Introduction
Urban sprawl has turned out to be a controversial issue in recent times due to the rate at which green spaces are disappearing in most of the cities, especially in the United States. Nnaemeka-Okeke (2016) describes urban sprawl as the expansion of a community devoid of concern for the environmental impact. In other words, urban sprawl is the uncontrolled expansion of the metropolitan areas. This phenomenon primarily results in the extinction of green spaces and a variety of environmental consequences. Banai and DePriest (2014) maintain that urban sprawl is considered a cause of the climate change, with environmental effects from the water and air to land. According to Wilson and Chakraborty (2013), urban sprawl entails a remaking of the landscape. It results in negative consequences such as loss of open space and farmland, deteriorating water and air quality, and increased traffic congestion in cities. Ewing, Hamidi, Grace, and Wei (2016) and Mauerman (2016) suggest that urban sprawl causes inaccessibility of employees to jobs. As a matter of fact, urban sprawl is harmful and a significant threat to ecology as well as human life.
Atlanta city is one of the cities in the United States that lead in urban sprawl. In fact, Hamidi and Ewing (2014) maintain that in 2000, Atlanta was the most sprawling city, and has remained that way. The continued development of this city poses a great risk to the environment. Dablanc and Ross (2012) assert that urban sprawl is identified as a major problem in Atlanta, quickly decreasing the available land and causing traffic congestion. It is disheartening to note that the environmental consequences of urban sprawl in this city will continue to be felt by generations for many years to come if nothing is done to curb it. Consequently, the research question that the study will attempt to answer is: What measures can the local government in Atlanta City take to deal with urban sprawl and avert its adverse environmental effects? The paper will concentrate on urban sprawl in the city of Atlanta as problematic and investigate the actions, which the local government ought to take to combat it and prevent its negative environmental impacts.
The major journals, which I have identified for the present literature review are:
It is vital first to understand the causes as well as the environmental impacts of urban sprawl in Atlanta City before delving into the actions that the local government can take to curb this problem. Atlanta City has essentially experienced tremendous population and economic growth over the years. When numerous people think of this city, they envisage miles of urban sprawl. Cortright (2014) maintains that Atlanta was one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States since 2000. As a matter of fact, Urban Sprawl in this city is caused by a variety of things. First of all, unlike the other cities, Atlanta City lacks rigid geographic boundaries that can help in averting the urban sprawl. In other words, this city does not have a coastline, wide rivers, and steep mountains, which can play a part in stopping urban sprawl. In essence, there is no unsuitable physical terrain in Atlanta city, which prevents continuous development. As a result, the developers continue expanding outwards, and this explains why the city is one of the most spread-out metropolitan areas in the United States.
Population growth has also played a significant role in contributing to urban sprawl in the city of Atlanta. Dablanc and Ross (2012, P. 4) states that Atlanta City “has a population of 5 million, with 2.5 million jobs.” According to Cortright (2014), the city recorded a rise in the overall population of approximately 30 percent in the previous 12 years. Ideally, this rise in population is one of the reasons for urban growth in the city. The rapid growth of Atlanta City is essentially the result of internal migration. In the previous five years, hundreds of thousands of individuals moved to Atlanta City raising the area’s population to 5.7 million according to the U.S Census estimates as cited by Niesse (2016). The increase in population in this city can be attributed to the characteristics such as warm weather, convenient amenities, and great job opportunities. These and other pull factors continue attracting people to move in this city. “Urban sprawl is directly identified with urban growth” (Nnaemeka-Okeke, 2016, p. 1). Consequently, the vast growth in Atlanta City’s population has resulted in uncontrolled urban growth, which has ultimately led to urban sprawl.
The rapid economic growth and industrialization have also played a significant part in causing urban sprawl in the city of Atlanta. There has been a skyrocketing demand for the additional housing in this City thanks to the growth of economic base. In particular, hundreds of thousands of individuals have been migrating to this city due to the availability of job opportunities. In fact, the increase in industrialization in Atlanta City has seen the increase in internal migration. Consequently, this has led to the expansion of the economic base that has, in turn, resulted in the rise in demand for the new housing. The developers in the city have responded to this increase in demand by constructing additional houses and, as a consequence made it one of the most spread-out metropolitan areas in the United States. The fast development of housing in the city of Atlanta is attributed to lack of proper planning as well as coordination among the local government and developers.
The other cause of urban sprawl in Atlanta city is the lack of proper urban planning policies. Atlanta city is among the most worst-designed cities in the United States thanks to poor urban planning policies. The lack of well-experimented as well as consistent planning policies in this city is to blame for the continued urban sprawl. Ideally, this has resulted in poorly planned developments, which have, in turn, increased the sprawl.
The urban sprawl in Atlanta City has detrimental impacts on the environment. One of these impacts is the increased air pollution. Atlanta City is among the cities that have the highest number of miles of roads per capita. The city is also one of the highest congested cities in the United States. As a result, this has a negative impact on the quality of air. The increased activities due to urban sprawl in the Atlanta city contribute to air pollution. In fact, urban sprawl contributes the increase in the release of chemicals from the city’s factories. Gately, Hutyra, and Wing (2015) report that the emissions of carbon dioxide from road vehicles in the year 2012 in the United States were 1.57 billion tons. As one of the most spread-out metropolitan areas in the US, Atlanta City contributed to these emissions. In fact, the increased driving around this city has led to the increasing release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide contributes to global warming since it is a greenhouse gas. The increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the increased driving and burning of fossil fuels in Atlanta city has played a part in changing the global weather patterns as well as raising the sea levels.
The other environmental impact of urban sprawl in Atlanta city is the increased loss of wildlife habitat and green spaces. Miller (2012) asserts that Urban Sprawl in Atlanta City resulted in the fragmentation as well as loss of the forest cover. It is disheartening to note that the sprawl in this city continues to threaten the survival of the plant and animal species. Miller (2012) maintains that urban areas occupy the space, which was previously habitat for various species as they develop. Urban sprawl in the city of Atlanta contributes to the loss of natural wildlife habitats such as woodlands, forests, and wetlands. The amount of green space lost to growth in the Atlanta city continues increasing. In fact, the city has been losing hundreds of acres of green spaces to development. Much of loss of open spaces in the city is primarily a direct outcome of the encroachment by the rapid development into the agricultural as well as forested areas. The loss of green spaces in the city has contributed to the increase in temperatures, especially during the summers.
Urban Sprawl in Atlanta city has also led to the increase in water pollution. In particular, the increased economic activities around the city has contributed to the increase in the pollution of water in the water sources such as rivers and lakes as rainwater picks up construction site erosion, motor oil, and lawn chemicals, among other pollutants in parking lots, lawns, and driveways. The urban storm-water runoff and poor development practices lead to water pollution (Hamidi, Ewing, Preuss, and Dodds, 2015). The water sources in the city of Atlanta and the areas around the city are threatened by the increased pollution that is related to the urban storm-water overflow as well as poor development practices. Urban sprawl has also contributed to the overloaded sewer system in Atlanta city. The leaks, as well as spills from the city's overloaded sewer system, lead to water pollution. Additionally, the sprawling new developments in Atlanta City lead to the destruction of wetlands. As a result, this pollutes the water. What is more, the rapid development, as well as population growth in Atlanta City, has had an impact on the quality of water.
The other environmental impact of urban sprawl in Atlanta city is that it increases the likelihood of flooding and leads to soil erosion. As earlier mentioned, urban sprawl contributes to global warming that, in turn, leads to the rise in sea levels. Specifically, the increase in sea levels might lead to flooding in the city. Additionally, the sprawling developments in the city drain as well as destroy the wetlands that absorb the flood waters. As a result, this leaves the city highly susceptible to the flood waters. The rapid development in Atlanta city also leads to increased potential for soil erosion as a result of impervious surfaces, for example, pavements.
It is apparent that urban sprawl is a serious problem facing Atlanta City. It is, therefore, vital for the local government to take the necessary measures to deal with this problem and avert its negative environmental effects. First of all, the local government can deal with urban sprawl and avert its adverse environmental effects by funding the greenspace preservation. The Atlanta City’s local government needs to come up with greenspace preservation programs to prevent the further loss of green spaces from the rapid development. Besides, the local government ought to acquire more land and cultivate it as greenspace. Ideally, this will increase the city’s greenspace and in the long-run prevent urban sprawl. The increased green space within Atlanta City will help in preserving the forest resources and animal habitat. Besides, it will help improve the quality of water in the city by acting as a stream buffer. Without a doubt, the funding of the greenspace preservation by the local government in Atlanta City will avert the environmental impacts caused by urban sprawl.
The other measure that the local government in Atlanta City can take to deal with urban sprawl and avert its adverse environmental effects is promoting smart growth. Resnik (2010) describes smart growth as a policy framework, which fosters an urban development pattern that is characterized by limited road construction, preserved green spaces, bikeable and walkable neighborhoods, available mass transit, and mixed-used development. The local government in Atlantic City should, thus, curb urban sprawl by promoting smart growth that offers a variety of transportation choices, encourages the cooperation between the stakeholders and communities in making the development decisions, and creates walkable neighborhoods. The smart growth promoted by Atlanta City’s local government should also aim to preserve the green spaces. The green spaces, for example, urban forests and parks can help improve the quality of air in the city as Zupancic, Westmacott, and Bulthuis (2015) suggest. It should also aim to create a variety of housing choices and opportunities. It is vital to mention that this measure will prevent the developers and landowners from making development choices, which only promote their personal interests. Instead, they will make choices that will lead to sustainable development. According to Resnik (2010), Smart Growth is a vital strategy for curbing the harmful environmental impacts of urban sprawl. Consequently, this measure will help in averting the adverse environmental effects in Atlanta City as a result of urban sprawl.
Another measure that the local government in Atlanta City can take to deal with urban sprawl and deter its negative impacts on the environment is to encourage the city inhabitants to move to the downtown neighborhoods as well as construct numerous mixed-use buildings in these regions. In particular, the local government should encourage the city inhabitants to move to the downtown zones by investing there in an attempt to lower the costs of the property. As a matter of fact, this will make it easy for the city inhabitants to buy properties in downtown neighborhoods and, as a consequence, help in decreasing urban sprawl and deterring its adverse environmental impacts. The local government in Atlanta City can also deal with urban sprawl by constructing mixed-used buildings in the downtown zones. Ideally, this can save more space and in one way or another play a part in averting the adverse effects caused by urban sprawl. The investment in downtown areas by the Atlanta City’s local government will make them attractive and less costly and, as a consequence, encourage the individuals to move there.
Finally, the local government in Atlanta City can deal with urban sprawl and avert its adverse impact on the environment by constructing more multistory buildings. These buildings should be built to be used for multiple purposes in an effort to create walkable neighborhoods. Without a doubt, the construction of multistory buildings that are used for multiple purposes will help in preserving the remaining open spaces in Atlanta City. Besides, the construction of these type of buildings will decrease the need for cars in the city. Consequently, this will help the local government deal with urban sprawl and obviate its adverse environmental effects.
Conclusion
The leading causes of urban sprawl in Atlanta City as elucidated in the paper include the lack of rigid geographic boundaries that can prevent continuous development, rapid rise in the population, fast economic growth and industrialization, and lack of proper urban planning policies. The detrimental environmental effects of urban sprawl in Atlanta City include air pollution, loss of wildlife habitat and green spaces, air pollution, and increased possibility of flooding and soil erosion. These effects call for the local government in Atlanta City to take the necessary measures such as funding the greenspace preservation, promoting smart growth, encouraging the city inhabitants to move to the downtown neighborhoods, and constructing more multistory buildings.
Reference List
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