Advantages Of Compact Cities

There are many who suggest the solution to the decline of the suburbs is to urbanize the area by densifying and overall making the suburbs more similar to a city. Laura Vaughan argues that the development of a spatial layout similar to that of a city would help the suburbs to become more efficient socially and economically. However, this approach directly contrasts the purpose of the suburbs, which was originally meant to provide a private, quiet environment for single family homes away from loud and busy city life. In his book, “Sprawl: A Compact History,” Robert Bruegmann explains that suburbia is not a bad thing but possesses “benefits that urban planners fail to recognize” and is a natural process of the growth of urbanism. While the suburban landscape does possess much potential, those who support the continued existence of the suburbs as they exist are naive and fail to recognize the environmental, social, and economical impact that the suburbs impose. The suburbs possess many social and political issues that need to be addressed. There is no doubt that there is massive potential in the suburban

Urban sprawl was a major problem and had many negative effects. "Suburban sprawl, “called urban sprawl was a result of overpopulation. Sprawl occurred when cities spread outward. Forests and farmland were being destroyed to create new housing subdivisions, shopping centers, offices, parking areas, civic institutions and roadways. State governments built highways and roads to serve all the new commuters moving in and out of the city. Developers chose to build on less expensive land farther away from the urban core. Land prices were lower and housing in these developments was more affordable. Some people chose a longer commute in exchange for more comfortable, low-priced housing. The sprawl was a chronological process that devastated the land and life of the American people. This problem described here continues to be a problem. And many people are unaware that urban sprawl continues to be a problem. Friendly neighborhoods, traditional pedestrian have fallen victim to this problem. Environmental activists claimed that urban sprawl, was a substantial environmental threat. But activists concerned about sprawl should concentrate on existing government policies that encourage suburban development and prevent greater redevelopment of urban areas.

Drivers can spend upwards $150 dollars a week on gasoline, but this is not the only negative impact driving has. Automobile inefficiency and the fact that they run on fossil fuels have detrimental and long term impacts on the environment. It has become increasingly apparent that suburban development in the future needs to focus on building communities that require less travel by traditional means and “closer knit”

In Robert Bruegmann article “How Sprawl Got a Bad Name,” he is the odd man out and is for sprawling. One of his reasons throughout is that all the architectures plan for preventing the problem has failed. Bruegmann shows his argument that the economy has these set of expectations for today’s society. The citizens are not really thinking realistically when it comes to those modern expectations. He backs up his point by stating a big crisis of traffic in Los Angeles and how it is not the congestion it is that the programs sit in place are outdated. One of the more convincing reasons of why Bruegmann is supporting sprawl is “that growing numbers of people have discovered that it is the surest way to obtain the rich, satisfying

In recent years, the rapid expansion of metropolitan areas has been termed “urban sprawl,” which refers to a complex pattern of land use, transportation, and social and economic development. The broad phenomenon of sprawl is a variety of issues related to land use, transportation, urban and regional

This paper is a review of past and current research based on the cause and effect of urban sprawl in the United States with a case analysis of Fairfax County, Virginia. The motivation for this review is to shed light on issues that surround urban sprawl in large metropolitan areas and to discuss recommendations for research and ways to improve various effects of sprawl. The second motivation for this research is to show that there needs to be uniformity among researchers and urban planners, better data and analysis should be done to combat sprawl. My goal with this literature review is to define urban sprawl, define classic patterns in the United States, how we measure sprawl, the cause and effect of sprawl in the United States, give detailed background information on Fairfax County, future trends and implications of sprawl in Fairfax County, how to combat sprawl in the United States as well as in Fairfax County and key priorities in future research.

There are many advantages of cities, both modern day, and ancient. Cities help prevent diseases, they organize people and make them more productive, and they help the economy. In document 1, Edward Glaeser tells how cities help prevent diseases lowers, because all immunities spread when people are close together. People are dying a lot less for a while in cities because of this. In documents 1, 2, and 3, people say how cities organize, and make people more productive. When people are closer together, they can innovate, and help each other out, as a pose to suburbs where people are separated, and generally don't help,each other. This leads directly to cities having a good economy. When everyone is working and things are going smoothly, the city

It has always been human nature to live in small concentrated cities because of the opportunity, the services that are provided, and the cultural diversity, however negative aspects do arise when people are closely compacted, such as poverty, pollution, overcrowding, and even violence (“Urban” np). Residential segregation can also come from diverse cities caused by Urbanization, i.e. Chinatown in New York City (Beall, et al. 7). Some cities have tried to limit the amount of cars used for transportation and fund many sorts of different modes of transportation, and the large amounts of transportation may make it difficult for people to switch to a different mode, although a taxi or bus may still get stuck in traffic thereby limiting the contributing

Urban consolidation refers to a diverse set of policies intended to make more efficient use of the existing urbanised areas instead of developing non-urbanised land, thus limiting urban sprawl. The recent publication of the Melbourne 2030 plan indicates that Melbourne is adopting an urban consolidated direction for further development. This has raised many debates over whether it is the right plan. There are two sides to this complex argument. People in favorite suggests that urban consolidation offers a range of solutions to pressing urban problems socially and environmentally, for example it reduces car use and provide better access to facilities, whilst the other point of view argues that urban consolidation has its limits in terms of

This chapter of the book is a good example of an impassioned appeal for human mobility. So much that I went ahead and started reading chapter 6, just to get a feel of where walkable urbanism was headed. Leinberger presents a case that would allow cities to encourage, allow and promotes places for individuals to live and have accessible places to go via walking. The chapter focuses on human well-being, rather than limit infrastructure and resources to encourage automobile travel only. The author Christopher Leinberger clarifies the origin of such an appeal and proves that it is the unambiguous choice experienced in the 20th century. In chapter five, Leinberger argues about demographics and money. He pointed out that the reduced prices of oil resulted to sub-urbanism. However, as the prices of oil were increased, there was an impact on the choices of people and the locations where they want to live.

The convenience of living in an urban or suburban neighborhood can be appealing to many people. Choosing between areas can sometimes be overwhelming for some individual. People are not only concerned about the safety of a community, but they are also concerned about the environment. Although some neighborhoods might look attractive, people should consider the expense that comes with it, and how commuting will affect them in the long run. Nevertheless, both neighborhoods have their specific advantages and disadvantages. When choosing between an urban or suburban neighborhood, it is important for people to research the community, the expense, and convenience

Savitch outlines ways that sprawl can be harmful to the health and wellbeing of individuals living in these areas. The United States is vast and versatile, allowing for its inhabitants to move around and live in different climates or social environments. But, this freedom leads to the abandonment of neighborhoods and cities. Government resources such as building highways are put into developing cities but “Americans are incline to abandon industrial neighborhoods, sometimes leaving whole cities in favor of sprawl residential tracts, edge cities, and strip-zoned highways” (Savitch 2013:591). Those who can afford to move into suburbs leaves those of a lower socioeconomic status with less resources. “When people and jobs evaporate, so too does

Burgess’s concentric zone theory was presented in 1924. He presented a descriptive urban land use model that divided cities in a set of concentric circles expanding from downtown to the suburbs. His representation came from Burgess’ observations of various American cities, especially Chicago. Burgess model assumes a relationship between the socio-economic status of households and the distance from the Central Business District. The further from the district, the better the quality of housing, but the longer the commuting time. Making this Accessing better housing is done at the expense of longer commuting times and costs as well. According to Burgess, urban growth is a process of expansion and reconversion of land uses, with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the outer zone. According to Burgess’ theory, a large city is divided in six concentric zones, Burgess’s model has its cons according to critics. It is said to be a product of its time. That is, it won’t work the same with present cities. The model was developed when American cities were growing very fast and when motorized transportation was still uncommon as most people used public transit. Thus the concept cannot be applied to those from the second half to the twentieth century where highways have enabled urban development to escape the reconversion process and to take place directly in the suburbs. The model in this case was developed for American cities and is limited elsewhere.

New Urbanism, a burgeoning genre of architecture and city planning, is a movement that has come about only in the past decade. This movement is a response to the proliferation of conventional suburban development (CSD), the most popular form of suburban expansion that has taken place since World War II. Wrote Robert Steuteville, "Lacking a town center or pedestrian scale, CSD spreads out to consume large areas of countryside even as population grows relatively slowly. Automobile use per capita has soared, because a motor vehicle is required for nearly all human transportation"1. New Urbanism, therefore, represents the converse of this planning ideology. It stresses traditional planning, including multi-purpose zoning,

An emerging issue is that of urban sprawl. While some aspects of urban sprawl has been seen since ancient times, this phenomenon has started gaining the most momentum in the past century, aided by the advancement of technology, especially with the rise of mass produced automobiles, houses and highway systems. Many people unknowingly contribute to this environmental problem, as is the nature of it. Urban sprawl deals with the growth of the suburbs, the area between the urban and rural areas of a city. Most of America’s largest cities and states, in terms of population, are prime examples of urban sprawl. Opponents of urban sprawl usually cite the government as a major cause of sprawl. The government may be a major catalyst of