The Urban Sprawl Literature & Language Research Paper

An In-depth Analysis of the Urban Sprawl 
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Negative effects of urban sprawl
Introduction
The growth of urban development is inevitable as a consequence of more people seeking the American dream of homeownership and privacy. However, this dream has resulted in wildland-urban interface as the growth has constantly gone beyond city limits. As a result, urban sprawl has been defined as low density development beyond the edge of service and employment, which separates where people live from where they shop, work, recreate and educate thus requiring cars to move between zones. Therefore, urban sprawl development occurs without the consideration of commercial needs, infrastructure, quality of life, and efficient transportation options. Consequently, urban sprawl development has degraded rather than improve the general life of human beings. Nevertheless, despite the benefits and attraction of people having big houses and private lawns, it is important to recognize the environmental, health, and social-economical effects that result from sprawl development.
Sprawl effect on the environment
One of the urban sprawl’s most dangerous consequences is on the quality of air. However, Bereitschaft (2013) links this problem to the motor-vehicle intensive behavior that results from urban sprawl. Furthermore, this culture is promoted by long-distance commuting, as a result; residents in these areas got into their cars for just everything. A combination of nitrogen oxides and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that comes from these motor vehicles form smog, which is also known as ground-level ozone. For instance, Phoenix, Houston, and Denver which attribute to the rapid sprawl development are very synonymous with smog. However, according to the Clean Air Report of 2016, none of these areas complies with the clean air act standards due to rapid sprawl development.
Furthermore, increased temperatures in urban areas also have indirect effects on air pollution. However, as the temperature rises, so does the demand for energy to power fans, air coolers, water coolers, and air conditioners; requiring power plants to increase their output. The majority of power plants burn fossil fuels, so increased demand of power in summer results in higher emissions of the pollutants they generate, including carbon dioxide, particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and air toxins. Interestingly, it is lavish homes in sprawl areas that have a high demand for this equipment that requires huge energy.
Therefore, as a result of increased air pollution, healthy adults in these areas are subject to respiratory problems which can impair their lungs. Respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma due to poor air quality not only subject the health care system to increased medical costs but also increases the risk of life-threatening conditions like cancer. This sentiment is supported by the Union of Concerned Scientist which indicate that THE chemical matter from vehicle emissions is single-handedly responsible for up to 30,000 premature deaths in the United States each year. However, this problem seems to be escalating since the average time spent behind the wheel keeps increasing in urban areas due to sprawl. As a result, there is continued degradation of air quality in urban areas.
Sprawl also has serious impacts on water quality and quantity regarding quantity, larger miles of roads, houses, and parking lots have paved over the countryside results into rainwater and snowmelt being unable to soak into the ground and replenish the groundwater aquifers. Therefore, sprawl development leads to an increasing imperviousness, which in turn induces total runoff volume. As a result, rather than harvesting this water to increase water quantity, sprawl development exposes areas located in flood-prone areas to increased flood hazard, including erosion and inundation.
More so, in the urban areas, water runs off into storm sewers and ultimately into rivers and lakes. Extra water during heavy rain can dramatically increase the rate of flow through wetlands and rivers, stripping vegetation and destroying habitats along river banks. It can also cause damaging floods downstream and lead to an increase in water pollution from runoff contaminated with lawn and garden chemicals, motor oil and road salt. Therefore, widely dispersed development requires more pavements, which in turn causes runoff that pollutes waterways. These pollutants can be absorbed by humans when they eat contaminated fish from affected water-bodies and when they drink from contaminated surface water or groundwater sources.
Also, spreading development over a large area leads to water distribution problems and increased water consumption. However, the type of landscape that some urban cities are sprawling to is the main cause of high water costs. For instance, although they have low density, they increase the per-capita length of water distribution lines. As a result, urban sprawl increases power energy required to pump water into these areas. Regarding consumption, urban sprawl has resulted in 30% of water used in the United States daily subjected to outdoor use.
According to Sun et al. (2012), half of the 30% water used daily is used to maintain swimming pools, lawn watering, and sidewalk cleaning. As a result, the EPA reports that 7 billion gallons per day, which is one-third of all domestic water is used in landscaping irrigation in sprawl areas. Consequently, in the United States, suburban communities use more water as compared to high-density areas. However, this scenario by sprawl development is dangerous as the local water supply systems may get depleted because of how they strain to meet the high water demand from such areas.
Furthermore, huge acres of farmland and grazing fields are lost each year due to the growth of existing cities and urbanization. Consequently, Mazzocchi (2013) claimed that the United States had lost 6 million acres of farmland since 1997, which is equal to the size of Maryland State. In the same period, 19, 000 agricultures acres of land was lost in Fayette County in Georgia due to sprawl. In Europe, between 2000 and 2006, buildings, roads, and artificial surfaces contributed to half of the spread that spread onto agricultural land (Larondelle, 2013). On the other hand, even open spaces for livestock grazing have been greatly affected. According to McDonald (2010) from 1990 to 2000, 1.4 million hectares of open space were lost to urban sprawl in the United States. Therefore, sprawl development is used to foster sprawled housing developments at the expense of farming.
Consequently, due to sprawl development, the United States capability of crop, fiber and timber production has greatly reduced as compared to earlier years. More so, livestock rearing is always viewed as a nuisance when carried out near urban areas due to odor and noise pollution. Also, livestock and crop farming cause more concern near commercial or residential areas than in rural areas. Henceforth, many farmers have been forced out of business due to urban sprawl development. However, in more severe circumstances that incorporate property taxes, some farmers are forced to sell their farms.
Moreover, urban sprawl threatens rural settlements in many parts of the United States. For instance, in Fayette County, ancient rural settlements such as Coletown, Jimtown, and Athens are threatened by the encroaching urban sprawl development. However, this encroachment is not only taking place in Fayette County but also in all the major towns and areas in the United States. Therefore, with such rapid urban sprawl development taking place in the United States, many rural settlements will experience an influx of noise, traffic and industrial activities. As a result, their sense of place, ownership and historic integrity will be greatly compromised.
Additionally, urban sprawl development severely affects the survival of wildlife by clearing, tearing or even erecting housing structures over their habitat. The reach of urban sprawl into rural natural areas such as woodlands and wetlands ranks as one of the primary forms of wildlife habitat loss. For instance, the San Francisco Bay Arena, which is among the six spots of biological diversity in the United States, has the California tiger salamander listed as an endangered species. This is because over 400,000 acres of land of San Francisco Bay Arena have gradually encroached through sprawl development. In Europe, from 2000 to 2009, many cities have increased in size; as a result, many wildlife habitats have been reduced. More so, railways, buildings and car parks have split up these habitats, thus divided them into smaller groups (Larondelle, 2013).
Therefore, the fragmentation of a large forest into smaller patches disrupts ecological processes and reduces the availability of habitat for some species. However, this is because of the buildings and luxurious homesteads are built in such areas. As a result, the overall natural habitats are smaller, more fragmented and degraded. Therefore, wildlife species are finding it difficult to access nesting areas, feeding locations and breeding grounds. Therefore, human beings high consumption lifestyle through sprawl is putting more pressure on land, which is econom...