13.9 Suburban Sprawl
Suburbs sprawl outside American cities.
Attractions of suburbs
- A detached single-family dwelling rather than a row house or apartment.
- A yard surrounding the house for children to play.
- Space to park several cars at no cost.
- A greater opportunity for home ownership.
- Protection from inner-city crime and congestion.
- Proximity to good schools.
Urban sprawl has some undesirable traits:
- Roads and utilities must be extended to connect isolated new developments to nearby built-up areas.
- Mororists must drive longer distances and consume more fuel.
- Agricultural land is lost to new developments, and other sites lie fallow while speculators await the most profitable time to build homes on them.
- Local governments typically spend more on services for these new developments than they collect in additional taxes.