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Usually when I read articles with these two phrases in them, they are never used interchangeably. What is the difference between urban sprawl and suburban sprawl then?
Is it really bad for the environment?
What are the actual boundaries for both suburban and urban sprawl? When does a city stop and sprawl begin?
What is the difference between urban sprawl and suburban sprawl then? Not much.
Is it really bad for the environment? Yes.
What are the actual boundaries for both suburban and urban sprawl?
That boundary is vertical: it's where the asphalt meets the dirt.
There's really no differences--suburbs are a form of urban development, and sprawl is outward growth. A certain amount of outward growth is probably unavoidable in the long term, and upward growth is generally driven by limitations on outward growth.
Usually when I read articles with these two phrases in them, they are never used interchangeably. a) What is the difference between urban sprawl and suburban sprawl then?
b) Is it really bad for the environment?
c) What are the actual boundaries for both suburban and urban sprawl? d) When does a city stop and sprawl begin?
a) They are the same thing. Suburban development is urban development.
b) Since they are the same thing there is no boundary.
c) All development has an impact on the environment. It all depends on how much environmental impact you are willing to accept for development and how you choose to mitigate it.
d) If we assume 'city' as the central area of a city, then just about anything outside of the central area of the city is sprawl. Another definition that could be used for a 'city' is where the physical space of the urbanized area is dominated by vertical, multi-story buildings, a high population density, is used as an employment center, and various modes of transportation are present. A suburb could be defined as where the physical space of the urbanized area is dominated by horizontal, single-story (or low-rise) buildings, a low population density, is used as bedroom community, and the dominant mode of transportation is the car or the options for multi-modal transit are limited. Keep in mind that some cities can be completely suburban in character, some can be completely urban in character, and some can have a mix of the two characteristics.
a) They are the same thing. Suburban development is urban development.
b) Since they are the same thing there is no boundary.
c) All development has an impact on the environment. It all depends on how much environmental impact you are willing to accept for development and how you choose to mitigate it.
d) If we assume 'city' as the central area of a city, then just about anything outside of the central area of the city is sprawl. Another definition that could be used for a 'city' is where the physical space of the urbanized area is dominated by vertical, multi-story buildings, a high population density, is used as an employment center, and various modes of transportation are present. A suburb could be defined as where the physical space of the urbanized area is dominated by horizontal, single-story (or low-rise) buildings, a low population density, is used as bedroom community, and the dominant mode of transportation is the car or the options for multi-modal transit are limited. Keep in mind that some cities can be completely suburban in character, some can be completely urban in character, and some can have a mix of the two characteristics.
Agreed. And I'd say there's plenty of urban sprawl within the limits of some cities-- Brooklyn, New York, for example, is part of New York City, which people don't usually associate with sprawl. The older parts of Brooklyn, which now comprise the "coolest place on the planet" in some people's estimation, were developed in the 19th century and seem the opposite of sprawl (although they too can be subjected to a sprawl analysis.) But the early 20th century stuff south of Prospect Park seems like one giant sprawl--just a lot of real estate without centers or focus or character--very dense by U.S. standards but diffuse and centerless. The borough of Queens has some historic town centers at Flushing and Jamaica but otherwise seems to sprawl as much as the suburban counties on Long Island, just more densely.
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