I have been set a task to investigate the comparision between Bath's CBD (central business district) in present day to it's state in 1994.

AIM:

My aim in this task was to discover any changes in land use and the reasons behind these changes.

Land Use:

Area 10, in Bath’s city centre is a typical example of the way in which city centres are used in the present day. The fact that is was main stream shopping area became apparent from the start, but not only does this individual area contain shops but also an example of the fact the city centres are becoming locations of vast expense. Large companies have begun to buy into these exclusive areas- it would be rare to see a small corner shop moving into this area in the present day, any changes are usually made by the domination of chain stores or company HQ.

   In England as a whole the retail revolution has seen 750 supermarkets come and 10,000 small independent shops go in the last twenty years. Just 2% of British food outlets now account for 52% of food retail sales. Many retail chains have closed their smaller branches and concentrated sales on large reorganised stores. Perhaps the best example of this are the “co-operatives” which at one time would have had shops on most small shopping parades but now only have branches in the larger cities.

   When studying my area it became clear to me that very few changes had been made since 1994. The changes that had been made were mainly between large companies such as Midland Bank making way for HSBC. Although having said that the shop types are becoming more generalised, earlier in the 20th century Baths shopping areas were mainly made up of such things as gift shops as Bath was widely renowned for its historical values, these shops catered for the general public and tourists. As Bank holidays and national holidays became more apparent 1950s the citizens of Britian were given more spare time leaving people flocking to historical and worthy sites for visiting. This opened the door for small gift shops to make their mark in trade. In later years Bath has become not only important because of its history, but also a widely used area by the specialist shopper.

    In my study area you can easily see that a large proportion of the shops fall under the category “footwear and clothing”, chain stores which are able to afford the high prices of the centre, smaller family run businesses (eg; The Sausage Shop) have been located there for many years- prices would have been lower when they bought into the area.

Retail Changes: Why they happen.

Shoppers have started to move away from the city centre to retail parks on urban edges , or to the regional shopping centres such as the Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

As retil parks opened in the rural/urban fringes, city and town centre shops decline. Urban areas of all sizes have been affected, from towns of just 5000 people to cities of 200,000 and more. City centres have seen shops boarded up, fewer customers and falling trade, as congested polluted centres become less attractive places to shop in than out of town retail parks. In the 1990s, development of out-of-town sites was restricted, and the focus is now returning to the city centre.

“ An investigation into how traffic congestion changes as you move away from the CBD”.

Traffic congestion has increased dramatically in Bath and across the UK in the last decade.  Some of the main causes of this include:

• Rapid growth in number of cars (22m in 2002)
• Less ‘freight’ moved by rail- more lorries.
• Increasing wealth results in more people able to afford cars.
• Changes in shopping and work patterns have increased the need to travel by car.

• The decline in public transport.

Before visiting Bath I have decided to research the effects of traffic, the problems it can cause and different things cities have done to control it.

RESEARCH:

Transport, in relation to the CBD, is an important factor in the economic prospects of inner areas because mobility and conjestion affect job prospects of their residents and the effiency of  local businesses.

  Transport management has been reformed over the last decade with new style transport authorities and financial arrangements. The transport act in 1969 introduced passenger transport authorities in the major cities, following the model of london transport. The greater london councils plans for a massive restructuring of the primary road network were abandoned in 1973 and following the increases in oil prices metropolitian county councils reviewed their building programs.

All cities have undergone some sort of pedestrianisation, helping it in many points of view. For example, in Bath their have been diversions away from main Highstreets to cut down pollution. The fact that some vehicles were unable to travel along highstreets has in some ways encouraged trade- few people put off the idea of visiting due to the varriation of travel options.

AIM:

My aim in this investigation is to discover the way in which traffic congestion changes as you move away from the CBD, and the way in which it is caused and the effects of it.

Hypothesis;

I believe that traffic congestion will decrease as you move away from the CBD.

Traffic congestion:

Bath has undergone some serious changes in recent years to help the problem of traffic congestion in the city. They have you a series of different methods to cut down on quequing times and road acidents which happen in the centre. Success has been shown in the new Park and Rides that have been built in certain areas. These rides are able to take people to a varriety of destinations, at a relatively cheap price.  Not only does it encourage people to come to the city but it also  cuts down on the amount of traffic congestion in the CBD, which has been a big problem in recenty years. I have included a graph displaying the amount of increase in car owners, it is a well known fact that more and more people are willing to drive themselves into the city, reluctant to use the poor public transport system that is in place. This park and ride system is a encouraging development for Bath. The congestion sometimes puts off people coming to a city, this improvement will encourage an increase in tourists resulting in an increase in Bath’s already established retail system. Traffic entering the centre has also decreased, cutting down on the pollution which builds up around congested areas.

       Business suffers because of the fact that less office workers are willing to sit in hours of queques in the morning rush hour, employees are setting out earlier and earlier in hope to beat the queques but infact this is causing the rush “hour” to increase over a further stretch of time. Most of the Park and Ride's that have been developed are situated on the outskirts, away from where congestion can take place. Perhaps a slight problem that cities may be faced with is the fact that more and more offices are being built further away from the centre to allow travelling times to be cut down. This could cause a further development in satelitte towns around Bath, reducing retail developments and encouraging an increase in the larger shopping centres (eg; the mall at cribbs causeway).

Pedestrinisation-taking traffic away from the CBD

 All cities have  experienced a system of pedestrinisation as another method of an attempted decrease in congestion. In Bath, for example,
many parts have undergone this, cuttting down on pollution as well as traffic. The fact that no vehicles are able to pass through Bath’s high streets or most popular shopping areas has encouraged people to visit the city. The streets invovled have been re-developed to make the road the same level as the pavement.e. Delivery vehicles are now only allowed to enter the city either during very early morning or late in the evening, not during peak shopping times thus not affecting tourists/pedestrians at that time. This has caused an increase in people using the park and ride system as the public understand that there will be limited use of their vehicles in the centre.

“An investigation into the changes in environmental quality from the CBD to the edge of the city.”

In a busy town centre environmental quality can decrease dramatically in a short space of time. The environmental quality of an area can be measured in a number of way:

• Pollution (air, noise, smell, visual and litter)
• Quality of buildings (presence of polltoin, maintenance, attractiveness.)
• Vandalism ( graffiti, fly posting and damage.)
• Natural environment ( trees, open space and gardens.)

The quality of life, appeal to businesses etc may be influenced by the environmental quality of the area. It is important for the CBD to be well maintained to make it appealing to not only the general public but to trade unions and tourists alike.

   Before visiting Bath I have decided to reasearch the effects of poor environmental quality and how it can be caused.

RESEARCH:

Until the 1960s, most inner cities had poor quality buildings and poor quality housing, built for workers in the 19th century, or larger houses for richer people, some now subdivided into flats or offices.

   The terraced housing was very run down and decaying, and local councils wanted people to have better places to live, with bathrooms and ktchens. The solution in the 1970s was to redevelope neighbourhoods, demolishing everything and putting up high-rise buildings.

There are still many deprived areas in inner cities. It is thogutht that everyone in four children in the uk are growing up today in poverty or deprivation.

   When more and more people try to use the city centre, traffic congestion becomes a real problem, as do air pollution, noise and overcrowding. If financial or environmentaol costs of being in the centre become too high, people and businesses move out.

AIM:

My aim is to discover which areas (in a cross section of  the city centre) are most affected by poor environmental quality.

HYPOTHESIS:

I believe that environmental quality will improve as you move further away from the city centre.

Environmental Quality:

Bath’s CBD, in general has been recognised as an area of good environmental quality although there are many factors that effect the overall view of the city.

A problem that the cities such as Bath on the whole hope to overcome, is the problem of crime, which plays such a large part. More police have been situated on the streets of Bath to cut down on vandalism. There as been an obvious decrease in teenagers “hanging out” around busy pedestrian areas, cutting down on the amount of street crime.

The pedestrianism of certain areas has cut down on traffic pollution but in general the buildings around the centre and the ones of poorer quality, yet Bath does have a number of wealthy residential areas just outside the centre with very high quality buildings and  small yet quality natural enviroments. This is what makes Bath renowned for it’s hugely expensive housing in exclusive residential areas.

Park and Ride systems have encouraged people who are living and working in Bath to use public transport instead of having their own cars to transport them into the CBD. This is another factor that cuts down on noise pollution and allows more room for the  natural environments that make Bath stand out.

As Bath is a place of historical context, it is important to keep the overall view of the city at a high standard. When visiting the city virtually everywhere was clean and tidy, it was quite hard to follow the scale I had produced.  

TASK 1:

Before leaving for Bath

1. When I was first set the task I organised myself into a group of two others and began to plan that data collection method I would use. I was told I would be collecting data from area 10.
2. As I would knew that I was researching this area to discover what changes had been made (in terms of land use) I decided it would be a good idea to use a GOAD map displaying what the land use was in 1994.

3. Next I decided to put different land uses into  categories, the categories I chose are as follows:

• financial & admin
• electrical
• clothing and footwear
• specialist
• gift shops
• Entertainment
• Grocers/general
• Other specialist

• 2nd hand

4. I then drew out a table listing the land use in 1994, the category it fell under and a following to sections titled “land use 2002” and “Category 2002”- these were obviously left blank to unable me to collect the data on the day.

Bath- the investigation:

5. On arrival in Bath I followed a map of central Bath which took me up Union Street leading me to Area 10.
6. I walked around my area filling in the data (land use in 2002 and category) into my table. I also used my GOAD map and ticked the map if the property was still being used for exactly the same purpose as it was in 1994.
7. I walked around area 10 for a second time to check the accuracy of my results.

On return from Bath:

8. I used colours to represent the different categories of the land use and coloured in my GOAD map. I then traced over the top of the GOAD map and if the land use had changed I coloured onto the traced copy to represent a different category.
9. I drew graphs to display the data and wrote up the investigation.

Task 2:

Before leaving for Bath:

1. When I was first set the task I organised myself into a group of two others and began to plan that data collection method I would use. I was told I would be collecting data fromTransect 1.
2. I decided that I would walk along the transect (which stood at 500metres long) stopping every 50 metres for 5 minutes to collect data. I drew out a table with the headings;

• How far along the transect? (m)
• Is there anything that might effect the flow of traffic?

• Types of traffic passing through ( with a choice from- cars,buses/vans, heavy goods, two wheeled or other.)

3. I chose to fill in my table by using a tally method to display the   volume of each mode of transport, as it is easy to record whilst on the move.

Bath- the investigation:

4. On arrival in Bath I made my way to the centre point of the CBD ( top of UNION street), it was important that I did this to allow me to reach the full potential of this task, as I was investigating how traffic congestion changed as you moved way from the centre.
5. I began taking 1 metre paces, stopping to collect my first set of data at the 50 metre point, I used a stopwatch to time 5 minutes and began to observe any factors that might effect the flow of traffic. I recorded all the data collected in that 5minute period and moved on, recording data at every 50 metre point.
6. My investigation finished at the 500 metre point ( Sydney Place), at this point nd turned around and followed the same route back to my starting point.

On return from Bath:

7. I analsyed that data I had colleted and produced graphs to display this.

Task 3:

Before leaving for Bath:

1. When I was first set the task I organised myself into a group of two others and began to plan that data collection method I would use. I was told I would be collecting data fromTransect 1.
2. I decided that I would walk along the transect (which stood at 500metres long) stopping every 50 metres to observe the quality of the area around me. I am going to use a method of  recording a “scale” of 0-10; 0 being none/poor condition and 10 being a lot/very good condition. I decided to put this data into  table with the following headings:

• Distance along the transect?
• Types of pollution in the area ( with the sections, noise, litter, quality of buildings, vandalism and natural environment.)

Bath: the investigation

3. Once again I started at the centre point of the CBD, because the nature of the task required accuracy where I am investigating “environmental quality from the CBD to the edge of the city”.
4. I walked 50 metres to my first point of data collecton. At this point I decided to add another method of data collection to my investigation: I used cellotape, sticking it onto a nearby building, when the cellotape was pulled away grime and pollution would be left on the cellotape. This helped me  as another method to asess quality of buildings, this was repeated at every  50 metre point.
5. After filling in my  table and asessing the  transect I followed the same route back to my starting point.

On return from Bath:

6.  I analsyed that data I had colleted and produced graphs to display  indivivual sections on my table .