Residential Zones

The second zone is the Transitional Zone. The transitional zone is considered the “least desirable place to live” due to high crime rates,

model and multiple nuclei model. The first model was created by sociologist E.W. Burgess and

There were open lots near the shelter, Gateway Park, and between residential homes. Many of the lots contained trash and overgrowth. The sidewalks, highways, and paved/dirt roads were all

The third listing for the definition of sprawl in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is as follows: “to spread or develop irregularly”. Unfortunately, this is the pattern, or lack thereof, with which America’s development is following. Every single day the world population rises, and these new babies have to live somewhere. Due to the fact that the birth rate is larger than that of the death rate in America (http://www.bartleby.com/151/a24.html), new homes and communities must be developed to accommodate all of the incoming people. This fundamental concept is coupled by another very powerful driving force prompting people to live in the suburbs of America, and that is greed. The economy makes

Due to house shortages on the inner city, a massive pop up of suburban housing grew on the edge of the city limits. increase d vehicle production, federal highway system expansions, and veteran mortgage programs encouraged the newly created middle to buy larger family homes on the outskirts of the city.

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

Housing was a necessity many Americans wanted, “During the 1950s, for example, suburbs grew at a rate ten times faster than that of central cities, while the nation’s suburban population jumped from 35.1 to 75.6 million between 1950 and 1970” (Avila 4). The main problem

A mix of housing age, old houses ( 40-100 years old predominant) and new housing developments

The development that is happening, however, is not the issue, the way we develop land is the difficult situation. When low-density residential areas are built, such as schools and roads, it is called a sprawl type of development. This ruins forests, farms, and shorelines, and degrades water and land habitats. Neighborhoods keep expanding and in 2015, the average home

Development is shifting from a suburban type of planning—which has separated uses, uniform density, and is automobile focused—to a ‘new urban’ type planning that contains mixed use developments and is focused on the use of public transportation. There is a push to create walkable neighborhoods and build developments that have both retail and commercial space on the lower levels and residential space above it. This also means building commercial projects in neighborhoods so people don’t need to travel far for basic necessities. This is having an effect on zoning that may prohibit the construction of commercial development within residential

The Comprehensive Master Plan of Clifton uses the Zoning Ordinance, with a main focus on the Town’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (adopted in 1995) and the Flood Plain Ordinance, as a primary tool for the application of its actions, objectives, and goals . To maintain an orderly and desirable pattern of growth within the Town, Zoning Districts were created in the Zoning Ordinance, with restrictions or prohibitions on certain land use. These prohibitions and restrictions also aim to protect the environment from adverse effects of urban development as well as to protect the Town against incompatible land uses. The Zoning Ordinance has hierarchy over the Zoning Map, as it has detailed descriptions and requirements for each district .

High Density is said to be the future of residential housing, although not everyone agrees to this way of thinking.

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