Lesson #4 - Sprawl
Label all notes and activities in
notebook or separate piece of paper
DEFINE SPRAWL – Use internet to
find definition
Lesson #4 - Sprawl
• LEQ - How and why have American cities and suburbs
changed with time?
• Background - In the United States and around the world,
places change constantly. It is true that changing physical
conditions (sea level rise), depleted resources (played-out
mine) or natural disasters (tornado or volcanic eruption)
sometimes play a part, change more often results from
immigration and an infusion of new cultural ideas,
technological change, or economic factors. The final lesson of
this unit looks at the effect the automobile has had on the
American landscape.
Opener – Complete in Notebook
• In the United States, people who live in cities are less
likely to own a car than people who live outside the
city center. Why do you think this is so?
Activity #1
• Go to Sprawling and Planned Communities
PPT found in folder or on website
– Take Notes
– Copy and Answer all questions in Notebook
– Answer all Think About It! Question on separate
piece of paper
Sprawl Notes
• In class notes, Answer –
– How does the place of the center city differ from
the suburban areas connected to it?
– Are the differences only in concentration (more
people, more buildings, more smog, more crime in
the center city than in the suburbs) or are there
some features that are distinct to each place?
• In vocabulary section – create working
definition for “urban” and “suburban”
Activity #2
• Pick the name of a major US city (NYC,
Philadelphia, Los Angeles, etc.)
• In notebook –
– Use the internet, and create a list of the suburbs
that are clustered outside the city.
– What are the main road connections that link the
suburb to the core city and to other suburbs?
– Why do you think these suburbs were formed?
Activity #3
• Class work – Read “How Urban Sprawl Works”
– Reading in file or on website
• Read pages 1-3 ONLY
– Get copy of worksheet from teacher
Activity #4
• “Sprawlanta” Video Link
– Answer questions when finished on separate
piece of paper • What were the push factors (negative factors they
wished to leave behind)?
• What were the pull factors (benefits Americans hoped
to gain as they moved farther from the city center)?
Activity #5
• Copy and Answer in notebook –
– How did growing populations and the automobile,
result in suburban sprawl?
• Tracking Land use Changes Through Time PPT
– Found in folder or on website
– Answer question on separate piece of paper
Activity #6
• Tackling Sprawl and Transportation Issues PPT
– Found in folder or on website
– Take notes in notebook
– Answer Think About It! On separate piece of
paper
– In Notebook –
• Identify disadvantages to individuals of living in the
suburbs.
• What disadvantages or issues rooted in suburban living
have affected society as a whole?
Activity #6 Checking for Understanding
• Answer these questions based on what you
have learned on separate piece of paper:
– What are the main problems or issues planners
are trying to solve as they apply their ideas to
traditional sprawl development?
– Will the new suburb make travel to the core city
unnecessary?
– Will the residents of the suburbs drive fewer total
miles under the new development schemes?
Activity #7
• Compare and evaluate two communities
based on their planned street patterns
• Transportation in Europe PPT
– Found in folder or on website
– Take notes in notebook
– Answer in notebook
• How would increased use of mass transit affect life in
American suburbs and urban centers?
Activity #7 – Checking for
Understanding
• Answer on separate piece of paper
– In the 1890’s bicycles were very popular in the US,
but today Europeans appear to be more open to
bicycle transportation than Americans. Based on
what you have learned, what geographic factors
may explain this change in transportation choices?
Homework
• Study for Unit 3 test