Urban Sprawl
Urban Sprawl Rapid expansion of our metropolitan areas has been coined the term “urban sprawl”. Urban sprawl is now looked at negatively because of its affect on society. Because of capitalism and the idea of having your home with the white picket fence, urban sprawl has taken over the United States of America. The affects of urban sprawl can be seen in our environment, our community, and in our health.
Our community has changed the most due to urban sprawl. “One in two Americans now lives in the suburbs” (Frumkin). With people now moving from the city and into the suburbs it has affected the way we make our cities and how life use to be easier. In most cities now you can not walk down your street to a local market to get a newspaper or some milk. With sprawl came stricter zoning laws and the setup of the “perfect city”. In many cities all the grocery stores are in only one area and the whole city must drive there to acquire goods. Now that many people have left the city for suburban lifestyle so has the jobs and has then created a mess in the cities as only the poor were left behind. Employers and employees are fleeing cities for the green pastures of suburbia. More than “62 percent of metropolitan area residents now live in the suburbs, and 57 percent of the jobs are located there” (Sprawl). As more people move to the suburbs, special-interest groups advocate so-called smart growth policies. Among other things, these policies call for more restrictive zoning laws and urban growth boundaries, which try to cage growth into politically determined boundaries. The problem with these programs is that they harm low and middle-income families by driving up housing prices and restricting housing choices. Capitalism is some what behind barriers because of the new suburban rules and regulations.
Our health has also been affected by our urban sprawl. Many people forget that most people would spend a good amount of time walking to and from work or the
Our community has changed the most due to urban sprawl. “One in two Americans now lives in the suburbs” (Frumkin). With people now moving from the city and into the suburbs it has affected the way we make our cities and how life use to be easier. In most cities now you can not walk down your street to a local market to get a newspaper or some milk. With sprawl came stricter zoning laws and the setup of the “perfect city”. In many cities all the grocery stores are in only one area and the whole city must drive there to acquire goods. Now that many people have left the city for suburban lifestyle so has the jobs and has then created a mess in the cities as only the poor were left behind. Employers and employees are fleeing cities for the green pastures of suburbia. More than “62 percent of metropolitan area residents now live in the suburbs, and 57 percent of the jobs are located there” (Sprawl). As more people move to the suburbs, special-interest groups advocate so-called smart growth policies. Among other things, these policies call for more restrictive zoning laws and urban growth boundaries, which try to cage growth into politically determined boundaries. The problem with these programs is that they harm low and middle-income families by driving up housing prices and restricting housing choices. Capitalism is some what behind barriers because of the new suburban rules and regulations.
Our health has also been affected by our urban sprawl. Many people forget that most people would spend a good amount of time walking to and from work or the