Urban Sprawl In The United States

Solutions to the problems of urban sprawl in the United States are out there… However some are easier while others are harder the biggest would be getting people on board with all of these solutions. Expansion of public transportation and light rail to reduce cars on the road and pollution and shorten commute time; land-use planning that puts hard boundaries on urban growth, forcing densification of earlier sprawl areas into higher-density solutions. As Americans we have got to take action and make a stand and truly make the change. But doing so would eliminate what everyone calls as the “American Dream.” This dream will be dead, the American Dream was possible 50-100 years ago immigrants coming here for a better life and more opportunity to

Instead of tearing down old buildings, repair them and update buildings to pull in the population that is surrounding the city or community. Keeping the cost of these newly revamped buildings lower would entice more people to move to the city or move to that designated area. Creating of “multipurpose buildings” (first level is a business and upper floors are apartments.) Mixed-use development combines residential areas with places of employment and commerce instead of isolating individual areas, allowing for more pedestrians and public transit as opposed to traffic and pollution. Build up higher by making taller building “high rises” instead of building out. Some prime areas that this whole motto can be used and shown the success are places like dead malls and brownfields “property that is contaminated by some sort of pollutant” these areas are prime for development since structures are already in place. Smart growth can raise property values. In California, land within one mile of a commuter railroad increased by 120%. It can also reduce the cost of transportation and housing, which makes up 50% of an average families household budget. One of the harder solutions would be getting Government Intervention, Government could restrict the amount of land builder and developers can use outside of cities. Thus making it harder for buildings both commercial and residential to be

They also assist in avoiding collisions between vehicles and animals, which in addition to killing or injuring wildlife may cause injury to humans and property damage. A study completed for the Virginia Department of Transportation estimated that underpasses for wildlife become cost effective, in terms of property damage, when they prevent between 2.6 and 9.2 deer-vehicle collisions per year, depending on the cost of the underpass. Approximately 300 deer crossed through the underpasses in the year the study took place (Donaldson 2005). Using a variety of techniques to monitor the crossings over the last 25 years, scientists report that 10 species of large mammals (including deer, elk, black bear, grizzly bear, mountain lion, wolf, moose, and coyote) have used the 24 crossings in Banff a total of 84,000 times as of January 2007 (Clevenger 2007) . Cost as much as 25 million dollars per bridge. Smart growth helps to protect natural habitat. Smart growth can reduce the conversion of farmland by 28%, open space by 43% and environmentally fragile lands by 80%. A study done in Florida shows that smart growth would be able to reduce wetland and floodplain loss by 20%. By using smart growth, water quality is improved by reducing 43% less runoff, and it also reduces the amount of impervious surfaces. A