Page 358 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

In recent years, many cities in the southern and western 6
United States have undergone growth spurts as people
(particularly retirees) have moved south and west in search of Revitalization
of city center
warmer weather or more space. Between 1990 and 2012, the 5
population of the Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan Exodus to
areas each grew by 66%, that of the Atlanta area grew by 84%; suburbs
that of the Phoenix region grew by 93%; and that of the Las 4
Vegas metropolitan area grew by a whopping 135%. Forest Park
dedicated
WEIGHING THE ISSUES Population of Portland (100,000s) 3 Bennett Urban growth
boundary
adopted
WHAT MADE YOUR CITY? Consider the town or city in which Plan
you live, or the major urban center located nearest you. Why 2
do you think it developed where it did? What physical, social,
or environmental factors may have aided its growth? Do you Olmsted
parks
think it will prosper in the future? Why or why not? 1 report Growth driven by
shipping trade

People have moved to suburbs 0 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2010

American cities grew rapidly in the 19th and early 20th cen- Year
turies as a result of immigration from abroad and increased FIGURE 13.3 Portland grew, stabilized, and then grew again.
trade as the nation expanded westward. The bustling economic Jobs in the shipping trade helped to boost Portland’s economy and
activity of downtown districts held people in cities despite population in the 1890s–1920s. City residents began leaving for
growing crowding, poverty, and crime. However, by the mid- the suburbs in the 1950s–1970s, but policies to enhance the city
20th century, many affluent city dwellers were choosing to center revitalized Portland’s growth.
move outward to the cleaner, less crowded, and more parklike
suburban communities beginning to surround the cities. These
people were pursuing more space, better economic opportuni- In most ways, suburbs have delivered the qualities people
ties, cheaper real estate, less crime, and better schools for their sought in them. The wide spacing of homes, with each one on
children. its own plot of land, gives families room and privacy. How-
As affluent people moved outward into the expanding ever, by allotting more space to each person, suburban growth
suburbs, jobs followed. This hastened the economic decline of has spread human impact across the landscape. Natural areas
downtown districts, and American cities stagnated. Chicago’s have disappeared as housing developments are constructed.
population declined to 80% of its peak because so many resi- Our extensive road networks ease travel, but suburbanites find
dents moved to its suburbs. Philadelphia’s population fell to themselves needing to climb into a car to get anywhere. People
76% of its peak, Washington, D.C.’s to 71%, and Detroit’s to commute longer distances to work and spend more time stuck
just 55%. in traffic. The expanding rings of suburbs surrounding cities
Portland followed this trajectory, but also illustrates how have grown larger than the cities themselves, and towns are
some cities have bounced back. Portland’s population growth merging into one another. These aspects of suburban growth
stalled in the 1950s to 1970s as crowding and deteriorating inspired a new term: sprawl.
economic conditions drove city dwellers to the suburbs. How-
ever, subsequent policies to revitalize the city center helped CHAPTER 13 • THE URB AN ENVIR ONMENT : CREATING SUSTAIN ABLE CITIES
restart Portland’s growth (FIGURE 13.3).
The exodus to the suburbs in 20th-century America was Sprawl
enabled by the rise of the automobile, an expanding road net-
work, and inexpensive and abundant oil. Millions of people The term sprawl has become laden with meanings and sug-
could now commute by car to downtown workplaces from new gests different things to different people, but we can begin our
homes in suburban “bedroom communities.” By facilitating discussion by giving sprawl a simple, nonjudgmental defini-
long-distance transport, fossil fuels and highway networks also tion: the spread of low-density urban or suburban develop-
made it easier for businesses to import and export resources, ment outward from an urban center.
goods, and waste. The U.S. government’s development of the
interstate highway system was pivotal in promoting these trends. Urban areas spread outward
Today, technology continues to reinforce the spread of
urban and suburban areas. In our age of the Internet, handheld The spatial growth of urban and suburban areas is clear from
devices, jet travel, and video-conferencing, being located in a maps and satellite images of rapidly spreading cities such as
city’s downtown on a river or seacoast is no longer so vital to Las Vegas (FIGURE 13.4). Another example is Chicago, whose
success. As globalization continues to connect distant socie- metropolitan area now spreads over a region 40 times the size
ties, businesses and individuals can more easily communicate of the city. All in all, houses and roads supplant over 2700 ha
from far-flung locations. (6700 acres) of U.S. land every day. 357

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