Urban Sprawl
Urban Sprawl is a function of urbanization, in which people move out from city centers into more smaller "suburban" communities. People do this to get away from the hustle and bustle busyness of a large city, to have more room to raise a family, cheaper, and thus larger housing, and other factors. Urban sprawl is seen all around the world and the United States. In fact, our city/County of Sarasota is almost all suburban. The downtown area has some housing, but most people live away from the city. This leads to environmental issues that big, densely populated cities do not have, including:
- Much larger land development and uses (away from natural areas which leads to habitat loss)
- Not only for housing, but roads, shopping centers, offices, etc.
- Decline in natural resources due to development of land
- Suburban housing often have lawns, which are not diverse and use unnatural fertilizers and pesticides which get into natural areas
- Individual transportation is greatly increased. Instead of using mass transit systems, people drive their own vehicles further distances, increasing pollution and CO2 emissions. This is even increase when there is a major city center, where most of the jobs are, and people residing fairly far from their jobs.
- Flooding increase due to development of land
- Less water entering aquifer, due to the land being developed
Because of these and more issues associated with urban sprawl, modern city planning often will tend to concentrate on larger urban centers for both housing and occupations.
Massive land use and rapid sprawl are wonderfully visualized in the videos on this page from The Atlantic highlighting Paris, Sao Paulo, and Los Angeles. Notice not only how rapidly the expansion increases at certain points, but how that must have put strain on all of the issues listed above. Think about why each country would have experienced the sudden sprawl at the times they did. Both MEDCs and LEDCs are experiencing this. How do you think the issues are handled differently in each?
Here's one example of a MEDC with major sprawl issues, Mexico City. Make sure to pay attention to all the problems mentioned in the video.
Here's one example of a MEDC with major sprawl issues, Mexico City. Make sure to pay attention to all the problems mentioned in the video.
Land Conservation
Once the land has been degraded or deforested, we can put forth efforts to reforest and restore the land. We will go over this much more in the Biosphere unit at the end of the year.
But, what about areas of land with great natural beauty? Those teeming with a large diversity of life which provide invaluable resources and services? What can we do to protect them from development?
The answer many countries come up with are conservation areas and National/State Parks. Conservation areas are locations which receive special protection due to their natural, ecological, and/or cultural values. We will discuss the value of biodiversity in the Biosphere unit, but protecting our natural resources relies heavily on the level of biodiversity in an ecosystem. Thus, protecting lands, saving endangered species, etc., all play a role in ensuring human survival and the ability to thrive as a species. There are different levels of protection, based on what a country deems the most important lands, from areas with just some regulations to areas humans aren't even allowed to enter. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes these areas. You can see the classifications here.
National and State Parks in the United States, as well as around the world, have really done some great things in the protection arena. We have brought species from the brink of extinction, but again, that will be covered later. National Parks are many times beautiful areas that attract eco-tourism. The population that may enter is often limited and people may not disturb the areas. They are great places to go and see/experience the best of the natural world in pristine habitats. From Denali in Alaska to Yosemite in California, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to the Biscayne in the Florida Keys, these areas provide a sens of wonder unrivaled, and the money brought in by the tourists goes to the continued conservation. It is a win-win for the land...it gets protected, and more people come to appreciate it and spread the word.
Let's take a look at one example of saving and bring back an actual resource that is close to home: the Everglades National Park. What was once thought of just as a murky swamp, we now realize has great value. Please dredged and filled parts of the Everglades and surrounding areas in the past. That development stopped something humans did not foresee...natural water filtration. As we will explore in the Hydrosphere unit, Florida has a great underground aquifer. It's where we get most of our freshwater. By developing the Everglades, we caused a massive amount of damage to the aquifer levels, putting our population at risk for a lack of water. Now, due to protected status as well a restoration efforts, not only have species been protected there, but our aquifer is being recharged at every increasing rates. The value of this is astronomical...we could not possibly filter and generate that much water. Just one of the many examples of how conservation impacts actual resources.
Another example are rainforest ecosystems. Some rainforests have conservation status, while others are being converted to grazing land and tress cut down for timber. Rainforests are home to the largest amount of land biodiversity in the world. By conserving them, not only are we saving animal species, but plants that may hold the key to disease cures as well as the world's largest sink (consumer) of carbon dioxide.
Just to give an idea, here is a map showing the percentage of different countries' conserved lands. As you can see, many MEDCs have an abundance of protected lands, while LEDCs are lacking. This can be due to unstable governments or the need to exploit resources to generate economic growth.
It is imperative that we continue to protect lands from development and stop urban sprawl by concentrating our cities more. Natural land is more important to our survival than most people know, and it's our job to educate and make a difference.
Once the land has been degraded or deforested, we can put forth efforts to reforest and restore the land. We will go over this much more in the Biosphere unit at the end of the year.
But, what about areas of land with great natural beauty? Those teeming with a large diversity of life which provide invaluable resources and services? What can we do to protect them from development?
The answer many countries come up with are conservation areas and National/State Parks. Conservation areas are locations which receive special protection due to their natural, ecological, and/or cultural values. We will discuss the value of biodiversity in the Biosphere unit, but protecting our natural resources relies heavily on the level of biodiversity in an ecosystem. Thus, protecting lands, saving endangered species, etc., all play a role in ensuring human survival and the ability to thrive as a species. There are different levels of protection, based on what a country deems the most important lands, from areas with just some regulations to areas humans aren't even allowed to enter. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes these areas. You can see the classifications here.
National and State Parks in the United States, as well as around the world, have really done some great things in the protection arena. We have brought species from the brink of extinction, but again, that will be covered later. National Parks are many times beautiful areas that attract eco-tourism. The population that may enter is often limited and people may not disturb the areas. They are great places to go and see/experience the best of the natural world in pristine habitats. From Denali in Alaska to Yosemite in California, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to the Biscayne in the Florida Keys, these areas provide a sens of wonder unrivaled, and the money brought in by the tourists goes to the continued conservation. It is a win-win for the land...it gets protected, and more people come to appreciate it and spread the word.
Let's take a look at one example of saving and bring back an actual resource that is close to home: the Everglades National Park. What was once thought of just as a murky swamp, we now realize has great value. Please dredged and filled parts of the Everglades and surrounding areas in the past. That development stopped something humans did not foresee...natural water filtration. As we will explore in the Hydrosphere unit, Florida has a great underground aquifer. It's where we get most of our freshwater. By developing the Everglades, we caused a massive amount of damage to the aquifer levels, putting our population at risk for a lack of water. Now, due to protected status as well a restoration efforts, not only have species been protected there, but our aquifer is being recharged at every increasing rates. The value of this is astronomical...we could not possibly filter and generate that much water. Just one of the many examples of how conservation impacts actual resources.
Another example are rainforest ecosystems. Some rainforests have conservation status, while others are being converted to grazing land and tress cut down for timber. Rainforests are home to the largest amount of land biodiversity in the world. By conserving them, not only are we saving animal species, but plants that may hold the key to disease cures as well as the world's largest sink (consumer) of carbon dioxide.
Just to give an idea, here is a map showing the percentage of different countries' conserved lands. As you can see, many MEDCs have an abundance of protected lands, while LEDCs are lacking. This can be due to unstable governments or the need to exploit resources to generate economic growth.
It is imperative that we continue to protect lands from development and stop urban sprawl by concentrating our cities more. Natural land is more important to our survival than most people know, and it's our job to educate and make a difference.
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