covering the features of a sustainable city (sustainable transport, housing, energy, water, waste and green space), the challenges of urban sustainability in the UK, and a UK example of a sustainable urban initiative.
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What this dot point is asking
This is part of Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) Theme 2, Rural-urban Links, assessed in Component 1. Eduqas expects you to know the features of a sustainable urban community (sustainable transport, housing, energy, water, waste and green space), the challenges of making UK cities more sustainable, and a UK example of a sustainable urban initiative.
What sustainability means
Features of a sustainable city
A sustainable urban community is built around several features.
- Sustainable transport: cycle lanes, buses, trams, park-and-ride and pedestrian zones reduce car use, congestion and air pollution.
- Energy-efficient housing: well-insulated, affordable homes with solar panels and efficient heating cut energy use and bills.
- Renewable energy: solar, wind and district heating reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- Water conservation: rainwater harvesting, water-saving fittings and water recycling cut demand.
- Waste management: recycling, composting and reducing landfill cut waste.
- Green space: parks, green roofs and tree planting improve air quality, manage rainwater, cool the city and support wildlife.
The challenges of urban sustainability
Making a UK city sustainable is hard.
- Cost: sustainable buildings, transport and energy are expensive to install.
- Retrofitting: most of the city is already built, so old housing must be upgraded, which is costly and disruptive.
- Changing habits: people are used to driving, so cutting car use means changing behaviour as well as providing alternatives.
- Growing demand: a rising urban population needs more housing, energy, water and transport, increasing pressure.
- Equity: sustainable housing must stay affordable, or it only benefits the wealthy.
A UK example: BedZED
Eduqas requires a UK example. A well-known one is BedZED (the Beddington Zero Energy Development) in Sutton, south London, a community of around 100 homes designed to be highly sustainable.
- Energy: homes are highly insulated and south-facing to capture the sun, with solar panels and originally a combined heat-and-power plant, cutting energy use sharply.
- Water: rainwater harvesting and water-saving fittings reduce water consumption.
- Transport: car-sharing, on-site cycle storage and good public transport links cut car use.
- Waste and wildlife: on-site recycling and green roofs reduce waste and support biodiversity.
Other UK examples include sustainability schemes in Bristol (a former European Green Capital) and Nottingham (trams and the workplace parking levy). Learn the named features of your chosen scheme.
Try this
Q1. Define a sustainable urban community. [2 marks]
- Cue. A town or city that gives a good quality of life now while protecting resources and the environment for future generations.
Q2. Explain one challenge of making an existing UK city more sustainable. [4 marks]
- Cue. Most of the city is already built, so old buildings must be expensively retrofitted, and people's car-use habits are hard to change.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 2019 (style)4 marksDescribe two features of a sustainable urban community. (Component 1)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "Describe" question assessing AO1, requiring two features. Markers reward two clear features described.
Award credit for any two of: affordable, energy-efficient housing with good insulation and solar panels that cut energy use and bills; sustainable transport such as cycle lanes, buses, trams and pedestrian zones that reduce car use and pollution; green spaces such as parks and green roofs that improve air quality, manage rainwater and support wildlife; renewable energy and efficient water and waste systems (recycling, water recycling, district heating). A strong answer describes two distinct features and what each achieves, rather than naming them in one line.
Eduqas 2021 (style)6 marksUsing a UK example, explain how an urban area has been made more sustainable. (Component 1)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark levels-of-response question assessing AO1 and AO2, requiring a UK example. Markers reward named features linked to sustainability.
Strong answers take a studied UK scheme (such as BedZED in south London, the Bristol or Nottingham sustainability initiatives, or a regenerated docklands community) and explain specific measures. For BedZED: highly insulated, south-facing homes with solar panels and a combined heat-and-power system cut energy use; rainwater harvesting and water-saving fittings cut water use; car-sharing, cycle storage and good public transport reduce car use; and on-site recycling and green roofs cut waste and support wildlife. A good answer names the scheme and ties each feature to reduced energy, water, waste or car use. Markers reward the named example and the feature-to-sustainability link.
Related dot points
- The urban-rural continuum: the definitions of rural, suburban and urban, the spectrum of settlement from remote rural to inner city, the processes of urbanisation, suburbanisation, counterurbanisation and re-urbanisation, and rural depopulation and deprivation.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to the urban-rural continuum in Theme 2, covering the definitions of rural, suburban and urban, the settlement spectrum, the processes of urbanisation, suburbanisation, counterurbanisation and re-urbanisation, and rural depopulation and deprivation.
- Population and urban change in the UK: population change (natural change, ageing, migration), urban land-use patterns, the causes of inner-city change and counterurbanisation, and the impacts of urban change on people and places.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to population and urban change in the UK in Theme 2, covering natural change, an ageing population and migration, urban land-use patterns, the causes of inner-city change and counterurbanisation, and the impacts of urban change.
- Urban issues in contrasting global cities: rapid urbanisation and megacity growth in an LIC or NIC, the causes of rural-urban migration, the growth of informal settlements (slums), the social, economic and environmental challenges, and strategies to manage them.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to urban issues in contrasting global cities in Theme 2, covering rapid urbanisation and megacity growth in an LIC or NIC, the causes of rural-urban migration, informal settlements, the social, economic and environmental challenges, and management strategies.
- Retail and service change: the decentralisation of retailing to out-of-town sites, the growth of online shopping, the impact on the high street and town centres, and changing service provision in rural and urban areas.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to retail and service change in Theme 2, covering the decentralisation of retailing to out-of-town sites, the growth of online shopping, the impact on the high street and town centres, and changing service provision in rural and urban areas.
- Environmental challenges and sustainability: rising consumerism and its environmental impact, climate change as an environmental challenge (mitigation and adaptation), ecosystem degradation and restoration, and sustainable tourism and resource use.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to environmental challenges and sustainability, linked to Theme 8, covering rising consumerism and its impact, climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystem degradation and restoration, and sustainable tourism and resource use.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Geography A specification (C111) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)