Urban Sprawl in North America: Where Will It End

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Urban Sprawl in North America Where Will It End?

• Chapter 5

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I. Geoterms

• A. Metropolitan Area a major population center
  made up of a large city and the smaller suburbs
  and towns that surround it.
• B. Rural Fringe the small towns, farms, and open
  spaces that lie just beyond a citys suburbs.
• C. Suburb a developed area at the edge of a city
  that is mainly homes. Many suburbs also have
  stores and businesses.

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• D. Urban Core the older part of a big city.
  Often the urban core serves as the downtown or
  central business district of a city.
• E. Urban Fringe the ring of small towns and
  suburbs that surround a big city.
• F. Urban Sprawl the rapid, often poorly planned
  spread of development from an urban area outward
  into rural areas.

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II. The Geographic Setting

• A. The Old Walking City The Urban Core
• 1. Urban Core started during colonial times. This
  is the heart of the town (Downtown) where people
  could walk from their home to businesses.
• 2. 1890s, street cars and trains were developed
  and people began to live further away and commute
  into the city. People moved outward along rail
  lines.

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• B. Suburbs Around the City The Urban Fringe
• 1. 1920s, cars were using paved roads so people
  didnt have to live along rail lines.
• 2. Common use of cars allowed housing farther
  away from the urban core. Suburbs ringed cities
  forming an urban fringe.
• 3. Old city cores decayed as people and
  businesses moved out and started new town centers.

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• C. Where City Meets Country The Rural Fringe
• 1. Rural Fringe is where there are farms, open
  space, and fewer people.
• 2. These areas grow and urban sprawl begins.

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III. The Case for and Against Urban Growth

• A. Urban Growth Creates Needed Homes
• 1. Rural land is cheaper and building homes here
  is less expensive
• 2. People usually believe it is better to raise a
  family in the suburbs
• 3. New construction creates jobs. New homes
  require purchases.
• 4. More taxes are paid to the government for the
  infrastructure.

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• B. Urban Sprawl Damages the Environment
• 1. New homes take away animal and plant habitat
• 2. Urban sprawl creates pollution from more cars
  and waste

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IV. Portland, Oregon, 1973

• A. Growth Threatens the Willamette Valley
• 1. Willamette Valley known for roses, farms, and
  orchards
• 2. Portlands growing population and urban sprawl
  would destroy this environment.

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• B. Difficult Decision How Best to Grow?
• 1. The state looked at several options. One
  option was to allow urban growth to continue, but
  for each acre developed, the state would require
  that another acre be set aside to be preserved as
  open space
• 2. A second option was to not allow any more
  building to go on
• 3. A third option allowed growth, just not in the
  Willamette Valley

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V. Portland Plans for Smart Growth

• A. Urban Growth Boundaries Limit Sprawl
• 1. Urban Growth Boundaries
• A. A legal border that separates urban land from
  rural land
• B. Growth is allowed in the borders, but not in
  the rural area
• 2. Metro was developed as a regional government
  to plan the growth within the boundaries.

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• B. Mixed Use Helps Portland to Grow Up, Not Out
• 1. Today, Portland is a compact,
  controlled-growth area
• 2. Public transit system (buses, streetcars)
  reduce the need to drive
• 3. Mixed-use developments allow for mixed housing
  and business (apartments above a store)
• 4. Advocates of the program say people drive
  less, thus less pollution
• 5. Opponents say people cannot find large homes
  on big lots, thus not meeting the desires of the
  people

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VI. Toronto, Ontario, 1999

• A. Building Up and Filling In Limits Sprawl
• 1. Toronto has a long history, so by 1960s, the
  urban core was run down
• 2. 1965, Toronto started Infill where old urban
  core is rebuilt and empty space is filled in
  instead of sprawling out.
• 3. By the 1970s, Toronto rebuilt itself into a
  modern city

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• B. Rapid Growth on Torontos Rural Fringe
• 1. By 1990s, urban sprawl took over farmland,
  forests, and wetlands.
• 2. Traffic increased and so did the pollution
• 3. They considered various plans (mixed-use
  development, ban all growth in rural areas, limit
  growth only to certain areas)

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VII. Toronto Plans for 30 Years of Growth

• A. Planning for Future Growth
• 1. The Official Plan allowed growth in 25 of the
  city
• 2. It allowed growth in the old urban core and on
  the waterfront.
• 3. Public transportation was to be expanded
• 4. Mixed-use and infill were to be developed

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• B. Concerns About Infill
• 1. Developers said it was too costly because they
  had to clean up the old before building new.
• 2. Current residents of the urban core felt that
  it would become too crowded

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VIII. Atlanta, Georgia, 1998

• A. Rapid Growth Leads to Traffic Jams
• 1. 1990s, Atlanta metropolitan area led the USA
  in urban sprawl
• 2. Animal and plant habitat was being destroyed
• 3. Residents drove more miles every day than
  drivers anywhere else in the world

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• B. Air Pollution Threatens Highway Funds
• 1. Air pollution increased
• 2. Respiratory ailments increased
• 3. Atlanta violated the federal Clean Air Act and
  was in jeopardy of losing federal highway funds.
• 4. Various options were studied

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IX. Atlanta Fights Pollution with Public Transit

• A. A Regional Transportation Authority was
  created
• 1. Focus was on public transit
• 2. Three goals were stressed
• A. Reduce traffic jams
• B. Reduce the amount of air pollution from cars
• C. Reduce poorly planned development

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• 3. They encouraged people to get out of their
  cars
• A. Encourage people to walk to shops and jobs
• B. Encourage people to walk or bike through new
  bike trails and walking paths
• C. Built new rails, subways, and bus lines

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• B. Atlanta Continues to Grow
• 1. Atlanta now meets federal air-quality
  standards
• 2. Urban sprawl still occurring
• 3. Pollution still a problem
• 4. Water supply a concern
• 5. Mixed-use development taking place
• 6. New homes in rural areas still being built

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X. Beginning to Think Globally

• A. Cities Continue to Sprawl
• 1. USA and Canada still growing
• 2. Need for housing still growing
• 3. Concerns for the environment still present
• B. Sprawl is a Worldwide Problem
• 1. More people moving to cities, needing housing
• 2. Mumbai is good example

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XI. Global Connection

• A. Why might some regions have more metropolitan
  areas than others?
• B. Why are there so many cities with more than 5
  million people in Asia?
• C. What special problems might urban sprawl
  create for poor countries?