Sprawl Here To Stay

[MontroseNeighborhoodCafe]

Feb. 12, 2005, 10:18PM

Sprawl here to stay, so let's make the best of it

By JOEL KOTKIN

The battle's over. For half a century, legions of planners, urbanists, environmentalists and big city editorialists have waged war against sprawl. Now it's time to call it a day and declare a victor.

The winner is, yes, sprawl.

The numbers are incontestable and the trends inexorable. Since 1950, more than 90 percent of U.S. metropolitan population growth has taken place in the suburbs. Roughly two out of three people in the nation's metro areas are suburban dwellers. ``The 'burbs'' have become the homeland of American success, with an increasing share of our national wealth and half the poverty of the urban core.

We may continue to decry them and make fun of them, in cynical movies like {(American Beauty)} or on spoofy television shows like {(Desperate Housewives,)} but we've made them our home. For most of us, they represent both our present and our future. Over the next quarter century, according to a Brookings Institution study, the nation will add 50 percent to the current stock of houses, offices and shops - the great majority taking place in lower-density locations, not traditional inner cities.

Once we acknowledge this reality, we can turn to the task of making the best of it. In terms of space, quality of life, safety and privacy, the suburbs have given us much more of what we call the American Dream than cities ever could. What they have failed to do, often miserably, is to live up to their promise of becoming self-contained, manageable communities that can both coexist amiably with the natural environment and offer a sense of identity.

Most students at the architecture school where I teach, like talented young people generally, would rather work in the city, designing cool lofts or arresting high-rise towers, than try to create something in the suburban jumble. But the suburbs are where the action will be in the future. The great challenge of the 21st century, not to mention the main economic opportunity, lies in transforming suburban sprawl into something more efficient, interesting and humane.

The suburbs are becoming ever more ubiquitous. Instead of clustering in large, crowded cities, Americans are building bigger and bigger houses

[Lowbrow]

They would mention Ebenezer Howard.

The war isnt over. The environmental implications of sprawl are daunting. Even China is looking into better ways to densify its populations to free up land for farming and low environmental impact.

The city of Houston would have to plant 2 million trees a year to make up for the deforestation of sprawl (as well as the loss to age). Thats alot of trees. You think our air is going to get any better with this amount of loss?

The "greenest" city in the united states is manhattan. Lowest usage of energy and water per capita in the nation. Density is key.

[bruce_oneal]

They would mention Ebenezer Howard. 

The war isnt over.  The environmental implications of sprawl are daunting. Even China is looking into better ways to densify its populations to free up land for farming and low environmental impact.

The city of Houston would have to plant 2 million trees a year to make up for the deforestation of sprawl (as well as the loss to age). Thats alot of trees. You think our air is going to get any better with this amount of loss?

The "greenest" city in the united states is manhattan. Lowest usage of energy and water per capita in the nation. Density is key.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

how did manhattan become the greenest city? what statistics are you using. just curious.