Study Guide: Understanding Urban Living, Recreation, and Open Spaces
Part 1: Urban Living
Terms:
 Sprawl
 Infill Development
 Mixed Use
 Cost-Effective Design
 Mass Transit
 Green Spaces/Open Spaces
 Smart Growth
 Stakeholder Collaboration
 Walkable neighborhoods
 Compact Building Design
 LEED Certified (Leadership in Energy
 Mixed Income Housing
and Environmental Design)
Urban Problems
 Air Pollution
 Urban Storm Water Runoff (Litter, oil, animal wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.)
 Urban heat Island
 Suburban Sprawl
 Landfills
 Ground Water Pollution
Cities provide many social needs (jobs, social services, education, family planning, medical centers, arts
programs) but also create some environmental problems. These web sites allow you to explore some
major problems associated with cities and to explore some solutions.
Be sure that you DESCRIBE and not just list your answers.
Urban Sprawl and Smart Growth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzLWk0mORiQ (8 min)
1. Describe what is meant by suburban sprawl
2. Describe one benefit of suburban sprawl
3. Describe three problems caused by suburban sprawl
4. Describe one ecological problem caused by sprawl
5. Describe three ways to mitigate urban sprawl (methods of Smart Growth)
6. Describe one Smart Growth development you have seen in South Pasadena
LEED Certified Buildings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC71PdfT-vA (1:45)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GebNDAxUGU (5 min)
7. Describe one way to make a building LEED certified.
8. List 3 advantages of paying the extra costs for a LEED certified building
9. Describe one design you have noticed at SPHS that make it more LEED certified.
Air Pollution in US Cities
http://www.citymayors.com/environment/polluted_uscities.html
10. Describe two problems caused by air pollution in cities.
11. Describe two ways to mitigate those problems.
Urban Heat Islands (explore the links and learn causes and solutions)
http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/index.htm
12. DESCRIBE 3 problems that come from the heat island effect
13. DESCRIBE 3 ways to mitigate the heat island effect
Urban Stormwater (pavement and parking lots are problems?)
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/stormwater/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4654362.stm
14. Describe 3 problems created by storm water runoff
15. Describe 3 ways to mitigate storm water runoff problems.
Part 2: Recreational Impacts
Terms:
 Leave No Trace
Types of Recreation
 Off Road Vehicles
 Shooting Ranges
 Hunting
 Fishing
 Hiking
 Boating (motorized, sailing,
canoeing, kayaking)






Car Access (Roads, Parking,
Restrooms, Concessions, Lodging,
Fuel)
Reservoirs
Skiing
Climbing
Cycling
Caving/ Spelunking
Use the following links to answer questions below.
http://www.anvilgear.com/jason/backpacking/theenvironmentalImpactofoutdoorrecreation.ht
m#Visual%20Impact
Discussion of Mitigations for all types of recreational impact on the environment
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/components/DD6946e.html
16. Describe 3 ecological harms caused by recreation
17. Describe 3 ways to mitigate the problems caused by recreation.
18
19
20
21
22
23
Part 3. Managing Open Spaces
Terms:
 Wilderness Act
 Restoration
 Antiquities Act
 Parks
 US Forest Service
 Nature Preserves
 Bureau of Land Management
 Extinction
 National Park Service
 Extirpation
 Preservation
 Monumentalism
Use the following link and others you can find to answer the following questions.
http://nemo.udel.edu/manual/Chap4WebRv.pdf
18. Describe 3 Benefits provided by open spaces
19. Describe 3 problems created by open space parks and nature preserves.
20. Describe 3 ways to mitigate those problems.
21. -23. Match the following
Manages public lands for public use like preservation, hunting,
Wilderness Act
A
recreation, mining, forestry and livestock grazing.
Antiquities Act
B Manages public forests
Manages and preserves public lands set aside for preservation
US Forest Service
C but allows certain developments and roads to improve public
access.
Bureau of Land Management D The law used to establish National Parks
The effort to preserve land because it is unique and
National Park Service
E
spectacular.
Monumentalism
F Protects areas from development, including roads.