Real Estate Urban Sprawl

The concept of urban sprawl is based on the outward growth of a city into its outlying areas (suburbs) and subsequent expansion of rural areas. Design of these suburban developments cause increased dependence on automobiles as well as many other issues, such as long commutes for city workers, racial segregation, rising rates of obesity, and higher costs for public transportation. Urban sprawl also has some distinct advantages, such as larger lots for single-family residences and lower prices for land.

There are continual debates as to the benefits and disadvantages of urban sprawl, and the term typically is used in a negative fashion. The perception of urban sprawl is somewhat accurate when one considers that rates of pollution per person is higher in large neighborhoods and these residents suffer traffic fatalities more frequently as well. Supporters of urban sprawl state that most people prefer to live in lower density areas rather than compact arrangements within the city. On either side of the debate is much controversy as cities across the nation continue to spread out into the outskirts of town.

Several situations lead to urban sprawl, such as zoning areas being established for specific purposes. Commercial districts are thereby separated from residential zones, and industrial areas are separated as well. This causes large blocks of land to be allotted for each unique use, creating barriers of space that are impossible to trek by foot or bicycle, requiring the use of automobiles and public transportation to travel from work to shops to home.

Zoning laws for suburban developments typically require low-density lot sizes, which means they are quite a bit larger than urban developments. With the new housing subdivisions often separated further by expansive spaces of open area, the suburban area is essentially growing at a substantially faster rate than urban areas. With urban sprawl comes increased dependency on cars. Walking is not a practical means of transportation; so many neighborhoods do not even have sidewalks.

Job sprawl is another side-effect of urban sprawl, as many workers desire a shorter commute to work and employers desire a more affordable location with room for expansion. The answer to both wishes is a move to low-density areas, but this of course leads to a vacuum of available jobs to the people left in the urban areas who are often left without many options for entry-level employment. Many cities across the U.S. are responding to the issue of urban sprawl with growth boundaries for their cities that advocate land conservation and better urban planning initiatives to combat the negative impact of unregulated growth into the rural landscape.