Urban sprawl and the loss of peri urban land in kumasi, ghana. Urban sprawl generates a decline in the availability of productive agricultural land around cities, causing versatile conflicts between nature and society and threatening the sustainability of urban agglomerations. Inefficient distribution of land and failure to reduce. Urban sprawl, definitions, data, methods of measurement, environmental consequences, sustainability education. Some cities fit the criteria for sprawl geographically, but not in terms of their population density. Cervero 2000 claims that sprawl is like pornography. This area is where open spaces, farm land and the natural environment are typically found. Various definitions can made f or urban sprawl from diffe rent perspectives. This report provides a new perspective to the nature of urban sprawl and its causes and environmental, social and economic consequences. Urban sprawl is the outward spread of development from urban centers into rural areas. Today, there is no generally accepted definition of this term. Growing like weeds on the edges of cities and along motorways throughout the world, urban sprawl has been increasingly associated with a range of social and environmental prob. Thus, urban sprawl is a much more dangerous signal for china.
The city, which has a population of about 10 million amid an urban sprawl of about 30 million people, also faces major congestion and environmental concerns. Urban sprawl, smart growth, and deliberative democracy. Development is patchy, scattered and strung out, with a tendency. Urban sprawl is a social pattern describing the way cities continue to grow outward uncontrollably. Although there is considerable evidence that urban sprawl has adverse affects on public health and the environment, policy frameworks designed to combat sprawl such as smart growthhave proven to be controversial, making implementation difficult. It is hard to define but you know it when you see it. Urban sprawl is a complex phenomenon that requires a. Topics range from the outward spreading of a city and its suburbs to its logical limits, to lowdensity and autodependent development on rural land, examination of impact of high segregation between residential and commercial uses, and analysis various design features to.
Urban sprawl definition and meaning collins english. Negative effects of urban sprawl home guides sf gate. This study aimed to uncover the spatial pattern of long term 80 years land cover. Urban sprawl wreaks havoc on the natural land, ecosystem and community. Defining sprawl and smart growth sprawl the term sprawl, as used by land developers, planners and governmental institutions, critically describes a pattern of lowdensity, often unsightly, automobile dependent development that has been a common form of growth outside of urban. Measuring urban sprawl based on massive street nodes. Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl is a multifaceted concept centered around the expansion of lowdensity development. While gordon and richardson 1997 define urban sprawl as leapfrog development1, dilorenzo 2000 defines it as growth with cancer or virus. Sprawl is a singleuse, lowdensity, disconnected approach to community design.
The loss of farmland to urban use in peri urban areas is a global phenomenon. It does not allow for a straightforward assessment of the different impacts of urban sprawl. Urban sprawl is generally characterized to be low density, autodependent land development taking place at the periphery of urban areas, and thus transfers a. This is the area being gobbled up most by urban sprawl. In this paper, urban sprawl will be defined as spatial growth of cities that is excessive relative to what is socially desirable. Here our goal is to give a little more dimension to the explanation by showing some nuances to the definition of urban sprawl. Like sprawl itself, writing about sprawl is scattered in a vast multidisciplinary literature. The high price of urban sprawl essay 2565 words 11 pages.
Advantages and disadvantages of urban sprawl synonym. Sprawl is the leading edge of urban growth and implies little planning control of land subdivision. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. And urban sprawl always generates overly long commute, contributing traffic congestion and. Changes in urban residential density represent an important issue in terms. Urban sprawl is a phenomenon that can be visually perceived in the landscape. Urban growth, also known as urban sprawl, refers to the expansion of a metropolitan or suburban area into the surrounding environment. This puts a heavy responsibility on public bodies to maintain the balance between urban. The attraction of living in a nice neighborhood with better schools and lower crime rates must be. Home owners and commercial ventures that move into the area often provide additional revenue to local governments in the form of.
Problems of urban sprawl negative effects of urban. The concept of urban sprawl and its causes zuhal karakayaci 1. The problematization of urban sprawl in the united states. Common in both highincome and lowincome countries, urban sprawl is. However, the continually expanding body of literature provides no consensus on the definition or characteristics of sprawl. Urban sprawl is an increasingly common feature of the built environment in the united states and other industrialized nations. A landscape suffers from urban sprawl if it is permeated by urban development or solitary buildings and when land uptake per inhabitant or job is high. However, some different opinions exist in academic fields on urban sprawl. On the surface, sprawling subdivisions and commercial zones are economic boons to local businesses and municipalities. An urban area can be defined by one or more of the following. Dictionary grammar blog school scrabble thesaurus translator quiz more resources more from collins. Development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs. Department of agricultures natural resources conservation service nrcs is a major data source for agricultural land. While the phenomenon may very well be here to stay, there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to be considered.
The implications for the education of urban sustainability are noted. Volume i page 3 that occurs in urban areas, it must first be reduced to some objective conditions or traits. An analysis of the public discourse about urban sprawl in the. Urban sprawl article questions northwestern university. Defining sprawl and smart growth community and regional.
Dynamics of urban sprawl and sustainable development in. Urban sprawl urban sprawl, also called sprawl or suburban sprawl, the rapid expansion of the geographic extent of cities and towns, often characterized by lowdensity residential housing, singleuse zoning, and increased reliance on the private automobile for transportation. The different dimensions of urban sprawl are measured by the seven indicators described in table 1. The authors wish to acknowledge numerous individuals who generated or processed data upon which our sprawl and outcome measures are based. Definitions, data, methods of measurement, and environmental consequences by reza banai and thomas depriest. Urban sprawl definition of urban sprawl by merriamwebster. Sprawl is seen as a negative urban form thus majority of work is on the impacts of sprawl and most of it in the usa major focus is on anti sprawl reform to achieve the compact city four major viewpoints of impacts of sprawl. Measuring and predicting longterm land cover changes in. Difficulties with the term urban sprawl as will be discussed in more detail in section 3 of this paper, urban sprawl is notoriously difficult to define. The concept of urban sprawl the lands of urban sprawl which are defined as lands that have lost their rural characteristics and yet cannot be defined as urban include specific uncertainties results in various problems such as unplanned urban growth and use of nonagricultural purpose.
In the confusion in definition of urban sprawl, wilson et al. Urban sprawl oxford reference the relentless extension of builtup areas around virtually every city on earth as the combination of rising population and rising prosperity apply increasing economic pressure on agricultural and pastoral land, making it difficult or impossible to preserve it for agricultural use. Urban sprawl definition of urban sprawl by the free. Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl mainly refers to the unrestricted growth in many urban areas. By separating places where people live, work, and play and limiting direct connections between these activities, sprawl most often renders driving as the only rational travel option. The unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas adjoining the edge of a city. It is typically unorganized and poorly planned, making it an unsustainable form of development.
The issue of urban sprawl is a contentious and polarizing one, as people seem to either love or hate it. The uncontrolled and disproportionate expansion of an urban area into the surrounding countryside, forming lowdensity, poorly planned patterns of development. Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl mainly refers to the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. Urban sprawl in europe european environment agency.
Urban sprawl over the agricultural land land use pressures are particularly mounting on the edges of the urban areas. Longer and more frequent commutes are a major concern associated with urban sprawl. Uncertainty on definitions and explanations of urban sprawl hamper the design of policy measures. Urban sprawl is a situation where large stores, groups of houses, etc. To complicate matters, the term sprawl is applied in many different ways galster, et al. Any discussion of the pros and cons of urban sprawl, that is, the expansion of suburban neighborhoods around major cities, pits the benefits to individuals against broader social and environmental concerns. Urban sprawl also horizontal spreading or dispersed urbanization. People who do not want to live in an urban atmosphere often seek refuge in suburban areas that have access to metropolitan areas. Measuring sprawl and its impact is the product of three years of research. It is often controlled by an urban growth boundary ugb, which is a clearly defined and legally enforced zoning tool. Pdf urban sprawl and the loss of peri urban land in. Endangered by sprawl how runaway development threatens americas wildlife viii study, the brunt of future growth will be borne by relatively few component counties. Again, a better understanding of the nature of urban sprawl in developing countries would better inform. Without such a theory, it is not possible to know why a particular determinant works to explain a particular definition of urban sprawl, nor is it possible to know whether any particular policy to combat.
At densities of recent development, 18 counties are on a pace to use all of their remaining nonfederal farmland and other natural areas to accommodate projected growth, and. The report defines sprawl as an urban development pattern characterised by low population density that can manifest itself in multiple ways. Key contributors were john ottensmann of indiana university, who processed census data and. Times, sunday times 2011 beyond the suburbs, many towns and cities have a green belt to stop urban sprawl. This perspective, which is based on the multidimensionality of urban sprawl, sets the foundations for the construction of new indicators to measure the various facets of urban sprawl. The average american spends 17,600 minutes behind the steering wheel of a car annually. Definitions urban area the definition of urban varies from country to country, and, with periodic reclassification, can also vary within one country over time, making direct comparisons difficult. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. New urbanists want to create neighborhoods that promote a sense of community and a sense of place.
Environmental implications of peri urban sprawl and. Separately, once defined and measured, sprawl is related to consequences in the areas of transportation, travel, and air quality. Somehow researchers have to balance the density of population, if that population is located in the city center or suburbs, and if the city has any sprawl outside its boundaries. The construction of dwellings, stores, and infrastructure creates employment opportunities.
The fact remains, however, that it remains a permanent fixture, with cities growing exponentially in terms of geographic area. In general, the definition of urban sprawl is described in two aspects. The report uses new datasets to compute these indicators for more than. In this paper we provide a map of what is increasingly known about. Acknowledging urban sprawl as one of the major threats to the functioning of urban environments, the article focuses on its possible association with urban green spaces ugs. Urban sprawl occurs fundamentally when the land price of the hinterlands is lower than that of core areas 24. Towards a simpler characterization of urban sprawl across. Other subtleties about the definition of urban sprawl.
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