In: Economics
What is the relationship between sprawl and climate change?
Urban sprawl refers to the expansion of poorly planned, low-density, self-dependent construction, which spreads over large amounts of land, places long distances between homes, shops and work, and creates a high degree of segregation between residential and commercial uses with adverse effects on people living in those areas and on displaced ecosystems and wildlife
Urban sprawl, a particular form of urban growth, is a driving
force behind many major challenges facing cities. Such problems
include emissions from greenhouse gases, air pollution, congestion
on the road and lack of affordable housing.
Urban sprawl is a dynamic phenomenon that goes beyond the mean
density of the population. The various dimensions represent how the
population density is spread across urban space and how dispersed
urban land is. Typically, urban design grows in a way that causes
higher car dependence and longer commuting distances. Such a trend
of growth means further traffic congestion, increased greenhouse
gas emissions and increased air pollution.
While some claim that urban sprawl has its benefits, such as generating local economic development, urban sprawl has many negative implications for residents and the environment, such as higher water and air pollution, increased traffic deaths and delays, loss of agricultural capacity , increased car dependence, higher taxes, increased river and lake runoff, adverse effects on human healing