Essay On Suburban Sprawl

Suburban sprawl, the built environment associated with this development pattern, and the subsequent negative effects is a topic that has been examined in a multitude of ways by many different researchers, organizations and interested individuals. Responses to suburban sprawl seek to mitigate or correct a number of problems such as the negative environmental, social, fiscal and health effects of suburban sprawl on individuals and the community. The wide range of these effects, and the multitude of disciplines they span, can be overwhelming. In response to this wide range, this research looks specifically at the problem of mode choice and the effect of suburban sprawl on automobiles becoming the overwhelming transportation of choice. While the other problems, and subsequent responses, of suburban …show more content…
This modular system will be made up of smaller design interventions which can be applied incrementally in a variety of ways depending on the specificities of an area. For this research, these areas will specifically be different types of nodes identified along a linear stretch of a suburban area. As identified by Emily Talen, a node prime for sustainable development falls into one of four categories: a previously identified “core”, an area around existing transit stops, areas where “surface parking lots make up a significant portion of developed land area” and “shopping centers that are within a quarter mile of both a publicly owned park and elementary school” (960). The modular system will be applied to these identified types of nodes in a way that best fits the contexts and needs of that area. As mentioned previously, the outcome of the modular system is specifically grounded in the focus of expanding mode choice and offering alternative kinds of transportation rather then attempt to fix multiple problems associated with the