GEOGRAPHY GCSE COURSEWORK
In this coursework I will be explaining whether there has been a significant change in the types of work in the London Docklands area and if there is more opportunities now provided for tertiary and quaternary work. I will prove this by researching the London Docklands area.
I will be researching London Dockland by getting books from the library, research London Docklands on the for the history of the London Docklands and also by visiting the London Docklands and taking pictures.
The Docklands are located near central London, next to the Millennium Dome and are on the edge of the themes.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DOCLANDS
Employment had been a problem for the locals since the major docks closed down, and with the slogans 'why move to the middle of nowhere when you can move to the middle of London' has attracted people from outside the city. Between 1981 and 1987, 8000 new jobs have been created to the Docklands, a rise of 34&. By 1991 a further 25,000 jobs were expected. The jobs were in three sectors, finance and business services; distribution, hotels and catering; printing and publishing. However even though they have provided 8000 new jobs, 5000 have been transferred form elsewhere, ...
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Employment had been a problem for the locals since the major docks closed down, and with the slogans 'why move to the middle of nowhere when you can move to the middle of London' has attracted people from outside the city. Between 1981 and 1987, 8000 new jobs have been created to the Docklands, a rise of 34&. By 1991 a further 25,000 jobs were expected. The jobs were in three sectors, finance and business services; distribution, hotels and catering; printing and publishing. However even though they have provided 8000 new jobs, 5000 have been transferred form elsewhere, an example is the firms are bringing in their own employees. Only 3000 jobs are new and didn't exist before. Another problem is that the jobs do not match the work skills of the locals and only 13% of the incoming firms are locals. 13,000 jobs were lost from the traditional sectors since 1981 and in 1988 52,000 residents were unemployed.
Jobs were created for sailors who sailed the ships to the docks, the were jobs created for ship makers and ship repairers who amended the ship, loaders were now need for unloading and loading the ship. The unloaded goods were kept in warehouses so there was a need for a warehouse manager to manage to stock, which had been imported. There was also need for cleaners who would clean the warehouses.
People who had these jobs were sailors, the ship captain, managers, woman sectaries, loaders and lorry drivers who transported the stock to the warehouse.
The people got to work by public transports for instance the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), buses, taxis etc… they also got to work by car or even walked it to work because most of them lived locally.
Most of these people lived in back-to-back terrace houses, which were very cramped and some people lived in apartments, which had been converted from old warehouses.
These declines were mainly caused by problems in the area and with the structure of the whole area.
Problems included mainly the factors of money, land, space and work force.
One of the main problems was space. The Dockland's were not designed to support huge ships, by their thousands at one time. They were also not deep enough to allow for the new bigger ships, which reached down a great amount. Container ships could not be sufficed, so other ports started to open, which could support the new bigger ships. As well as not having enough space now, the Dockland's were in constant battle with other ports to get business and investors. Soon they could not handle it, with the growing expense of running the whole port, so they closed. The amount of space and the size of the ports were a big problem.
Another problem was the fact that there were so many job losses, because of these new containers and in the end; they could not fit inside anyway. Also workers who lived there were very limited with their skills and could not handle the new technology.
Because of the closing down of the docks now, the areas became run down. This was a problem, as no-one would want to live there let alone set up a business there, 40% of land was derelict now. There was a lot of derelict land now with a lot of street thugs and crime and graffiti hanging about.
Another Problem was that the land was owned by a council who did not have the will to redevelop the land. The derelict land in some places was very run-down, and so it would be very expensive to clear and redevelop. If redevelopment did not happen, investors and entrepreneurs would not even consider entering the area.
There was also a problem with routes to other areas of London. The roads did not clearly link to London main areas. This meant that it would be expensive to trade and communicate with other parts of London. There were no airports for transport to other countries or other places in England. Neither was there proper fast and hard wearing trains or train stations. The main transport was by ships, and this was very slow, not to mention the docks were also packed.
At this point counter-urbanization was taking place; all of the urban qualities of the area were being stripped off the Docklands. This meant that all of the functions and homes that were there became rundown and worse than before.
This also meant that the docklands could in no way keep up with the latest technology, which is so valuable when you want to lure investors your way.
Housing in the area was also a problem. There were terraced housing in most places of the London Docklands. This meant there was not much lure for normal families to come there and also the workers would not have liked it. The houses were built fairly fast in the past, so they were not very hard wearing at all. These needed to be replaced.
Even when the Docklands were a good market place, their image was of a run-down town. What the whole area needed was a nicer image as an attractive place to come and work and live with your family. Entertainment and activity centers were needed to put this image on to appeal to the families of workers to come there to live and also work, and educate their young.
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE LONDON DOCKLANDS
THE LDDC (London Docklands Development Corporation) was an urban development corporation, the second to be established by the Government under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.
The LDDC was formed as a result of regenerating the London Docklands. LDDC stands for London Docklands Development Corporation. They invested 1.86 billion pounds into the whole project.
Transport was the main investment, where nearly half of the money went. The Docklands Light Railway was improved and extended to go into other parts of London. It was also made more reliable so that it could carry more passengers. Five new stations were also developed. 72 miles of new roads were also built in the Docklands leading into other parts of the London, and some roads were improved.
Pedestrianisation also took place, where high specification pedestrian and cycle networks were placed, with special help to disabled people. The new train system also is extended to go to the London City airport, so there is access between countries.
The Government also invested 159 million pounds into utilities in the Docklands. These included drainage and electrical supply for houses and other buildings. There was not much of this before, so this is a sufficient. The Corporation also acquired 2042 acres and is turning some of it from Greenfield, into Brownfield. This means more houses and Businesses can be set up.
The Government also refurbished the Docks to better quality opening them up to the public - 3.7 miles (6 km) of waterfront accessible in 1981, 31 miles (50 km) in 1998 - with lots of bridges. Water sports facilities have been or are being provided in every dock. An ecology park was created at Bow Creek and a wildfowl sanctuary at East India Dock Basin. To ignite the need of a more attractive environment, 160,000 trees have been planted in various places. 483 acres of Enterprise zone were build near the isle of Dogs. This helped the business development. Canary Wharf now holds the title of C.B.D. This was mainly because the land here is cheap and easy to relocate many businesses to. When built properly, the whole place will hold space for 70,000 new workers.
Housing in the area was also helped. Stock of Dwelling in 1981 was 15,000. In 1998, the area had a record fo 38,000. Of these some 17,700 were for owner occupation, 5,300 for housing associations and nearly 1,000 for local authorities. The proportion of home ownership has leapt from 5% to 45%.
7% of the budget was spent on community infrastructure and activities, which help the environmental quality, get better. Tower Hamlets college was built, Bacons college was built, 12 new primary schools were built, 17 schools were extended, IT equipment was given, 5.2 million was given to the Royal Docks community school, The Butler's Wharf Chef School was built and 5 new health centers, 6 refurbished health centers, social care facilities and 3 children day care centers were built. Other activity centres included East Beckton District Centre, Surrey Docks Watersports Centre, and many more were built.
There has also been building of more private investments, which include hotels, restaurants, shops, factories, print works, offices and leisure facilities. Five hotels and a youth hostel have been built and four more hotels are under development. These are many for the tourism business, as many people would now come there to see the new regenerated Docklands, and the Corporation would make money off this.
In 1981 the population was 39,400, in 1998 83,000. In 2001, it was estimated there would be 98,500.
Also the Corporation is handing the Land on to the Local authorities. They have ceased operation now, but there are a few projects that will need finishing. They include, an international exhibition centre (ExCeL) on the north side of the Royal Victoria Dock, which is near finishing.
A Lottery Fund application is being made for a Sailing Centre at the western end of the Royal Victoria Dock and there will be some universities built in the Docklands, with a Campus.
There were all types of jobs created during and after the regeneration of the docklands. Firstly there were jobs for builders who built the house and factories. Jobs were created for skilled workers who worked in the offices. The workers got to work by the Light rail or walked or even went by car. These people mainly lived locally below is a picture of the types of houses they lived in.
These houses had refurbished and modernised by the LDDC. Above is a picture of houses built on an old dock
CONCLUSION
I believe that there has been a significant change in the types of work in the London Docklands area. This is because more jobs are being created in the London Docklands area. These jobs are being created by the regeneration of the Docklands. More houses are being either built of refurbished, new factories and companies are opening up, for example these companies have opened up on the Isle Of Dogs, in the centre there is the Canary Wharf on the left there is the HSBC building and on the right there is investment company “City Group,” these building are very well known all these three are very big finance companies who generate a lot of income.
EVALUATION
If I was going to repeat the study I would like to gather information about more companies factories and next time I will try t get more pictures of the types of houses in the London Docklands.