1. Urban Sprawl

2. Vocabulary #25: Urban: A city
#26: Rural: The countryside, found outside the city
#27: Suburban: A town at the edge of a city, made up of mainly neighborhoods

3. Examples #28: Example of an urban area? #29: Example of a rural area?
Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Seattle, etc.
#29: Example of a rural area?
PVJH is in a rural area
A lot of the Midwest is rural!
#30: Example of a suburban area?
Chicago suburbs: Naperville, Wheaton, Aurora, Gurnee
Des Moines suburbs: Johnston, Ankeny, Waukee

4. Urban Sprawl #31: What is urban sprawl?
The rapid & uncontrolled growth of a city
#32: Examples of places in the U.S. with urban sprawl:
Atlanta, Georgia
Nashville, Tennessee
San Bernadino, California
Charlotte, North Carolina
Phoenix, Arizona

5. Add this definition to the bottom of your notes sheet:
Metropolitan area:
A major city with its suburbs

6. At your table groups: 1 person is the recorder
Make a chart with 3 columns: Urban, Suburb, Rural
Compare the 3 different areas with your assigned topic:
Group 1: Housing
Group 2: Transportation
Group 3: Safety
Group 4: Businesses
Group 5: Roads

7. Characteristics of Urban Areas
Transportation?
Subways, busses, taxis, bikes, walking
Many traffic jams
Housing/buildings?
Tall buildings
Apartment/condo style living rather than houses with big yards
What do streets look like?
Streets look like a grid
Businesses?
Lots of:
Big companies
Banks
Restaurants
Stores: grocery, clothing, etc.
Crowded spaces

8. Characteristics of Suburban Areas
Transportation?
Mainly cars—very necessary!
Driving to the city or to other neighborhoods
Housing/buildings?
Mostly houses with yards
What do streets look like?
Curvy roads
Businesses?
Chain restaurants
Stores: grocery, clothing
Some big companies—but not as many as in the city

9. Characteristics of Rural Areas
Transportation?
Cars are needed—everything is spread out!
Housing/buildings?
Houses with a lot of farmland
Barns
What do streets look like?
Some gravel, some paved
Some straight, some windy
Businesses?
Not very many
Small stores or restaurants

10. Real-world example: In Iowa
Des Moines, IA used to be a city that was surrounded by rural areas
Mid 1900’s: suburbs developed
Johnston, IA
Became a town on September 18, 1969
1970 population: 222
1980 population: 2,526
1990 population: 4,702
2000 population: 8,649
2010 population: 17, 278
2015 population: 21, 114