Urban Sprawl

Urban Sprawl Warm Up (TPS)

• Answer the question, “What is urban sprawl and what are the problems associated with urban sprawl?” in your notebooks. (2 or 3 sentences)

• Turn to a neighbor and discuss your answers

• Be willing to share your answers with the class

Urban Sprawl Definition

• Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is the spreading of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area

• An unplanned, disorganized growth of housing etc on the edge of a city

Urban vs Rural Population

Urban Sprawl Statistics

• Between 1982 and 1997 America converted approximately 25 million acres (39,000 square miles) of rural land — forests, rangeland, pastures, cropland, and wetlands — to developed land: that is, sub-divisions, freeways, factories, strip malls, airports, and the like.

• http://www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/issues/farmland/key-statistics-urban-sprawl.html

Articles about sprawl and waistlines

• http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/garden/04REPO.html?hp

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3192821.stm

• http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-28-sprawl-usat_x.htm

Urban Sprawl Problems

• Change in land with the development of roads, homes, and businesses can fragment or eliminate animal habitats, block feeding areas, and alter migration patterns

• Increase in pavement prevents rain and runoff to be absorbed by the ground which ends up in lakes, rivers, and streams

• Emissions from cars increases air pollution and can cause health issues

• http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

Urban Sprawl Economic Issues

• Sprawl can saddle governments with the cost of building new streets and schools, while expanding utilities and other services, to connect and serve a widely dispersed, low-density population.

• Puts stress and strain on the city’s infrastructure• 25% higher costs to maintain infrastructure in

suburbs than city

• http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

Urban Sprawl Causes• Cheaper land and housing costs in the suburbs as

compared to urban centers has lured many to settle in these areas.

• There has been an increase in public spending for the development of infrastructure like roads, water and electricity in the suburbs than in existing urban centers, thus adding benefits to life in sprawls.

• There has been an increase in commercial lending practices that favor suburban development

• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/urban-sprawl-causes-and-effects.html

Urban Sprawl Causes (Cont)• Increase in family income of an average American has

raised his living standard. Owning a car and paying for gas to transit from suburb to the city is affordable for many Americans.

• Sprawls are characterized by low density populations and less traffic congestion. Therefore, even in the absence of any federal policies that would encourage growth of sprawls, these centers have proliferated due to the willingness of a growing number of people to live in sprawls, where they find life more calm and peaceful than in the cities.

• Higher property and business taxes in the cities have pushed businesses to the suburbs where taxes are generally low.

Shenzhen, China

1988 to 1996

True Color Landsat Image

Shenzhen, China

1988 to 1996

False Color Landsat Image

Urban Sprawl Map: Las Vegas 1964

Las Vegas 1972

Las Vegas 1986

Las Vegas 1992

Las Vegas pictures

• http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/population/las_vegas/

Urban Sprawl Video

• http://www.amnh.org/sciencebulletins/bio/v/sprawl.20050218/

Urban Sprawl Solutions

• Cities are implementing changes that would stem the sprawl (smart growth)– Tax incentives to build or restore downtown

areas– Restrictive development and new zoning

policies– Greenbelts– Better planning and higher taxes in suburban

communities

Urban Sprawl Activity (TPS)

• Read page 178 and describe in your own words the three solutions to urban sprawl

• Discuss with your neighbor which solution you would think would be the most effective in the Twin Cities or Cottage Grove

• Share your thoughts with the class after you have discussed them with your partner

Cottage Grove, MN

• http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=aerial+photo+of&ie=UTF8&radius=5.39&sll=44.815941,-92.900734&sspn=0.115683,0.22007&rq=1&ev=p&hq=aerial+photo+of&hnear=&ll=44.836395,-92.912407&spn=0.115642,0.22007&t=h&z=12