Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. March, and I'm here today to teach you all about sustainable urban living.

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

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe how recycling, employment, green spaces, transport, and affordable and energy-efficient homes are improving sustainability and quality of life in Liverpool.

There are three key terms for today's lesson, and those are sustainability, quality of life, and strategy.

Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations.

Quality of life refers to the well-being of individuals or groups of people, measured by criteria other than wealth, such as housing, employment, and environmental factors.

Strategy refers to a plan to achieve a long-term aim.

There are three learning cycles for today's lesson.

We're gonna start with learning cycle one, which is housing and recycling strategies.

Sustainability is not only about the environment; it's actually also about the economic growth as well as social well-being.

And in geography, we tend to use a sustainability stool, or we look at the three different pillars of sustainability.

And these are social, economic, and environmental.

By promoting sustainability, cities can improve environmental quality, health, economic opportunities, and social well-being, ultimately enhancing overall quality of life for both current and future generations.

So, sustainability is all about trying to look at these three different pillars in terms of being able to achieve that sustainability aim.

So, a quick learning check: it says true or false, sustainable development is only about the environment.

I would like you to pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why this statement is false.

And the reason it's false is because, while sustainable development is about the environment, but it must also consider social and economic aspects too.

Really, really well done if you're able to get those two answers correct.

So, cities face many, many different challenges, which do have an impact on sustainability as well as quality of life.

And Liverpool is trying to solve its challenges through strategies around the following: housing and recycling, employment, as well as green spaces and transport.

Now, we're gonna spend a bit of time trying to understand, first of all, housing and recycling.

Now, significant quantities of housing in the CBD and the inner city area of Liverpool were demolished between the 1960s and the 1990s.

They were considered to be slums. And if we look at the image in front of you, which comes from 1974, this is a clearance of one of those slums in Upper Parliament Street, an area of Liverpool.

And you can really see that the clearance and demolition of some of these areas really was necessary by this point.

Other inner city housing is in a state of disrepair, and new housing in the city centre, though desirable, can also be rather expensive.

City wide strategies to address these challenges include affordability as well as energy efficiency.

Affordability looks to double the number of affordable homes to 20 percent.

This would involve building 8,000 new homes by 2028.

And also, energy efficiency: £259 million programme to fit energy-saving measures, such as insulation, heat pumps, and solar panels, to 26,000 homes and more than 30 public buildings, to try again, try to limit the environmental impact, perhaps, of heating a home.

And also, in terms of the economic downside of needing to heat the home through the financial outlay of the gas bill or the electricity bill.

So, you can see how Liverpool is trying to tackle some of these challenges of sustainability by looking at the social, economic, and environmental aspects.

Now, one example of a small-scale redevelopment strategy that is considered energy efficiency and affordability is the Granby Four Streets project.

The regeneration took derelict inner city terraced housing, as you can see in the image in front of you, and converted it into eco-friendly homes.

But how do they do that? Well, first, the homes were upgraded with high-quality wall and roof insulation to reduce heat loss.

They were also fitted with double and triple glazed windows, and doors to reduce heat loss once again.

And finally, some homes include solar panels to generate green electricity.

And you can see that these three different features are all trying to limit the environmental impact housing is having, whilst also looking at the economic sustainability as well.

The Granby Four Streets project ensured homes were affordable through strategies including community ownership, renovation techniques, as well as financial support.

In terms of community ownership, there's a trust who owns the land, so it can control future house price rises, again, trying to ensure that these homes stay affordable for ordinary people.

The renovation techniques were renovating, not demolishing, old houses and using reclaimed materials.

And finally, in terms of financial support, they were sold and rented at discounted prices to local residents.

So, once again, trying to prioritise those local residents who perhaps are not as well off, or wealthy as other residents in other parts of the city.

So, these were certainly looking at trying to make it affordable and accessible for perhaps poorer local residents, perhaps trying to reduce that wealth gap or inequality gap that does exist within Liverpool.

Time now for a learning check.

It says to complete the details of the Granby Four Streets energy-efficient design.

You can see you've got A, B, and C there with certain gaps to fill.

What I'd like you to do then is pause the video whilst you read through those sentences, and do your best to fill in the gaps.

Now, for A, it says that homes upgraded with high-quality wall and roof insulation to reduce heat loss.

For B, it needed to say that some homes include solar panels to generate green electricity.

And for C, double and triple glazed windows and doors to reduce heat loss.

Our second learning check says: which of the ways in which the Granby Four Streets project is making homes affordable is missing? You can see that two have been given already.

Your job is to try to recall which one is missing.

So, pause the video here whilst you try to recall that piece of information.

And the correct answer was financial support.

So, really, really well done if you're able to get that answer correct.

In 2020 to 2021, Liverpool averaged 635 kilogrammes of waste per household.

Only 18 percent of Liverpool's waste is actually recycled.

And this is actually the second lowest in England.

So, once again, 18 percent of Liverpool's total waste is recycled, which is a really damning figure.

Very, very low.

Whilst in England, as an average, it is up at 44 percent.

So, you can see how Liverpool in 2020 is certainly lagging behind the rest of England.

Liverpool, though, is trying to increase the household recycling through many, many different strategies, such as community education and engagement, facilities and services, as well as rules and regulations.

In terms of that community education and engagement, then it's about trying to educate people about the value or how to actually recycle.

So, education campaigns include in schools as well as community groups to try and get that message across.

In terms of facilities and services, then there are plans to introduce food waste collection and larger recycling bins for the community to use, as well as improved waste processing facilities.

And finally, in terms of rules and regulations, then households that fail to recycle correctly or leave excessive waste could actually face fines.

You really have the sort of carrot and the stick with these different strategies, trying to improve the amount of recycling happening within Liverpool.

Time now for a learning check.

And it says, which of the following is not a strategy Liverpool is using to increase recycling rates? Now, you can see you've got four options on the screen in front of you.

So, what I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through those four options.

And you try to select the answer, which is not a strategy that Liverpool is using.

So, pause the video here, and best of luck.

And the correct answer is B, centralised waste collection.

Really, really well done if you're able to recall that piece of information.

We're on now to our practise tasks for the first learning cycle.

And it says, you lead on sustainability and quality of life for a construction company planning a new city centre development.

Complete your slides to present how the Granby Four Streets project is a great example of a project, which considered energy efficiency and affordability in its design.

The second practise task says, as part of your presentation, you expect to receive some questions about household recycling strategies in Liverpool.

And I'd like you to prepare answers to the following questions.

And the first one says, what percentage of Liverpool's household waste is currently recycled? The second says, how does Liverpool's household recycling rate compare to England's average? And finally, what strategies are helping Liverpool increase the amount of household waste recycled? So, pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

Time now for some feedback.

And your answer could have looked something like this.

We're looking at the first slide, which is energy efficiency.

Now, you may have included something like this.

The fact that the Granby Four Streets project in Liverpool took derelict inner city, terraced housing, and converted it into eco-friendly homes with the following features for energy efficiency.

The fact that it's got those high-quality wall and roof insulation to reduce the heat loss, that it's got double- and triple-glazed windows and doors to once again reduce the heat loss.

And finally, that some homes include solar panels to actually generate green electricity.

For the affordability slide, then, this is what you may have included.

The fact that many people living in the inner city have low incomes, and the Granby Four Streets project ensured homes were affordable through the following schemes.

Community ownership.

The fact that a trust owns the land, so it can actually control future house price rises.

The renovation techniques were not demolishing it, but rather using old houses and using reclaimed materials, trying to renovate those old buildings.

And finally, financial support.

The fact that they'd be installed and rented at discounted prices for those local residents.

Now, you've had some questions to try to answer.

And the first one asked, what percentage of Liverpool's household waste is currently recycled? Well, it says that only 18 percent of Liverpool's household waste is currently recycled.

And the second one asked, how does Liverpool's household recycling rate compare to England's average? And the answer was, on average, 42 percent of England's household waste is recycled.

Liverpool has the second lowest recycling rate in the country.

The third and final question said, what strategies are helping Liverpool increase the amount of household waste recycled? And the answer was that community education and engagement to encourage recycling, investing in facilities and services, such as larger recycling bins and food waste collection, as well as considered fining for those who produce excessive waste and do not recycle correctly.

So, really, really well done.

If you're able to include anything like that in your own response.

We're on now to our second learning cycle, which is all about employment strategies.

Now, once again, we know that cities are facing a massive amount of challenges in terms of sustainability and quality of life.

And we know that Liverpool is solving its challenges through different strategies.

And, as I said before, we're not gonna focus on those employment challenges and what Liverpool is trying to do to overcome some of those challenges.

So, having regular, well-paid, and reliable work improves quality of life, undoubtedly, and leads to the sustainability of economies.

And Liverpool, though, faces a number of problems with employment, and these include the following.

The fact that many of these employment opportunities are unfortunately low-paid and insecure jobs.

The fact that there are skill and education gaps among its people.

And the fact that unemployment rates are higher in disadvantaged areas.

Now, to overcome employment challenges, Liverpool has a number of different strategies.

Let's have a look at these now.

So, in terms of the first challenge, we see low-paid and insecure jobs.

Now, one way around this, then, is to try to encourage employers to pay the real living wage rather than the minimum wage.

And this difference in amount of salary is really, really key for those people.

We can also try to encourage reduction zero-hour contracts.

Zero-hour contracts provide no stability or security to that member of staff.

One week, they may get the required number of hours, perhaps, to provide food for themselves or their family.

But the next week, they may be given zero hours, and therefore, they're not able to earn an income that week.

So, it's really difficult for that member of staff to really try to organise, and budget the amount of money when they don't know how much work they're going to be getting the following week.

In terms of skills and education gaps, then, well, training and apprenticeships to actually upskill the workforce, particularly in high-demand sectors like engineering.

High unemployment rates in some areas.

What can be done there? Well, job support programmes help long-term unemployed residents to actually find stable employment.

And strategies have been introduced to reduce barriers for disadvantaged groups, including women, ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities.

Time now for a learning check, and it says to complete the employment challenges Liverpool is facing.

You can see you have A, B, and C there with gaps to fill.

So, what I'd like you to do is pause the video here whilst you read through those three statements and do your best to fill in the gaps.

And the answers were A, many low-paid and insecure jobs.

B was skills and educational gaps.

And C was unemployment rates are higher in disadvantaged areas.

Really, really well done if you're able to recall those pieces of information.

Our second learning check says encouraging employers to pay the real minimum wage is a strategy designed to target which challenge? And again, you can see you've got three options on the screen.

And I would like you to pause the video here whilst you read through those three options and select what you consider to be the correct answer.

And the correct answer was A, low-paid and insecure jobs.

We're on now to our one and only practise task for the second learning cycle.

And it says to complete the table with details of Liverpool's challenges and strategies with regards to employment.

So, what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here whilst you attempt to complete this table.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback, then, this is what your table should have looked like.

So, low-paid and insecure jobs.

What was the second strategy around that? Well, to reduce zero-hour contracts.

In terms of the second one, it needed to say that the skills and education gaps.

And, of course, we need to look at training and apprenticeships to actually upskill the workforce in terms of dealing with that challenge.

And finally, the third challenge was high unemployment rates in some areas.

And the second strategy to that was that strategies have been introduced to reduce barriers for disadvantaged groups, including women, ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities.

So, really, really well done if you're able to include anything like that in your own table.

We're on now to our third and final learning cycle, which is green space and transport strategies.

And, as I always say, there are many different challenges that cities, not only Liverpool, are facing in regards to sustainability.

And Liverpool is trying now to solve some of those challenges.

And we're gonna now look at the challenge of green space and transport.

Green spaces involve bringing vegetation of any size into urban environments, and they improve sustainability and quality of life through the following ways.

They offset carbon emissions.

They absorb carbon dioxide, of course, and thereby offset that carbon emission.

It reduces noise pollution.

It improves people's well-being, improvements to air quality as well, reduces flood risk.

And finally, it provides a natural habitat for wildlife.

In Liverpool, the challenge with the regeneration of the city centre was to ensure green spaces were actually considered.

And the Urban Green UP is an EU-funded £3.

5 million nature-based solution project to create green corridors across the Liverpool city region.

And strategies included the following: planting trees, creating sustainable urban drainage systems, as well as creating rain gardens, all in an effort to try to create that green space to try and focus or identify on that environmental pillar within the sustainability model.

The concrete exterior of St.

John's Shopping Centre, which is pictured in front of you, was planted with 14,000 evergreens in 2020, creating a 65-metre green wall, one of the largest in the UK.

Apart from making the building look more attractive, the plants will actually help to trap some of the city's air pollution, thereby combatting things such as global warming and climate change, and also have a massive impact on the air quality for the city's residents.

Time now for a learning check.

And it says, what strategies are Urban Green UP using in Liverpool? You need to fill in the blanks.

So, pause the video here whilst you look through those different statements and try your best to fill in the blanks.

So, the answer is B, creating sustainable urban drainage systems, and C, creating rain gardens.

Really, really well done if you're able to recall those two pieces of information.

Our next learning check says, who has the correct name for the shopping centre which planted a 65-metre green wall in 2020? You can see Jacob's answer, Aisha's answer, and Jun's answer.

So, what I'd like you to do then is pause the video whilst you select what you consider to be the correct answer.

And the correct answer was stated by Jun with the St.

John's Shopping Centre.

Really, really well done if you're able to recall that piece of information.

So, Liverpool does indeed face several challenges with regards to its transport network, which include things such as the affordability of that transport network, the ageing infrastructure, which, of course, needs constant repair and replacement, the complicated journeys, as well as the congestion and the air pollution that it produces.

Now, to improve the quality of life and sustainability, Liverpool needs to encourage more people to start using public transport.

One way that Liverpool is trying to make public transport much more attractive is to have an integrated transport system to make public transport journeys much, much smoother and much, much quicker.

For example, transferable tickets for trains, buses, and ferries, as well as timetable and route coordination.

In other words, having journey times as well as transport methods which link seamlessly together, getting off one bus and immediately making the connection to the train or vice versa.

Having an integrated transport system is certainly an attractive option for a potential commuter.

Future strategies include the following: more integrated, again, looking at the development of 600 kilometres of cycleways across the city, more sustainable investment in zero-emission hydrogen-fuelled buses to try to reduce the amount of pollution in the city's air.

And finally, more accessible.

So, £500 million being invested on new trains and stations to try to improve and enhance the commuter experience by having more scheduled buses and trains.

Time once again for a learning check.

It says, which of the following is not an aim of an integrated transport system? You can see you've got three statements on the screen in front of you, A, B, and C.

What I would like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through those statements, and select what you consider to be the correct answer.

And the correct answer was B, to encourage people to use cars.

Yes, an integrated transport system is the exact opposite of that.

We are trying to encourage people to use public transport by making those journeys much, much smoother.

Really, really well done if you're able to get that answer correct.

Our second learning check says, select two ways the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority encouraged the use of journeys on public transport.

You can see that we have statements by Jacob, Aisha, and Jun.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through those statements and select the two ways that you believe to be correct.

And the correct answers were Jacob and Aisha.

Jacob by saying that I can buy a single ticket and use it on buses, trains, and ferries, and Aisha by saying that timetables have been coordinated, so I never have to wait very long for connections.

Once again, really, really well done if you're able to get those two answers correct.

On now to our final practise tasks for our final learning cycle.

And the first one says to complete the poster to explain how green spaces are supporting Liverpool to improve sustainability and quality of life.

And you can see the modelled example, which I'd like you to try to fill in in front of you.

It says, first of all, what are green spaces? And I'd like you to give me six different reasons as to why green spaces are important.

Then give me some examples of projects, for example, the Urban Green UP as well as St.

John's Shopping Centre.

Give me some information.

Give me some detail about those different projects.

The second practise task says, complete the sentences below to explain how Liverpool is improving its transport systems to improve sustainability and quality of life.

You can see, therefore, you've got to complete those sentences by filling in the gaps.

So, please, then pause the video whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

In terms then of feedback, this is what your poster may have included.

So, what are green spaces? Well, green spaces involve bringing vegetation of any size into urban environments.

Examples are green walls and street trees.

Why are green spaces important then? Well, one, it offsets carbon emissions.

It reduces noise pollution, improves people's well-being.

It improves air quality, reduces flood risk, and it provides a natural habitat for wildlife.

In terms of example projects, then, Urban Green UP is a £3.

5 million project to create green corridors across Liverpool, including planting trees, creating sustainable urban drainage, and creating rain gardens.

St.

John's Shopping Centre then has a concrete exterior with 14,000 evergreens in 2020, which were planted there, as well as creating a 65-metre green wall, which is one of the largest in the UK.

The plans will help to trap air pollution.

For the second practise task, this is what you needed to have included.

Liverpool is implementing various strategies to create a more integrated, sustainable, and accessible transport system.

Transferable tickets for trains, buses, and ferries, along with better timetable and route coordination, make public transport journeys smoother.

Future plans include the development of 600 kilometres of cycleways, investment in zero-emission hydrogen-fuelled buses, and a £500 million investment in new trains and stations to enhance accessibility.

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

We're on now to our learning summary.

What do you need to know from today's lesson? Well, Liverpool is really trying to solve challenges of sustainability and quality of life through different strategies, including housing and recycling.

For example, the Granby Four Streets project is an example of an energy-efficient and affordable design.

Low recycling rates are being tackled through education campaigns.

In terms of employment, well, low wages and high unemployment are being challenged through encouraging employers to pay the real living wage, as well as training and job support programmes.

And finally, green spaces and transport.

Green spaces have been prioritised in regeneration projects.

Integrated transport systems are designed to encourage the use of public transport.

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.