My presentation on Urban Sprawl for Sustainability Information Solutions weekly call. Urban Sprawl is a situation where large stores, groups of houses, etc. are built in an area around a city that formerly had a few people living in it.

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The world’s leading sustainability consultancy
Urban Sprawl
By: Bill Burkey
The world’s leading sustainability consultancy

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My inspiration for this topic…
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Contents
What is Urban Sprawl?
■ Decentralization
■ Suburbanization
Pros and Cons of Urban Sprawl
■ The “American Dream”
■ Air Pollution
Maps of Sprawl
■ Examples of Sprawling Cities
■ Commute times
What can we do to help with Urban Sprawl
■ Address Causes
■ Changes in Public Policy

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What is Urban Sprawl?
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Urban Sprawl is a situation where large stores, groups of
houses, etc. are built in an area around a city that formerly
had a few people living in it
■ Spreading of a city or its suburbs
■ Centered around auto-oriented, low-density development
■ Metropolitan Decentralization/Suburbanization
■ Impacts quality of life from large cities to small towns

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What is Urban Sprawl?
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■ What is Decentralization?
■ Spread of population without a
well-defined center
■ What is Suburbanization?
■ Occurs over time
■ Large percentage of a metropolitan area’s residential
and/or business activity takes place outside of its central
location
■ In 1950, 57% of the population and 70% of the
employment in the U.S. took place in central cities
■ By the mid-1990s, these percentages had respectively
declined to around 35 and 45%

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Pros of Urban Sprawl
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■Less expensive land
■ “The American Dream”
■ Lower rent apartments
■ Lifestyle preference
■Better school system
■ Higher test scores
■ Lower dropout rates
■Crime rates generally lower
■ 37% higher in urban vs. suburban
■ 74% higher than in rural areas

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Cons of Urban Sprawl
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■Automobile dependent/requirement
■ Increased traffic congestion and commutes
■ Higher air pollution
■ Increased levels of Auto crashes
■ Credited in part with obesity
■ Health issues
■Loss of Undeveloped Land
■ Affects water supply
■ Businesses, Schools, Services, etc. spread out
■ Roads/buildings destroy farmland and wildlife habitat

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Urban Sprawl in Houston from 1984 - 2012
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Urban Sprawl in Atlanta from 1985 - 2012
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Lowest and Highest Sprawling cities in the U.S.
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■ The "Sprawl Index Scores" is derived from 22 factors that measure four
different metro-development features: diffusion or concentration of housing and
population; segregation or integration of homes vis-à-vis activities of daily life;
lack or presence of strong economic and social centers; and connectedness or
disconnectedness of street networks. Lower scores represent greater sprawl.
The average score for the 83 metros included in the study was 100.

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Average Commute time in the United States
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Suburban Sprawl – Not as cheap as you think!
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Not just an issue in the US
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■ Suburbs are growing 160% faster than city centers
■ Half of urban residents live in the suburbs
■ 17 of the more than 40 new developments underway/planned in
Edmonton, net costs have been projected to exceed revenues by
nearly $4 billion over 60 years
■ The City of London, Ontario found that over a 50-year period sprawling
growth would entail capital costs $2.7 billion higher, and operating
costs about $1.7 billion higher, than for a compact growth scenario
■ Governments in Canada spend almost $29 billion on roads every year
■ More than they spend on transit, rail, air, marine, etc. combined
■ In Calgary, adopting a denser growth pattern that used 25% less land, it
could save $11 billion in capital costs alone

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Gasoline used per person (per year)
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Density versus World Population
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■This map demonstrates
how large the single
city would be if the
entire world’s
population lived in it,
based on current city
densities from around
the world

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What can we do to reduce the “cost” of Sprawl?
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■ Address the Causes of Sprawl
■ New Construction encroaches on natural spaces and farmland
■ Urban businesses and neighborhoods struggle to stay afloat
■ Better zoning/development plans that do not facilitate
Sprawl
■ Prices encourage Sprawl
■ Prices have a profound impact on the decisions of firms and
individuals, pulling them towards the fringes of our cities
■ Where to build new developments
■ Where to buy houses
■ Where to move or open a business
■ Cities, Citizens, Businesses, Governments, and the Economy will
continue to suffer the cost of Sprawl

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What can we do to reduce the “cost” of Sprawl?
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■ Changes in Public Policy
■ Shift prices to encourage development in established areas
■ Protect natural areas and agricultural land from further and future incursions
of Sprawl
■ Help address Sprawl and also boost the economy and balance government
finance
■ Sustainable and Smart Growth
■ Reinvest in neglected communities and provide more housing opportunities
■ Rehabilitate abandoned properties
■ Encourage new development or redevelopment in already built up areas
■ Create and nurture thriving, mixed-use centers of activity
■ Support growth management strategies
■ Craft transportation policies that complement smarter growth

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Smart Growth cycle for Sustainable Cities
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Smart
Growth
Enhance
Quality of Life
Promote
Economic
Development
Create Livable
Communities
Promote
Alternative
Transportation
Create a
range of
Housing
Opportunities
Preserve
Open Space,
Natural
Resources
and
Environment

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Plans for a Smart Growth America
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http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/images/boulder-poster.jpg

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Questions and Comment time!
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