Ecological and Economic Consequences of Suburban Sprawl

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Ecological and Economic Consequences of Suburban
Sprawl

• September 28, 2005

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1970-1990Area Change in Population Change in
Built-up AreaNew York Metro 8
65Chicago Metro 4 46Cleveland
Metro -8 33
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Major Ecological, Social and Economic Costs of
Sprawl

• Loss of farmland, forest, wetlands and other open
  spaces.
• Pennsylvania lost one million acres of cropland,
  forest and open space from 1992-1997 to suburban
  development.
• York County, with some of the best agricultural
  land in the state, lost 30 of its farmland from
  1970-2000.
• For every 100 acres of new residential
  development, an additional 38 acres is lost to
  roads and 18 acres to utilities, resulting in
  1.56 acres of land conversion for every 1 acre of
  residential development.

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Major Ecological, Social and Economic Costs of
Sprawl (cont)

• Loss of ecosystem functions and services
  associated with land conversion.
• Increased runoff from paved areas, flooding.
• Decreased water quality due to non-point runoff
  from parking lots, roads, suburban lawns.
• Decreased infiltration due to conversion of
  permeable areas to parking lots and roads, leads
  to reductions in groundwater supply.

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Major Ecological, Social and Economic Costs of
Sprawl (cont)

• Loss of wildlife habitat, fragmentation of
  forestland.
• Loss of open space, aesthetic qualities.
• Increased travel costs, traffic, air pollution.
• Pittsburgh area vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
  doubled from 1970-1990.
• Los Angeles traffic jams cost the regional
  economy 12 billion/year in lost productivity.

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Major Ecological, Social and Economic Costs of
Sprawl (cont)

• Higher infrastructure costs highways, sewage,
  water, schools. Results in higher taxes for ALL
  residents.
• Social segregation, loss of community.

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Smart Growth Policies as an Alternative to
Suburban Sprawl

• Make developers and their clients (not taxpayers)
  pay for the expansion of infrastructure into
  un-built areas.
• Balance government investment dollars between
  suburban and existing urban areas, including
  balancing spending on mass transit and
  highway/road construction.
• Promote more REGIONAL planning including
  development of growth boundaries and greenbelts.
• (TBs wish list raise the price of gasoline!)

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New Urbanism as an Alternative to Suburban Sprawl

• Multiple use zoning allows residential and
  commercial activities to take place in the same
  area.
• Higher density housing reduces the amount of land
  needed to support a given population.
• Sidewalks, bike paths, nearby stores and
  community gathering areas increase social
  interaction.
• Houses designed with reduced setbacks, front
  porches and shared common areas to increase
  social interactions.

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