The Problems with Smart Growth

While smart growth could be a potential solution to reducing timing of traffic, and helping prevent issues with the environment, there are still many flaws with this idea. To start with, traffic could actually become heavier, which means that more fuel in cars would be reduced. One could argue that a public transportation system could help reduce the amount of fuel used by people who try to get to their offices, but the amount of money put into a public transportation system may not entirly be inexpensive, even with more people surrounding the cities. The article that I read said, "Smart Growth threatens the American Dream." I found this very interesting because the American Dream is a very large concept, but to make a claim that it smart growth threatens it is a huge statement, whether I or anyone else agrees with it or not.

Wendell Cox. "Smart Growth Is a Threat to the American Dream." Current Controversies: Urban Sprawl. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 11 Feb. 2010
source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=deer63488&version=1.0>.

Benefits of smart growth

Potentially, smart growth could be a good idea to base a solution on for urban sprawl. Urban sprawl itself has a lot of issues, and I think that smart growth could be a potential solution to this problem. The aritcle that I used addresses the beneifts of smart growth by saying, "Of course, suburban sprawl has been around for decades. But its environmental and cultural impact is becoming increasingly apparent as development expands farther from urban centers. Besides devouring open space and wildlife habitat, new suburbs degrade the quality of life in other ways, environmentalists say: By spending more time commuting, residents exacerbate both traffic congestion and air pollution. As runoff-absorbing trees and fields are paved over, stormwater that normally would have been absorbed into the ground ends up in streams, rivers and low-lying areas, often causing flooding or polluting waterways with salt, chemicals and microbes picked up on the way."

I see this as a benefit to reduce the amount of time and gasoline it takes to go from point A to point B. Since there is a global warming controversy, I think that this could help America become even more fuel efficient. Whether someone belives global warming exists or not, we can all agree that dependency for oil in the Middle East is and has never really been a good idea, because of all of the conflict and war that has gone on at least within the past decade. This concept is a good solution to at least consider, to reduce the amount of space that destroys forests and the homes of many animals.

Cooper, M. H. (2004, May 28). Smart growth. CQ Researcher, 14, 469-492. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004052800

Defining an Urban Sprawl

An urban sprawl can be defined as the spreading of people between the suburbs and the city of a rural area. This means that people from a city spread out over a rural area and develop the suburban towns. The problem that I see with that is the fact that people have been in the past 150 years and are continuing to take down the forests, which inhabit many species of animals. The article that I read that discussed some of the disadvantages to urban sprawl by saying, "There are the obvious environmental costs of sprawl—lost open space and natural habitats, increased air pollution from more traffic, depleted water quality caused by urban runoff." Obviously urban sprawl is not the greatest thing for cities, and for the environment, but there could be things that are a lot worse. I think it is important for a highway system between the suburbs and the city, but the problems come in when it costs a state millions of dollars to build an effecient highway system. Since the highways are not as effecient as possible, it is important to keep in mind that the gasoline that cars use is wasted when there is a lot of traffic because of rush hour or an accident. I believe (and I know I'm starting to drift away from the topic that was focused upon in the article) that we need to have more fuel effecient cars to be able to withstand bad traffic, even beyond just highways. Most states in America can't afford an effecient highway system because it would cost millions of dollars just to start it.

Fregonese, John, and Lynn Peterson. "Smart-Growth Policies Will Improve Urban Areas." Opposing Viewpoints: Urban America. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .

Response to "To Da-Duh, in Memoriam"

This short story reflected upon the opinions of people who were not accustomed to urban life. In this case, the grandmother of the narrator, named Da-Duh, did not like New York City, and it was implied not so subtly that Da-Duh was very uncomfortable with the cacophony coming from the streets. This was shown when the narrator described her grandmother after they left the city. She said, "As soon as we left Bridgetown behind though, she relaxed...." I think that this was a sign that she was very uneasy in even the slightest part of a city like NYC. I found it very interesting that Da-Duh had a stronger interest in different types of sugar canes to the point where she showed her granddaughter, the narrator, all of the different types of canes that were in her orchard. Da-Duh's orchard was outside of her house, and she lived in more rural environment that I don't think was in the US. Throughout the story, though, Da-Duh slowly starts to develop and interest in New York City after the narrator starts describing snow. I was really pleased when I read this part. When the narrator tried to send her a postcard of the Empire State Building, however, Da-Duh ended up dying before she could recieve it. Apparently the English sent low flying planes over her Island, and she was the only one who didn't really seem too worried. Of course I knew she was going to die, because the story was dedicated to her. I think that Da-Duh  represented one of many people who were afraid of the city, because of the major advancements in technology that occured during the 1930's when this story took place. Her granddaughter, the narrator told her everything she knew about all the cool new inventions that were made to make people's lives easier. Urban life was obviously very different from where Da-Duh enjoyed living and lived most of her life at. She enjoyed simple things such as sugar canes, and she was very opinionated on what people do to sugar to turn it into candy. Of course, candy started to become very popular during that time because people were starting to figure out how to make candy out of the canes that Da-Duh loved to view. I think urban life back then was a time when younger people were constantly evolving with the technology that was being made. Da-Duh's family obviously moved to the city, while she stayed in her rural town. Though she was impressed by how tall the narrator was describing the buildings in New York City, she still belived that she was safer away from urban life. The 1930's didn't really threaten the citizens of NYC, because people didn't really master flying airplanes; maybe for a small town, but not like a growing city as large as NYC.

A Different View upon Urban Growth

Even though increasing populations of cities only made the cities larger and the factories closer, there were issues that were created with this dramatic increase in population. Frederick Law Olmsted was one person who discussed the issues of dramatic population growth between 1860 and 1910 in "The Unplanned Growth of Cities." Olmsted wasn't describing this population growth in a negative way, but more in a way that was backed up by statistics that he knew of. The reason why his interpretation could have been trusted was because he was an architect in New York City between the late 1800s and early 1900s, and he designed parks for many cities. He was famous for created Central Park, though, so he understood what was happening with the population that went on around him. He also understood very well the problems with transportation and buildings that were occupied, and one of things he said in "The Unplanned Growth" was this:
"Openness is the one thing you cannot get in buildings. Picturesqueness you can get. Let your buildings be as picturesque as your artists can make them. This is the beauty of a town. Consequently, the beauty of the park should be the other." His point with this statement was that people in New York City were just beginning to become crammed in residential buildings because of the growth in population.

Frederick Law Olmsted " The Unplanned Growth of Cities," Annals of American History.

[Accessed February 1, 2010].

City Migration and Urban Growth

The migration to the cities did not necsessarily overpopulate the cities and towns, but increased the population in such a way so that the area of the cities expanded, and became larger. Henry J. Fletcher had described annlyized the growth of cities and the loss in population of small towns by saying, "It may be declared to be the general rule that, wherever the land is fully occupied, all the people not actually needed to cultivate the soil are being drawn into the towns, while the productive industries of the towns, together with those identified with them, are being transferred to the largest cities. For a certain number of years the country steadily grew more and more densely populated; this process came to a standstill, and now the tide is running swiftly in the opposite direction." He emphisized the idea in "Migration to the Cities" of the suburbs being developed because of the factories that exisited in the outer reggions of cities were able to become closer to the cities because of the increasingly dense population. Fletcher's anlyization mostly described the esrtablishment of the suburbs, but he discussed how the population grew in many American cities.

Henry J. Fletcher " Migration to the Cities," Annals of American History.

[Accessed February 1, 2010].

Research I Found on Urbanization

This article I found gives a great overview of what urbanization really is. America's first cities started with New York City in 1626, then Boston was founded 4 years later. Many Americans during the Colonial Period seeked a desire to move out to rural areas, rather than enhabit the early city life. After the Revolution, New York City became one of the most dynamic cities in America. By 1810, it become the largest cummunity that spoke English. The 1800s allowed European immigrants to move to the urban areas and occupy jobs that were needed in those cities. There were some dangers to living in these cities, which included epidemics, and fires. The main reason for these cites to be built was because it was a great way for America to have success with trade. The Mid-20th Century proved to be a time where African Americans moved up North to Northern Cities, rather than only staying in the South. At the same time, many cities lost the number of people because of suburban growth. During the late 1940s and the 1970s, cites developed renewal programs. Renewal programs were created to provide "aesthetic and practical improvements," which means they wanted to improve city turrain.

"urbanization." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

"urban renewal." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .

My Topic is Urbanization

Urbanization is a very detailed and complicated problem that is based on the condition of the economy. As Obama implied in his State of the Union Address, the rescesion is over, and jobs will be created. However, if these jobs will not be available, then the number of families will continue to lose their homes. It was interesting how Obama talked about children writing to him and asking when they will be able to have a home. People living in homes is a big part of Urbanization, and a city or town is judged based on the type of housing, and how expenisive the housing is. In my mom's building's neighborhood in Chicago, for example, there a nice Target Greatland that was supposed to be built. Then the alderman was remored to cancle that project and create low income housing over the land. About a year ago, they decided that the Target will indeed be built. If the low-income housing were to built, this would impact the nieghborhood surrounding the intersection of Montrose, Sheridan, and Broadway Ave wouldn't be able to improve, and any crime that would occur in that area would continuem, if not increase. That is the last thing that a city like Chicago needs at this point, especially since the South Side is infested with gang shootings, where inoscent pedestrians get shot and killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.