BESC 201 10 14 2013 Lecture 19 Outline of Last Lecture I Our Urbanizing World Outline of Current Lecture II Sprawl III Creating Livable Cities Current Lecture 10 14 2013 Sprawl Sprawl nonjudgmental definition the spread of low density urban or suburban development outward from an urban center Urban areas spread outward The outward spatial growth of suburbs across the landscape generally outpaces growth in numbers of people Sprawl has several causes 2 main components of sprawl 1 Human population growth 2 Per capita land consumption a Each person is taking up more land than in the past because most people desire space and privacy and dislike congestion What is wrong with sprawl Transportation Sprawl constrains transportation options essentially forcing people to drive cars An automobile oriented culture increases dependence on petroleum with its economic and environmental consequences Pollution Carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles contribute to global climate change while nitrogen and sulfur containing air pollutants contribute to urban smog and acid deposition Health Sprawl promotes physical inactivity and obesity because driving cars largely takes the place of walking during daily errands Land Use These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute More land is developed while less is left as forests and fields Economics Sprawl drains tax dollars from communities and funnels money into infrastructure for new development on the fringes of those communities Creating Livable Cities City and regional planning aim to create livable urban areas City Urban Planning designing cities to maximize efficiency functionality and beauty Washington D C is the earliest example of city planning in the U S Regional Planning deal with the same issues as city planners but works on broader geographic scales and coordinates work with municipal governments Zoning is a key tool for planning Zoning the practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use Zoning involves government restriction on the use of private land and represents a top down constraint on personal property rights People have supported zoning over the years because the common good it produces for communities is widely felt to outweigh the restrictions on private use Urban growth boundaries are now widely used UGBs save taxpayers money by reducing the amounts that municipalities need to pay for infrastructure UGBs also tend to increase housing prices within their boundaries Smart growth and new urbanism aim to counter sprawl Smart Growth building up not out focusing development and economic investment in existing urban centers and favoring multistory shop houses and high rises New Urbanism seeks to design walkable neighborhoods with homes businesses schools and other amenities all close together for convenience Transit options help cities As long as an urban center is large enough to support the infrastructure necessary both train and bus systems are cheaper more energy efficient and cleaner than roadways choked with cars The United States lags behind most nations in mass transit Urban residents need parklands City dwellers often desire some escape from the noise commotion and stress of urban life Lands also keep ecological processes functioning by helping to regulate climate purify air and water and provide wildlife habitat Green buildings bring benefits Green Buildings structures that use technologies and approaches to minimize the ecological footprint of their construction and operation Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED certification program that judges buildings that apply for a status of sustainability
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