Urban Sprawl
[ Introduction
| History
| Impacts
| Solutions
| Connections
| Hyperlinks
| References
]
Introduction
We are all familiar with the pattern. Last year’s cornfield and barn or wooded area and stream are replaced by this year’s subdivision, strip mall, or gas station and fast-food restaurant. And the next year the story is repeated over again. The edge of town seems to keep moving farther and farther into what once was the country. Soon the roads are widened or maybe a whole new highway is built to accommodate the increased traffic from the new houses, malls, gas stations, and restaurants. As the refrain from a once-popular song goes, it looks like “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
This all-too-familiar scenar<io is descriptive of urban sprawl. Exactly what is urban sprawl? Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future, offers this definition of the problem: “Urban sprawl is the rapid expansion of metropolitan areas through building houses and shopping centers farther and farther from urban centers and lacing them together with more and more major highways. Widespread development that has occurred without any overall land-use plan”.
Urban sprawl is not restricted to the
History
Urban sprawl is a post–World War II phenomenon. The causes of the development of sprawl are complex, but several key factors are generally cited as contributing. Home-buying subsidies provided by the GI Bill allowed many couples to secure their part of the American Dream—their own home. The post-war baby boom contributed to a demand for additional housing. Rapid, large-scale housing construction took place at the margins of existing urban centers, giving rise to growth of the suburbs. At the same time, the automobile was gaining in popularity and affordability. Also, gasoline taxes were made available to subsidize massive road construction projects, including the interstate highway system.
As the suburbs developed and roads and
highways sprouted, business and industries followed the population migration
from urban to suburban areas. As further growth
occurred, newer suburbs expanding into previously rural areas encircled older
suburbs. This outward expansion of urban growth continues to the present
around most metropolitan areas.
Impact
Several decades of unchecked urban sprawl have resulted in a host of environmental, economic, and social problems.
1.
Loss of Agricultural Lands
The continued growth of suburban areas has often
come at the expense of loss of productive agricultural lands. It is estimated
that between 1982 and 1992 more than 4 million acres of farmlands were lost to
urban development. Presently, there are large areas of high-quality farmland in the path
of development throughout the country. The long-term impacts of this trend
are troubling. American farmers will be called upon to produce ever-increasing
quantities of food (due to the demands of population growth) from
ever-decreasing amounts of land (due to the loss of acreage to urban
development).
2.
Loss of Forests, Wetlands, and Wildlife Habitat
Just as farmland acreage is lost to urban sprawl, so too are natural areas of
woodlands and wetlands which are important wildlife habitats and migration
paths. The threats of urban sprawl to wildlife are particularly acute for those
species that are already threatened or endangered.
3.
Alterations in Hydrology
The process of urban development alters the
hydrology of an area in multiple ways. The actions of bulldozers and graders to
prepare the land for development will often change the existing drainage
patterns of land. Pavement, culverts, and sewers will further alter the
drainage pattern. Paving over of the land by concrete and asphalt will reduce
infiltration of water into the soil. This reduced infiltration will interfere
with aquifer recharge. Also, the rapid run-off of precipitation from paved
surfaces will enhance the probability of flooding from heavy rains.
4.
Increased Air and Water Pollution
The increased automobile use necessitated by urban
sprawl generates increased air pollution from vehicular traffic. Sprawl also
contributes to water pollution as run-off from paved areas carries pollutants
from cars, homes, and businesses and industries into waterways. Erosion from
lands cleared for development can carry excess sediments into streams,
smothering aquatic habitats.
5.
Increased Petroleum Use and CO2 Release
Sprawl requires an increase in vehicle miles traveled per
person. While population of the
6.
Increased Infrastructure Costs
Accompanying urban development is the construction of new roads, curbs,
sidewalks, sewers, wastewater treatment plants, and utility (electric, gas,
water, and telephone) lines. With increasing sprawl, the distances traversed by
these infrastructure additions become increasingly expensive, particularly when
computed on a per person/household basis.
7.
Degradation of Inner Cities
As people migrate from cities to suburban areas, businesses and industries
follow. This erodes the tax base of cities and citizen commitment to
maintenance of inner-city areas. Older buildings, abandoned as people and
commerce flee to suburbs, fall into disrepair. Neighborhoods,
business districts, and historic sites of the inner city decay and fall into
ruin.
8.
Loss of a Sense of Place
With powerful and provocative rhetoric, James Howard Kunstler has described
the landscape created by urban sprawl as “the geography of nowhere” and as “a
cartoon of a human habitat.” In the past, there was a
distinctiveness to geographic regions of the country, individual cities,
and areas within a single city. This uniqueness has given way to the homogenization
and sameness created by urban sprawl. Kunstler argues
that urban sprawl is both a symptom and a cause of a troubled culture.
Solutions
Numerous “smart-growth” strategies have been developed for confronting the issue of urban sprawl.
1.
Urban Growth Boundaries
Urban
growth boundariesare a
means for municipalities to designate areas in which growth and development
will be promoted or prohibited. The city of Portland and the state of Oregon
have been pioneers in the development and implementation of urban growth boundaries
as a tool for the better planning and management of urban growth.
2.
Infill Development
Infill
development takes advantage of underutilized areas within existing urban
areas for the construction of new homes, businesses, and industries. Rather
than development of rural areas ever farther from the heart of cities, infill
housing promotes redesign and growth within existing urban boundaries.
3.
Transfer of Development
Rights
Transfer of Development Rights is a tool by which communities
can regulate the density of development of designated geographic areas. Certain
areas are allowed higher density development in exchange for lower density
development in other areas.
4.
Open-Space Zoning
Open-Space
Zoning is an alternative to conventional housing development in which the
land is evenly divided into relatively large parcels with little open space
between the parcels. Under open-space zoning, houses are restricted to a
relatively small portion of the land under development and the remainder of the
area is reserved for open spaces, natural areas, and farmlands.
5.
Conservation Easements
Conservation
Easements are a legal mechanism for the long-term protection of natural areas
and farmlands from the threat of urban development.
Connection to Environmental
Science
The textbook provides an extensive background on urban sprawl.
· In Chapter 23 (Sustainable Communities and Lifestyles), the section “Urban Sprawl,” pages 637– 645, describes the origins of urban sprawl, environmental impacts of urban sprawl, and ideas for reining in urban sprawl through smart growth. Additionally, the section “Urban Blight,” pages 645–653, describes the decay of inner-city areas due to the exurban migration characteristic of urban sprawl. The section “Moving Toward Sustainable Communities,” pages 653–655, presents ideas about how communities should be structured and function in a sustainable society.
Hyperlinks
These pages from the Sierra Club contain many fact sheets, maps, and hyperlinks. This is one of the best starting points to learn more about urban sprawl.
This National Geographic site features text and photographs from the magazine article of the same name and also provides relevant hyperlinks.
New Suburb?: Sprawl vs. “Smart Growth”
This interactive site from National Geographic lets one explore a smart-growth neighborhood.
This is a good site provided by the U.S. Department of Energy that is well organized and has multiple relevant pages and hyperlinks.
This site from Metropolis St. Louis presents causes, effects, and solutions to urban sprawl and several hyperlinks to related sites.
This is a brief fact sheet prepared by
This report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project describes the impact of sprawl on household transportation expenses. The full report is available as a PDF document. The site also includes an informative PowerPoint presentation and fact sheets for major American cities.
This is an excellent site with many hyperlinks to related sites and a keyword- search feature.
This is a well-organized site
that is easily navigated. There are numerous links to online publications and
Websites of relevant organizations. An excellent site to explore to learn more
about problems associated with sprawl.
References
Allen, J. “Sprawl, From Here to Eternity.” U.S. News & World Report 127 (Sept. 6, 1999): 22–25.
Carey, J. 1999. “New Neighborhoods Can Combat Urban Sprawl.” Business Week 3644 (August 30, 1999): 110.
Carruthers, J, and G. Ulfarsson.“Urban Sprawl and the Cost of Public Services.” Environment & Planning B: Planning & Design 30 (2003): 503–522.
Chen, D. “The Science of Smart Growth.” Scientific American 283 (2003): 84–92.
Ciscel, D. “The Economics of Urban Sprawl: Inefficiency As a Core Feature of Metropolitan Growth.” Journal of Economic Issues 35 (2001): 405–414.
Dagger, R.. “Stopping Sprawl for the Good of All: The Case for Civic Environmentalism.” Journal of Social Philosophy 34 (2003): 28–43.
Dietrich, W. “How Progress Ate
Edwards, C. “Urban Sprawl.” Geographical 76 (2004): 336–337.
Geller, A.. “Smart Growth: A Prescription for Livable Cities.” American Journal of Public Health 93 (2003) 1410–1415.
Gihring, T. “Incentive Property Taxation: A Potential Tool for Urban Growth Management.” Journal of the American Planning Association 65 (1999): 62–79.
Hasse, J. and Lathrop, R. “Land Resource Impact Indicators of Urban Sprawl.” Applied Geography 23 (2003) : 159–175.
Johnson, M. 2001. “Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl: A Survey of the Literature and Proposed Research Agenda.” Environment & Planning 33 (2003): 717–735.
Kirk, P. “Sprawl Fallout.” Science & Spirit 15 (2004): 24–25.
Kunstler, J. “Zoning Procedures and Suburban Sprawl: A Cartoon of a Human Habitat.” Vital Speeches of the Day 64 (1997): 144–148.
Lacayo, R.. “The Brawl Over Sprawl”. Time 153 (March 22, 1999): 44–48.
Langdon, P. “Sprawl.” Builder 21 (1998):78-89.
Lassila, K. “The New Suburbanites.” The Amicus Journal 21 (1999): 16–21.
Leo, C., and M. Beavis.“Is Urban Sprawl Back on the Political Agenda?” Urban Affairs Review 34 (1998): 179–211.
Lopez, R., and H. P. Hynes, “Sprawl in the 1990s.” Urban Affairs Review 38 (2003): 325–54.
Miller, D. “Searching for Common Ground in the Debate over Urban Sprawl.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 45 (1999): A15–A16.
Mitchell, J. “Urban Sprawl.” National Geographic 200 (2001): 48–73.
Pedersen, D., V. Smith, and J. Adler. “Sprawling, Sprawling...” Newsweek 134 (July 19, 1999): 22–24.
Pope, C., and J. Hasson. “Suburban Sprawl and Government Turf.” CQ Weekly 7 (March 13, 1999): 586–590.
Razin, E. “Policies to Control Urban Sprawl: Planning Regulations or “Changes in the Rules of the Game’?” Urban Studies 35 (1998): 321–340.
Rusk, D. “The Exploding Metropolis: Why Growth Management Makes Sense.” The Brookings Review 16 (1998): 13–15.
Savitch, H. “How Suburban Sprawl Shapes Human Well-Being.” Journal of Urban Health 80 (2003): 590–607.
Smith, W. “The Brawl over Sprawl.”
Stoel, T. “Reining In Urban Sprawl.” Environment 41 (1999): 6–16.
Weitz, J., and T. Moore. “Development Inside Urban Growth
Boundaries:
Wiewel, W., J. Persky, M. Sendzik. “Private Benefits and Public Costs: Policies to Address Suburban Sprawl.” Policy Studies Journal 27 (1999): 96–114.