The development of the United States Highway System has had negative impacts on the urban character of our country’s cities. One of the main catalysts, if not the main catalyst, of urban sprawl has been the development of transportation. It has made it extremely convenient and easy for people to move farther out of the inner city and develop rural America. As a result many prominent cities across our country have felt the effects of sprawl through diminished downtown economies. Highways have also played a key role in the standardization of American urban environments. Many urban areas around the country have lost their character and senses of place that they once used to embrace. More effective strategies to halt these issues should be implemented by the government. Different strategies in locating highways and strategies to help discourage the use of automobiles would assist in revitalizing urban centers, decreasing traffic congestion, and dependency on the automobile.
The original intent of street development in our country appeared to be for the legitimate reasons of postal service and agricultural shipping routes. Not until the automobile industry and economic opportunists got involved did the transportation system in America start to change. The system of buses and streetcars in the cities appeared to be functioning reasonably well. The theory of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” was not applied here. The auto industry convinced numerous cities to rid their streets of the streetcars and cut back on bus transportation. Overall results were good, for the auto industry. Urban centers started to lose large portions of their downtown populations to urban flight out of the city. The stereotypical suburban style living be...
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... would then be recorded and the user would be billed accordingly. I envision this system to be similar to paying electric bills. Electricity is not a common public good and should not be because some citizens use more than others. No one should have to pay for the electricity that someone else uses more frequently. This applies to roadways as well, only the people that use them most frequently should have to pay accordingly. The excess money could be used to possibly help fund the research being done on finding alternative fuel methods. I would hope that these strategies would help stop the sprawl issues that face our cities. Public transportation or other forms of transportation could be used to get to work or other destinations. Overall our country’s system of transportation has created and continues to create major problems for the cites from coast to coast.
“Motor Age Geography” describes land use practices and new transportation policies, which in turn helped reshape roads. These key aspects helped centralized rural America, while urban areas in America were decentralized. Specific landscapes from then to now required that people of America would have to own a motor vehicle to function effectively on a day to day basis. “Fueling the Broom” goes into detail about oil wells, pipelines, service stations, and so forth. This term explains how taxes on gas became a significant source of funding for road building. “The Paths Out of Town” examines mass production and how it increased the demand for the iron ore, wood, rubber, and many other raw materials. As the need for automobiles steadily increased, American construction workers built one mile of road per square mile of land. When Americans built highways, soil erosion came into the picture along with the natural habitat for wildlife. At this time planners focused on creating a “car friendly nature” (Wells). The book informs the reader on the historical period from 1940-1960 where the government granted housing to the suburban area and highways
To appreciate a row house neighborhood, one must first look at the plan as a whole before looking at the individual blocks and houses. The city’s goal to build a neighborhood that can be seen as a singular unit is made clear in plan, at both a larger scale (the entire urban plan) and a smaller scale (the scheme of the individual houses). Around 1850, the city began to carve out blocks and streets, with the idea of orienting them around squares and small residential parks. This Victorian style plan organized rectangular blocks around rounded gardens and squares that separated the row houses from major streets. The emphasis on public spaces and gardens to provide relief from the ene...
Creation of highway networks outside the city and subsequent growth of suburban communities transformed the way citizens worked lived and spent their leisure time. Downtown businesses closed or moved to malls inducing a reduction in downtown shopping and overall downtown commercial traffic.
In the book The Great Inversion, author Alan Ehrenhalt reveals the changes that are happing in urban and suburban areas. Alan Ehrenhalt the former editor of Governing Magazine leads us to acknowledge that there is a shift in urban and suburban areas. This revelation comes as the poorer, diverse, city dwellers opt for the cookie cutter, shanty towns at the periphery of American cities known as the suburbs. In similar fashion the suburbanites, whom are socioeconomic advantaged, are looking to migrate into the concrete jungles, of America, to live an urban lifestyle. Also, there is a comparison drawn that recognizes the similarities of cities and their newer, more affluent, residents, and those cities of Europe a century ago and their residents. In essence this book is about the demographic shifts in Urban and Suburban areas and how these changes are occurring.
We take them for granted when driving miles to the closest mall. We are unconscious of their usefulness when traveling to see a distant relative by car. We can't take a moment to stop and admire their beauty and usefulness; the architectural wonders that are highways and their interchanges; which have such a rich history embedded in the American suburbia of today. Let's go back to the early 1900's, when the automobile was starting to become a dominate part of the American life (Morton, 2014). Around this time; a shift began to occur towards private transportation over public by influencing policies in their favor (Nicolaides and Wiese, 2006). One of these polices was created by the Federal Aid Highway of 1925; the United States Highway System which basically expanded the highways across the United States connecting one another, creating new opportunities for growth in many areas (Weingroff, 1996). This had many effects on different factors of the American way of life; specifically suburbia (Morton, 2014). After the war, the private home that was a luxury a few years prior, was now becoming affordable for many thanks to low interest rates and flexible payments through the National Housing Act of 1934, created by the Federal Housing Administration (Fishman, 1987). Perfect example of a policy acting towards private over public was the Los Angles Master Plan of 1941, which pushed the direction of private automobiles and singles households: there being 1.16 million cars (2.4 people per car) and having 31 percent of the city land dedicated for single family homes, this was really solidifying the post suburbia lifestyle (Fishman, 1987). In Los Angeles alone around this time, 900 square miles were transformed to tract development homes ...
Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).
In The Folklore of the Freeway: Space, Culture, and Identity in Postwar Los Angeles, Eric Avila discusses the history of the construction of the freeway in Los Angeles and the effects that this transformation had on communities of color. The construction of the freeway further increased the contrast between white space and non whitespace as white people moved toward the suburbs and communities of color were displaced to the inner city metropolitan areas. Avila explains that the impact of the freeways was not only economic, but also physical. The construction entailed immense destruction and displacement among inner-city communities. Boyle Heights, for example, experienced one-tenth of its population being displaced by the freeways. What I found
It started with a governmental incentive of getting America out of the Great Depression. Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was “signed into law by FDR, designed to serve urban needs” (Jackson, 196). This law protected homeownership, not only that, “it introduced, perfected, and proved in practice the feasibility of the long-term, self-amortizing mortgage with uniform payments spread over the whole life of the debt” (Jackson, 196). Because of this new law, it was cheaper to buy a house than rent. Then came the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that encouraged citizens to reside in new residential developments and/or areas with FHA-approved features, like Levittown. Mass-produced cars and cheap gasoline made the option of moving to a suburban area more of a reality for many families because now they can think to live such a lifestyle. With cars, come commuters who needs accessible roads to drive to and from work, to go grocery shopping, etc. which mean that the government need to pave roads for such commute to happen. “The urban expressways led to lower marginal transport costs and greatly stimulated deconcentration,” (Jackson, 191). As Jackson expressed, “The appeal of low-density living over time and across regional, class, and ethnic lines was so powerful that some observers came to regard it as natural and inevitable,” (190). Urban areas were becoming too crowded, too heterogeneous, more and more crimes were breaking out everyday; this is not an ideal living condition for a lot of people so moving to a bigger, more spread out area is a great contestant. Therefore, some of the key factors that explains the growth of the suburbs are housing policy (FHA & HOLC), mass-produced houses, mass-produced cars, cheap fuel, and government funding
The third listing for the definition of sprawl in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is as follows: “to spread or develop irregularly”. Unfortunately, this is the pattern, or lack thereof, with which America’s development is following. Every single day the world population rises, and these new babies have to live somewhere. Due to the fact that the birth rate is larger than that of the death rate in America (http://www.bartleby.com/151/a24.html), new homes and communities must be developed to accommodate all of the incoming people. This fundamental concept is coupled by another very powerful driving force prompting people to live in the suburbs of America, and that is greed. The economy makes available to the country a degree of ownership never before matched in our history, and people are taking advantage of it. This idea drives people to move from the congested, smoky, and frantic cities to the serenity of the countryside, where they have the opportunity to own much more land and live a more peaceful life. For a time this worked very nicely as portrayed in the incredible success of the communities created by William Levitt. Levittown was a dream of William Levitt, which encompassed the idea that all Americans can afford a home in the country. It was a success in the time of its creation, but we are beginning to see the dangers that this type of super growth brings along with it. Urban sprawl is an issue that will require much attention in the future, to prevent the negative effects that are already taking their toll.
Downtowns used to be vibrant places filled with businesses, people, and unique architecture. However, this has completely changed. Many downtowns have lost their businesses, people, and uniqueness. This is because of three things, the first one is Euclidean zoning. This separates land based on its use. This affects the variety of buildings and infrastructure in an area. Euclidean zoning assigns a purpose to a plot of land. The next thing that has led to the loss of vibrancy in downtowns is the G.I. bill, which resulted in the creation of new subdivisions throughout the US. Another factor is the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. These three things led to the creation of shopping malls. These shopping malls were built the same in different parts
Hartshorn and Muller researched the spatial evolution of the freeway era to be able to analyze the spatial economy of the suburban landscape. Out of this research they identified five distinct growth stages. First was the formulation of the bedroom community (1945-1955). The residential construction during this stage was caused by the postwar demand. The commercial expansion to the suburbs during this time was rather limited. The independence stage (1955-1965), where the economic activity increased dramatically because of the relocation and creation of office/industrial parks on the periphery. Between 1965-1980, was classified as the catalytic growth in which they believe was the most transformative of the landscape because of the increase in services, jobs, and retail (the shopping malls). The fourth ...
For many city residents, the country conjures up pictures of unpolluted air, garden-fresh food and physical activities. But these days, Americans residing in big metropolitans live longer, better lives compared to their country counterparts – a reversal from years earlier. One of the most prominent features of the industrial stage is the development of urban life. In early times, the populations habitually lived in settlements engaged in agriculture. Cities arose here and there as hubs of trade or government organizations. Today in all developed nations, the situation has been reversed. The city people in United States and England have expanded nonstop over the countryside residents. Although big urban areas were once infamous for law-breaking
Cities are the epitome of regional, national and international hubs that represent the congregation of people, a healthy social vitality, and are the symbol of wealth. They are economic, social, and environmental metropolises that are the aim of smaller, striving municipalities. Nonetheless, most cities are plagued by urban unsustainability where the car is the focal point of transport, making traffic denser than numerous buildings and car ownership greater than the city’s population. The focus of the car as a means of transport and of social class can be greatly asserted to the notion of the “American Dream”, the notion of the white picket fenced home in peripheral suburbia where families reside with a sense of communal belonging. Urban sprawl became the North American city standard for locations of living. Urban sprawl is often described as having “a population that is widely dispersed in low density development, rigidly separated homes, a network of roads, and a lack of well-defined activity centres such as downtown” (Blais, 2010, p. 18). As such, urban sprawl made the car the means of transportation and roads the networks of traffic to and from the periphery and the downtown core. As Blais describes “the number of autos owned and vehicle-kilometres travelled increases systematically with distance from the city centre, while transit modal shares fall as densities decline” (Blais, 2010, p. 28). Increased dependence on the personal automobile is greatly linked to several externalities including increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related health problems, obesity due to lack of physical activity, and increased deaths due to car accidents. All of these parameters are evident in the City of Ottawa and resid...
When businesses have parking adjacent or behind their storefronts they don’t push their buildings farther from the street and from neighboring companies; this looses that aspect of pedestrians visiting their buildings. When housing is added to an environment, the decision of placing and designing backyards, driveways, and garages differ between new urbanism and urban sprawl. Housing that usually has garages located to the side of the property have larger backyards and more enclosure to roads and adjacent properties. New urbanism follows this strategy while urban sprawling environments loose the interaction between residents and their neighbors, as well as enforcing street parking. Urban sprawl also encourages parallel parking, which breeds traffic, congestion, and a negative response from
Economies thrive on the ability of mobility. Mobility allows people to go to work, attend school and travel far and wide by using some form of transportation. It allows people and ideas to mix more freely. Over time, mobility has taken many forms, from the backs of animals, to carriages and now the automobile. Since the invention of the automobile, we have been able to decrease transportation costs, travel vast distances and decrease travel times. We are able to facilitate relationships, foster trade between places and find better jobs. However, due to the inaccurate pricing of the roads, driving cars has turned from an innovation to pure frustration. The problem is traffic congestion; the increased usage of cars has created slower speeds and longer travel times due to greater demand for the road than the road has to offer. Roughly 3.4 million Americans endure extreme commutes, in which the trip to work and back eats up at least three hours of each day (Balaker, Staley 2006). Congestion slows life down by causing massive delays, eating away at valuable time and productivity. This has become a major issue because people are stuck in traffic when they do not need to be and conditions will only continue to get worse without government intervention. Many solutions have been offered and discussed but few have been implemented. This paper will serve to outline the economic theory behind traffic congestion, alternative policy options there are for dealing with traffic congestion and ultimately what the best strategy is to solve this problem. The solution I propose is to price the highways accurately to achieve the optimum number of vehicles on the road.