1. Reading Questions and Answers for Geography Alive, Chapter 5
Urban Sprawl
Reading Questions and Answers for Geography Alive, Chapter 5

2. urban
City

3. rural
Countryside

4. suburban
Areas of houses outside the center of a city; can include businesses and shops

5. Urban sprawl
Poorly planned spread of cities and suburbs

6. smart growth
Control sprawl by making better use of land that has already been developed

7. infill
Filling in empty or run-down parts of a city with new development

8. Mixed-use development
Combining housing and businesses in one area

9. Challenges facing Portland
1. fast growing population
2. lots of houses built in the urban fringe
3. urban sprawl might take over too many farms and forests

10. 5.5 What Portland chose to do
The state created a land-use policy
Created an urban-growth boundary to separate land from rural land
Limited development to inside the boundary

11. Portland’s three results:
1. They used smart growth to make better use of land; used mixed development
2. created pedestrian-friendly downtown with parks and open spaces
3. created a public transit system using buses and light rail so people won’t need cars

12. Give an example of why mixed-use development is a good idea
People can walk to jobs or shop
It reduces traffic and air pollution
But opponents say it limits the kind of new homes that can be built.
It could also drive up the price of existing land (this is from me, not your book)

13. 5.6 What challenges did Toronto face?
1. The city was run down
2. in the 80s and 90s it began to sprawl outward; traffic clogged highways and caused pollution
3. sprawl took over farms, forests and wetlands

14. 5.7 What did Toronto do?
Created an official plan to allow growth in 25% of the city but limit growth in the rest of the city

15. 5.7 What were the results?
Limited growth in 75% of the city – all over
Encouraged infill for 25% of the city
3. improved public transportation to link growth areas and so people wouldn’t need to use cars

16. What is an example of infill?
Building an apartment on an empty lot
Building a shopping mall on an old amusement park

17. Why are some developers and others concerned about infill?
Hidden costs
Extra time and money to clean up abandoned sites
Work must be done before new construction can start
Crowding is a concern others have

18. 5.8 What challenges did Atlanta face?
1. Not enough room for all the new people and houses.
2. new homes built quickly and people needed cars to get around, causes lots of air pollution and traffic jams
3. hundreds of acres of forest were cut down each week to make room for houses. The urban fringe sprawled into the rural fringe.

19. 5.9 What did Atlanta choose to do?
Focus on public transit to help decrease people’s dependence on cars and to meet the Clean Air Act standards

20. What were three results?
1. Atlanta created the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to reduce traffic, air pollution and reduce poorly planned developments.
2. Promote mixed use development and encourage people to walk or bike instead of drive by creating new bike trails
3. Expanded public transit with rail and bus and subway lines

21. What have I learned about urban sprawl?
Cities grow outward
Growing cities follow the same patterns of growth and sprawl
Cheaper land outside of cities encourages sprawl
Sprawl happens in cities around the world, not just in the U.S.