The Evolution and Effects of Suburbanization By Carley Page

What is Suburbanization a.k.a. Urban Sprawl The expansion of urban area into the adjoining countryside or growth in the outer lying rings of the city. Some benefits Irreversible effects on the environment

Causes of Suburbanization The automobile More geographic flexibility More Choice

History of Suburbanization Historically, people lived wherever one happened to be born or wherever food might be found. In more recent times, movement has been dictated by career opportunities or occupations. Industrial revolution=urban congestion and rural depopulation. Crowded and inhumane 19 th century cities and towns expanded to accommodate workers people concentrated in city cores

History continued… After 1920, suburbs began growing faster then city centers Real momentum after World War two Individual homes and automobile dependence Country homes for city people Low density large lot housing Consumption oriented and wasteful community

The Modern Suburban City Limited access highway linking together metropolitan regions of suburban cities and provides commuter access to industrial workplaces Strip malls Shopping malls Block pattern of detached houses designed for nuclear families. fewer people consuming larger households

Effects of Suburbanization Some Benefits Temporary income for some Shopping and recreational opportunities for public. Growth=new ideas and creativity

How High are the Costs to Pay for Such Benefits?

Negative Effects of Suburbanization Threatens the quality of life in central cities Draws employment and population away from the urban core Falling property values Declining services Declining health i.e. downtown North Bay

Negative Effects Continued… Increased consumption of automobiles Greater car use and distance traveled Terrible effects on the environment Growth of vast freeway systems Green land and farmland covered by roads, and parking lots Unbearable traffic congestion 36 hours per year spent in traffic

Negative Effects Continued… Pollution Automobiles and Industries Smog Acid rain Kills plants and animals Climate change a.k.a global warming Damage to coasts and crops, extinction of plants and animals Poor health in humans Bronchial infections Cardiac diseases Asthma

Negative Effects Continued… Urban Sprawl Pollutes our Drinking Water Changes in watershed hydrology Increased land covered in pavement Water runoff from precipitation occurs faster Runoff may contain pollutants Polluted runoff flows into rivers and streams Alters aquatic habitats and wetlands

Negative Effects Continued… Productive Farmland is destroyed by suburban expansion Soil is the foundation of productivity Land converted to malls, houses, roads etc. Growing population is facing a shrinking agricultural base Increased dependence on toxic chemicals

Negative Effects Continued… Suburbanization destroys and displaces wildlife Ecosystems degraded Habitat loss Plants and animals at risk

Sustainable Alternatives To Sprawl Smart Growth Works to save money, protect the environment, and create live able communities Highly density mixed land use development, oriented around public transit Preserve open space Direct development toward existing communities

Conclusions “The demand to live on large lots, closer to nature, often destroys the nature we hoped to be near” (Chiras and Wann, 2003)