Urban+Sprawl

Urban Sprawl is the spreading of a city area and its suburbs over rural land that is in near proximity to the urban hub. When those areas become overpopulated, the trend continues to spread over more farm or nature. These sprawling neighbourhoods tend to consist of single family homes. Spreading suburbia communities are mostly dependent on some form of fossil fuel for transportation ([|automobile dependency]) since biking and walking are not viable options, and public transit is often unavailable or insufficient. Urban sprawl and fossil fuels are interwoven in more ways than the exploitation of oil in suburbia. The very discovery of "black gold" as a source of energy began the Industrial revolution, which through machine based production gave rise to the modern city. An increase in wealth and development raised the standard of living for most people; infant mortality went down and life expectancy went up as people became less reliant on traditional modes of production. The Industrial Revolution can be pinpointed as the start of the global population boom. Without fossil fuels, city centres would have remained only moderately populated, the masses remaining in the countryside focussed more on farming and the self supporting family unit. Instead, the lower to middle classes congregated to the city to obtain positions in [|factories]. It wasn’t long before the cities became overpopulated slums—and urban sprawl was born.  Residents of Urban sprawl communities emit more pollution per person then those that live in urban areas. Cars are a major source of air pollution. About 70% of [|greenhouse gas emissions] from transportation are from cars and trucks and two thirds are generated within urban areas. Sprawl’s dominant reliance on cars strains Canada’s energy supply, and adds to pressures to find new supplies. New tar sands oil extraction in Alberta produces 125 kg of green house gas emissions for each barrel of oil produced, far more polluting than traditional energy sources. The more urban areas extend outward the more green house gas emissions grow, causing more health problems for ourselves and our planet.

Over 16,000 Canadians die prematurely from air pollution each year. Smog and particulate matter also cause respiratory diseases and impair lung function. Sprawl is also linked to increases in obesity in Canada, due to a lack of space or opportunity for physical activity and the over dependence on vehicles. Obesity can lead to heart disease, hypertension, stroke, some cancers and premature death.

The movement of people, houses, strip malls and thousands of cars to fertile agricultural land and forests causes mass [|biodiversity] loss, which holds consequences both known and unknown. Sprawl threatens rare and endangered species and contributes to exotic species invasion. Creating small isolated forest patches can disrupt pollination, seed dispersal, wildlife migration and breeding. The web that is life is so intricately connected that we will probably never know the extent of damage the human race has wrought by our insatiable hunger for energy and development until it is too late.