Essay The Congress for New Urbanism and Environmental Awareness

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

The Eco-City Charter serves as a document to guide City leaders and residents towards a more sustainable, holistic, and healthy environment (City of Alexandria, 2010). Ecologically, the charter ensures that all parts of the natural and built environments work together as a single ecological system; economically, it ensures a healthy economy that supports and sustains people and the environment in which they live over the long-term; and socially; it ensures that a community meets residents’ basic needs and has the resiliency to prevent and/or address problems in the future (City of Alexandria, 2010).

Unlike most of the persuasive essays needed many “power” words to persuade readers, R. Crumb’s comic, “A Short History of America”, reflects the change of the natural, ecological landscape to urban area without using any words. Nevertheless, his drawing deeply shows us the down side of the urbanization and we human-being are destroying our indispensable nature. We are going the exact opposite direction to a better life; we are going to live in the life where we totally rely on technology and advanced, luxurious materials. Humans will never be satisfied and keep changing. However, while we’re keeping changing, have we ever asked: What are we doing to our nature?

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.

Urban sprawl has affected three major cities in many different ways. It has affected the city of Portland with wildlife being cut down for new growth. Secondly it has affected the city of Toronto with run down buildings in its urban core and the speculation on the cost of money to create things. Thirdly it affected the city of Atlanta with air pollution, people were moving out and working in the cities so that created a lot of air pollution. In this essay it addresses three cities and how urban sprawl affected them.

Whether or not it is desired, it will take its course. Along with buildings and the urbanization of a particular area, a rise in population and neighborhoods are bound to follow.

Paul Goldberger, an American architectural critic once quoted, “Urbanism works when it creates the journey as desirable as the destination.”

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

A great number of Americans living today reside in areas where homes, businesses, and institutions are spread sparsely. These areas are commonly referred to as either urban or suburban sprawl. Sprawl is generally designed for the movement of cars and not the movement of pedestrians; most people simply will not, and often cannot, assume the role of pedestrian while navigating through sprawl. People are isolated from each other by the glass walls of cars and the metal gates of enclosed subdivisions. American culture glorifies the suburban lifestyle, but the drawbacks of this lifestyle affect not only those living within suburban sprawl itself, but also those living in the urban areas left behind as people mass-migrated to these sparsely concentrated areas. Despite the common perception that suburban, sprawling, and sparsely-concentrated urban life is overall better quality than urban life, the perpetual growth of urban and suburban sprawl in the United States has had negative environmental, physiological, and sociological effects on the land and population of the United States. Over the next twenty-five to fifty years, new suburban development and redevelopment should be based in design that is less sparsely-built, less car-dependent, less segregated by socioeconomic status, and less segregated by land use;

Smart growth is choosing a better way for communities and cities to grow without hurting the environment. “For example, the recently emerged concept smart growth is inviting communities and metropolitan areas to address sprawl and purposely choose to develop in more environmentally sustainable ways. The concept recognizes that growth will occur and focuses on economic, environmental,

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.

Looking at the smart growth planning concept, it is clear that it has gained traction and is being embraced as a counter measure to urban sprawl. Smart growth is a concept that advocates economic and community development that is carefully planned and that attempts to check urban sprawl and worsening conditions of the environment. This program promotes walk able and bike able urban areas with mixed-use development and road construction on a limited scale (Joel 3). At the core of the smart growth concept of planning is the need to address issues of transportation, population density, and housing through the construction of mixed-use properties. Compact, mixed use and infill development near transit, jobs, shops, schools, and other community centers can strengthen communities, expand housing choices and affordability, as well as promote

Global climate change is once again at the forefront of academic and political discussion. Recent coastal flooding in the Northeastern United States, series of wildfire along the west coast, inland flooding along the Mississippi corridor, and severe drought faced by California cities have instilled a new sense of urgency to fight the effects of climate change. And once again Fordist planning practices of neoliberal cities all over the world, along with their artifacts inherited from the industrial era are under the crosshair. Resource hungry cities designed for the automobile, extensive network of highways, hollowed out centers, and patterns of low density suburbanization are some of the treasures of the past century that we are no longer proud of. Is it possible to reverse the adverse effects of unsustainable planning practices of the past and put our cities on a path to an ecologically balanced future? This volume by Jonathan Barnett and Larry Beasley lays out the technological innovations of the twenty first century, and lessons from successful implementation of environmentally sensitive designs by cities from all over the world to carve a path that will possibly lead us to a future of truly eco-friendly cities.

Late into the month of October our class discussed the different forms of “sprawl”. The class learned discussed how urban sprawl is often seen as a bad thing because as business move right outside the city limit and begin to build. With these new developments comes possible job opportunities which in return attacks a variety of people. These people are now piling into a new city competing for new jobs , while all having lifestyles that benefit through different things all within the same city. With so many differenced problems tend to arise, and the original business only keep building, adding to the mess. With changes like these the whole community changes as well. Most small cities are not capable of handling extreme traffic, and over at

The question to answer this week is whether Sustainable Urban Developments require more policy innovation and planning. Taylor gives us an abstract in how the opposing sides address whether current approaches meet present-day urban and metropolitan needs, or whether further activities and proposals are needed to achieve these ultimate goals (Taylor, pp. 271 – 288).