Urban Sprawl

Urban Sprawl Introduction I. Each morning, millions of Americans start their engines and grind their way to work. They leave quiet settings for the hustle and bustle of the cities. When evening approaches, these same people make their way home. Home, however, is no longer just across town. Many of these people will commute miles and miles to their *country= homes. II. They are not alone in their commute though - the entire rest of the subdivision is doing the exact same thing, day in and day out. They endure the traffic, lost time, and general inconvenience to be surrounded by farmland and open space and a hundred or so homes exactly identical to theirs. (Transition)Today I am going to discuss urban sprawl, its history, causes and effects. First lets discuss the history. III. Urban sprawl has always been a problem in a sense; however not until the automobile was sprawl a serious issue. With the arrival of the automobile, people could live farther a way from work and not have to live in the city. Up until then mostly farmers and ranchers lived outside the city. So the issue became a bigger issue with faster and better cars. Many people were now able to live the American Dream, rural life. A house of their own, out of town enough to be quiet, but never too far from civilization. a. But then something happens, the *open space= that they fell in love with is slowly devoured by housing, shopping malls, and believe it or not other people. b. The rolling fields that once marked their freedom are now browning and dotted with homes. This makes the *original= homeowner unhappy. They write editorials asking questions and demanding answers. Both silently and aloud they fume: how dare the farmer sell out his heritage, the land is more valuable as farmland, right?, how dare the developer exploit the land (don=t they care about our earth?), how dare the politician allow this activity (aren=t we paying them to represent us?), and how dare the home buyer have the audacity to move there. So sure are they in their quest for justice that they never stop to consider one simple fact: they once were newcomers too. And before them, the land was open space or farmland. The developer *exploited= the land that they fell in love with, the politician *allowed= their home to be built, and they were *audacious= enough to inhabit it. IV. So the circle begins. We as a country are facing an epidemic of unknown proportions: age - old expansionist attitudes. Urban sprawl has made a definite impact on environment, agriculture, and economy. (Transition) So what exactly is Urban Sprawl. Body I. Henry R. Richmond who wrote From Sea to Shining Sea: gives us a good definition: AThe terms Aurban sprawl@ and Asuburbanization@ are often used to describe the continuous out-migration of the American economic and population base from its central citiesYmajor cities are surrounded by seas of low density residential development highlighted byYAEdge Cities@ or Asuburban megacenters@, where commercial, retail, office, and entertainment development has occurred.@ This description describes the trend overtaking rural America. The land that once fed the populace is being used to house the masses. This phenomenon is being met with a variety of opinions - all of them strong one is going to affect us in the most harmful way. (Transition) Now that we have an idea what exactly urban sprawl is, let me inform you of the problems caused, starting with environmentally, then agriculturally and economically. II. One of the strongest positions regarding urban sprawl belongs to that of those concerned with the environment. On such advocate is Kathryn Hohmann, the Sierra Club=s Director of the Environmental Quality Program. The Sierra Club is a national, grassroots environmental organization, with more than a half-million members. She stated in her testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that: AThe problems of sprawl can only be solved by a concerted and continuing effort at the local, state, and federal levels.@ Hohmann goes on to point out several of the main issues intertwined with sprawl -such as that of traffic congestion. She states that sprawl gives us no choice but to drive further to get home from work. Hence more air pollution. Worsening water pollution is another example that Hohmann gives. As more of the earth is paved, more toxic chemicals run off in to