The History of Urban Sprawl and The Effects On The Environment Color

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The History of Urban Sprawl and

the Effects on the Environment
Danielle Gunnoe
The phenomenon of urban sprawl began
over a hundred years ago and continues
to take over land in the United States.
Urban sprawl adversely affects the
environment in many ways.
IN
the United States progress is
often measured by growth and

development, but as the quality of the
environment
diminishes
with
the
destruction of natural land, the
question of progress must be readdressed.
The
conquering
and
development of natural land has, in
the past, been identified as a mark of
human civilization. People tend to
equate development with success of a
society. This is apparent in the
settling of America in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries and the
pursuit of the American dream of
Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny, first
proposed by John L. OSullivan in
1839, was the idea that America was
divinely destined to spread across the
continent, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. Manifest Destiny stirred a rush
to settle the frontier and spread
human development throughout the
country. In order to stimulate this
westward movement, the government
offered
incentives
such
as
the
Homestead Act of 1862 and the
Morrill Land-Grant Act of the same
year. (1) These acts distributed rural

land to prospective builders and
created settlements across the United
States, thus opening the untamed
frontier.
Despite
government
encouragement, the majority of United
States population remained living in
urban centers until the 1950s when
the suburban movement began. The
suburban movement fueled more
widespread
development
by
introducing the standard of driveways
and backyards for every home. Growth
and expansion were incessant forces
throughout the twentieth century and
continue to plague the United States.
The effects of mass development are
extreme and are encouraging the
United States to re-examine the
definition of progress.
The widespread development and
demolishment of natural land is often
deemed urban sprawl. Just like it
sounds, urban sprawl describes cities
that have grown to gargantuan
proportions, and stretch over vast
areas of land. Some of the most
visible cases of urban sprawl in the
United States are the greater Los
Angeles
area,
the
stretch
of
metropolis between Boston-Washington
D.C. and the Dallas area. (2) These
giant
cities
have
overtaken
neighboring towns to create seemingly
endless urban regions. Urban sprawl is
apparent in most major cities in the
United States. The plague of massdevelopment poses many threats to
the environment.
Urban sprawl is encroaching on

Americas natural and agricultural
land, destroying the landscape and
consuming the resources of the given
area. In effect farmland, forests,
rangeland, wetlands, and desert are
lost. Suburban and exurban growth
also threaten wildlife and native plants
because of the upset to their natural
habitats. This is visible throughout the
United States. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife
Service
have
identified
Southern California as one of the
most depleted habitat types in the
United States. The state has become
inhospitable to many native plants
and animals of the area, including
varieties of Sage plants, which at one
time
grew
rampantly
throughout
California. (3) The changed land of
California is in large part due to the
phenomenon
of
urban
sprawl.
Agricultural land in the United States
has decreased significantly as well. In
50 years, 1950-2000, The United
States lost 22% of farmland to
development. (4) The loss of natural
land is a pressing issue in todays
world, yet urban sprawl is relentless.
Notes:
1 The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862,

also known as, The College Act, was
proposed by a Vermont Congressman,
Justin Morrill, and passed by President
Abraham Lincoln. The act granted
30,000 acres of public land for each
congressman in each state in order to
build colleges. The act favored
populous states and it is often seen
as a counter to the Homestead Act
of the same year. (John Y. Simon,
The Politics of the Morrill Act,
Agricultural History, Vol. 37, No. 2
(Apr.,
1963),
pp.
103-111,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3740782)
2 The urban area between Boston,
Massachusetts and Washington D.C. is
often known by the name BosWash
in reference to the two cities
seamless connection due to urban
spraw.
3 Jutka Terris, Unwelcome (human)
Neighbors: The Impact of Sprawl on
Wildlife, National Resources Defense
Council
(1999),
http://www.nrdc.org/cities/smartgrowth
/pwild.asp
4 Warren E. Johnston and Alex F.
McCalla,
Whither
California
Agriculture: Up, Down or Out?
5 Some Thoughts about the Future,
Giannini Foundation Special Report
04-1,
(2004):
Sect
III,
http://giannini.ucop.edu/calag.htm

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Imprime este texto.

Realizars las siguientes tres actividades con base en su contenido

The History of Urban Sprawl and

the United States progress is

often measured by growth and

year. (1) These acts distributed rural

Urban sprawl is encroaching on

1 The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862,

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