Geography of Nowhere
Development in America
Early Neighborhoods
The earliest settlements
were condensed around
a village center for
protection and ease of
transportation. People
walked most places and
keeping houses close
together offered security.
Cities
As populations expanded, cities were formed out of
villages. Early cities were modeled after European models.
In the United States, however, pre-planning occurred and
many cities were laid out in grids.
There was a distinct landscape in America in the first three
centuries of its existence. People either lived in the cities,
or in the agricultural country.
Population Boom
After World War II, however, the population was
booming and people began pushing the boundaries
of the cities. Where to put all these people?
Levittown
Sam Levitt took
assembly-line building
practices perfected
during World War II,
and applied them to
house construction. He
planned and built
sprawling, suburbian
communities in the
late 1940s.
Birth of Car Culture
Sam Levitt began a
revolution in
housing…and lifestyle.
This was the birth of the
suburban dream, the
American Dream. And
none of it could have
happened without the
wide-spread availablility
of the car.
As more and more
families relied on cars
for their transportation
needs, services could
be more widespread.
In 1954, the first strip
mall opened in
Memphsis. A car
culture had begun!
The Sprawling of America
Sprawl: v. to spread out in a straggling or
disordered fashion. n. haphazard growth or
extension outward
Sprawl: taking up more space than necessary
Urban Flight
This rise in car use
was accompanied by a
flight from cities.
More and more middle
and upper income
people began fleeing
from city centers in
staggering numbers.
Inner cities were left
without a tax base.
Suburbia was born. In the past fifty years, however, we
have moved beyond the suburbs to exurbia. Exurbia is the
places just beyond the suburbs. One third of all Americans
live in Exurbia.
Isn’t Exurbia Paradise?
Exurbia puts an even
greater burden on an
already over-burdened
service structure. Water,
electricity and phone lines
have to travel greater
distances. Emergency
services are over-taxed.
Many who live in exurbia
still commute to the cities,
and expect services there.
What’s so bad about sprawl?
There are two reasons
for sprawl.
1. Population growth
2. Per capita sprawl
People have to live
somewhere. What’s
the problem?
Consequences of Sprawl:
- Economic
- Ecological
- Social
Costs of living beyond
public transportation
on the family can run
into the thousands.
The average cost of
car ownership is
$6000 per year per
car. Average family
spends 1/6 of income
on transportation-more than on food,
clothing and health
care.
There has also been a
strain on town budgets
to provide services,
such as emergency
services, schools,
roads, etc. $1.22 is
paid in services for
every $1.00 collected
in residential property
taxes.
As communities struggle
to keep up with
service costs, schools
become overcrowded,
wait times for
emergency services
increase and roads
become congested.
Hidden Costs
In addition to the obvious, there are many hidden
costs, subsidized by all of us. Who pays for road
construction? What about the ecological costs of
pollution and global warming?
Ecological Impacts
Air Pollution and Global
warming are bad enough.
But they are not complete
consequences.
“The rapid consumption of
land the nation’s large
metropolitan areas could
threaten the survival of
nearly one out of every
three imperiled species.”
(Endangered by Sprawl)
Social Consequences
There are many negative
impacts on the very
structure of our
society caused directly
by the way we house
our population.
We have increased racial
segregation and
income stratification
building communities
that cater to only one
type of inhabitant.
There is strengthened gender segregation as we
install mothers (soccer moms!) as the person
responsible for the maintenance of suburban
dream house and lifestyle.
Kids in the suburbs are
increasingly lacking in
autonomy as they need to
be driven everywhere!
This leads to idleness,
which feeds drug and
alcohol use. As teens learn
to drive, excessive driving
kills inexperienced teen
drivers at alarming rates.
Health Impacts
In the suburbs, people walk less, weigh more and are
more likely to be hit by a car!
With obesity comes a variety of other health issues,
including diabetes and high blood pressure.
People are social animals. The new reliance on the
cul-de-sac, private space, gated communities,
separated homes, divided families and individual
cars has lead to an increase in isolation. This, in
turn, has led to an increase in anxiety.
“For the past fifty years, we Americans have
been building a national landscape that is
largely devoid of places worth caring about.”
(Andres Duany)
Is there any hope for the
geography of nowhere?
Some municipalities have woken up to the necessity of
planning. The need for a town center, 5-minute walks to
services of all kinds, mixed-use zoning, better public
transportation systems and sidewalks have been
emphasized. Communities across the country are joining
the Smart Growth Movement.
Where will you live?