|
|
|
|
|
|
Description If there is one volatile subject brought up at the office, it is urban sprawl. Every minute, two acres of land are developed for urban uses in the United States. Many problems arise, most self perpetuating, when urban areas spread so ominously. Traffic congestion is the most visible. Sitting in traffic is never enjoyable. A second problem is a reduction in clean healthy air. Ozone, carbon monoxide and other chemicals are detrimental to asthmatics, elderly and people with other lung problems. Another problem is fragmentation of the land surrounding the city; farms and county land are absorbed in a nonchalant way, disregarding whether endemic species live there. Wetlands are filled in to make more land available. Public transportation, such as light rail systems and bussing, to reduce congestion are two solutions, but the longer a city waits, the more difficult it is to implement. There are growing pains involved in building these systems, but ask a person in any major city and they would tell you the subway is the way to go. Private companies such as automobile dealers will lobby heavily against public transportation. Persons who have not seen public transportation work in a major city do not see the benefits. There are ways to grow a city using smart methods. With half the worlds' population living in urban areas as of 2006, it would be a benefit to us all if we started building them more healthy for the environment and for humans. Helpful Websites
Helpful Reports
Labor Leaders as Smart Growth Advocates Urban Sprawl (Cousteau Society) Urban Sprawl and Public Health (Center for Disease Control) An Economist's Perspective on Urban Sprawl Sprawl, Concentration of Poverty, and Urban Inequality Urban Sprawl: Diagnosis and Remedies Paving our way to water shortages: how sprawl aggravates the effects of drought (American Rivers) Helpful Books
"Bonelight: Ruin and Grace in the New Southwest" by Sojourner "Sprawl Kills: How Blandburbs Steal your TIme, Health and Money" by Hirschhorn "The Limitless City: A Primer on the Urban Sprawl Debate" by Gillham and Maclean "Sprawl Costs : Economic Impacts of Unchecked Development" by Burchell et al. "It's a Sprawl World After All : The Human Cost of Unplanned Growth - and Visions of a Better Future" by Morris "Urban Sprawl : A Comprehensive Reference Guide" by Soule "Urban Sprawl: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses" by Squires "Nature in Fragments : The Legacy of Sprawl" by Johnson and Klemens "Once There Were Greenfields: How Urban Sprawl is Undermining America's Environment, Economy, and Social Fabric" by Benfield "It's a Sprawl World After All" by Morris
|
