Urban Sprawl
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Transcript Urban Sprawl
Thai protest leader urges prime minister to resign
From Kocha Olarn and Paula Hancocks, CNN
updated 11:38 PM EST, Sun December 1, 2013
Riot police use tear gas and water cannon as anti-government
protesters try to occupy the government house on December 2,
2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.
What is it? Is it a problem? Why?
Words You Need to Know
Rural
Urban
Suburban
Rural
geographic area that is located outside cities and
towns
Characteristics
Wide open spaces of land
Distance between homes/farms is great; could be miles
Land used for agriculture (farming, ranching)
Urban
relating to, or located in a city
Characteristics
Large building
High Population Density
Metropolis vs. Megalopolis
Metropolis - a large city ; center of activity
Houston; Dallas
Megalopolis- an area where several large cities and their
suburbs meet
BosWash-Boston and Washington D.C.
Suburban
residential area bordering city
Characteristics
Lower Population density
Subdivisions
Shopping Malls/Strip malls
What is Urban Sprawl?
Urban sprawl is unplanned or poorly planned of
people and structures over a larger and larger
geographic area.
The many suburbs that have developed just outside of
major metropolitan or urban areas are examples of
urban sprawl.
Where is this happening?
USA’s Top Sprawlers –
Urbanized Areas with Greatest Sprawl (1970 to 1990)
Urbanized Area
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Houston, TX
3. New York City, NY-NJ
4. Washington, DC-MD-VA
5. Philadelphia, PA-NJ
6. Los Angeles, CA
7. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
8. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
9. Phoenix, AZ
10. Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN
Sprawl (sq. miles)
701.7
638.7
541.3
450.1
412.4
393.8
372.4
358.7
353.6
341.6
http://sprawlcity.org/charts/topten.html
What Causes Urban Sprawl?
The American Dream
People move out of urban areas because they long for open
spaces, yards for children to play in, friendly neighborhoods,
and a sense of close-knit community.
"Suburbia is where the
developer bulldozes out the
trees, then names the streets
after them."
— Bill Vaughan
http://www.lightstalkers.org/christophgielen
What Causes Urban Sprawl?
One major cause of urban sprawl is the increase in the
use of automobiles and the improvements made in
road construction.
Cars and fuel have become relatively affordable to
everyone and people prefer to drive their own cars rather
than depend on public transportation.
www.woai.com
Is this a problem?
Negative Impacts
Strain on the existing infrastructure (basic facilities and services
communities need to function such as roads, water, electricity, etc.)
Increase amounts of commuters from the suburbs to urban employment
causes increase in air pollution.
Creation of residential developments causes loss of agricultural and forest
land.
Possible Solutions to Urban Sprawl
Government encouragement of development in or close to urban
centers.
• Tax breaks
• Subsidies
Government created boundaries for developers.
• Greenbelts
• Zoning
Sustainable communities-creating communities where residents
live as well as work in order to reduce the amount of commuters.
Hillsborough, NJ