What type of environment do you want to live in? All too often cities tend to grow haphazrdly, creating more traffic and pollution as people have to drive farther to get what they need. And eventually cities get large and then crime and all sorts of problems develop. Hopefully this blog post will encourage people to think through how their communities may develop in years to come and make more informed choices.
“Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl is a multifaceted concept centered on the expansion of auto-oriented, low-density development. Topics range from the outward spreading of a city and its suburbs, to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, examination of impact of high segregation between residential and commercial uses, and analysis of various design features to determine which may encourage car dependency. The term “sprawl” is most often associated with land use in the English-speaking world; in Continental Europe the term “peri-urbanisation” is often used to denote similar dynamics and phenomena.
Discussions and debates about sprawl are often made unclear by the uncertainty of the meaning associated with the phrase. For example, some commentators measure sprawl only with the average number of residential units per acre in a given area. But others associate it with decentralization (spread of population without a well-defined centre), discontinuity (leapfrog development, segregation of uses, and so forth. The term urban sprawl generally has negative connotations due to the health, environmental and cultural issues associated with the phrase.”
Read more at the source: Wiki
Carroll,
What bad side? My middle name is Mobius.
Just don’t ask me to strip.
Jay
Now THAT was good. I’m going to keep your post and if anyone disagrees with me, I’m going to let them read your words. Whew! I sure wouldn’t want to get on your bad side. Seriously, well put!
A very small town might provide the comic book store or perhaps you could open one in a small town. The key is “small” town. There would be kids so you would have customers. That’s if they didn’t have computers and video games. You know what I mean.
I wonder about comic book sales in this day and age. I think most kids are way more into computers and computer games.
Quality of life is more important than money for me.
People choose city’s for more chances at employment. Its an imperfect world. I would rather be poor in the country side. (money wise)
I still think incentives for people to move closer to where they work would help with traffic congestion.
It’s time to take back our world. Bit by bit giant corporations and corrupt governments have chiseled away at our rights, our housing choices, poisoned our food and water supply, hijacked the economy, money… everything. Most everyone I talk to understands and agrees with this.
I was watching an urban gardening video today that showed a brochure from the 1930s(?). (Not sure of the date.) The brochure was an old advertisement for land in LA. The lots for sale were small homesteads similar to what we’re making! How things have changed. Look at the photo above to see what LA looks like now.
Much as I’d like to have enough land to support my family, I’d also like to be within biking distance of a town large enough to have a comic book store.
Carroll and Owen:
How dare you disagree with corporate dogma and be ungrateful! You must live where the corporations tell you to live darn it!
Take their slave wages job and worship the corporation you work for because without them you’d never be able to make payments on a 30 year mortgage in the suburbs. What do you get for that mortgage? Mold, toxic outgasses, rot, and a house made with toothpicks ready to go up in a burning inferno at any moment. That’s the American Dream for cripes sake. You’re living it. Be grateful, and don’t forget to go out and mow your lawn and spray it with toxic chemicals before the city fines you for growing weeds, even if they might be edible weeds. It’s important that you keep up your appearances to look just like your neighbors who are also slaves to corporations.
Be thankful and praise the almighty corporation, and all the subsidiary and ancillary businesses that suckle on the corporate teat. Bow down and worship the mighty billionaires that tolerate your presence on the payrolls as they despise your existence. Vote in elections as their supplicants for any ballot measure or politician that will do the corporate bidding to trample every little guy that might want to live in freedom.
When you approach retirement age, thank the corporation for declaring bankruptcy and paying you 5 cents on the dollar for your retirement savings. After all, you’re retired now and no longer useful to the corporation and can live like a king off the government and the local charity soup kitchen.
I put a shortcut on my desktop of the Wiki site so as too never forget how this madness is created and why it’s to be avoided. Give me my mountains any day.
I know where I’d rather live. Give me trees, fresh air and room to walk around.