URBAN DESIGN POLICY /
BRIEFS

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Development Patterns and the Environment

Dan Cary
Environmental Planner

Many otherwise intelligent people have somehow gotten the idea that living at low density is good for the environment. Many cringe at the idea of living even at American small town densities that average between six and ten units per acre. They see all the green of suburbia and think this must be better ecologically. Additionally, they like the idea of having a yard for the pets and for the kids to play in, and perhaps even a pool.

In the typical suburb, what once was a beautiful meadow or forest has now been replaced by an incompetently managed and over-fertilized lawn, with exotic vegetation supporting swarms of equally exotic insects and birds that would never naturally occur within the area. In many parts of the country the wholesale replacement of native plant species with exotic ornamental plants imported from other parts of the world has facilitated the establishment of large populations of alien insect and animal populations, sometimes completely displacing native species. A recent careful and extensive study of habitats in

England concludes that we are entering a period of massive species extinction, all thanks to our naïve
management of the environment.

Although the impacts of suburbia on the ecology of the land are large, the worst environmental impacts of suburbia and low density living are the result of having to drive long distances for every purpose, burning up fossil fuels and filling the air with greenhouse gases on our way to the playground five miles away. With the advent and popularity of car dependent forms of development, the portion of typical American family expenditures allocated for transportation steadily rose from less than two percent in 1900 to nearly 30 percent today--excluding the portion of income taxes that supports transportation, the portion of your house that stores the car, and private sector costs associated with providing parking lots and access roads.

Increases in transportation costs are directly related to the suburbanization that took place after World War II and the deliberate destruction of our nation's public transportation systems, and reflect the dependency of our nation on automobile ownership and use.

Suburban patterns of development increase the number of vehicle trips per household and the length of each trip. Average trip length is approximately four times longer in suburbs than in traditional American towns. It would be absolutely impossible for people to live within most suburban communities without the use of an automobile. This makes our economy entirely vulnerable to any significant disruption in the flow of energy that could result from the instability of the Middle East, terrorism, and the increasing global demands on oil reserves. Sadly, the increased energy use, air pollution, and global warming have not provided a higher quality of life. For the elderly, children, and those hard pressed to afford an automobile, the promise of the green suburb was a lie, leaving this large segment of the population dependent on relatives or friends to shuttle them to and from basic services.

In contrast, the compactness of traditional development patterns minimizes use of land and impacts on natural systems, and results in reductions in energy and water use, reductions in air pollution, and more efficient handling of all forms of waste. Traditional patterns of development provide a diversity of housing types in close proximity to places of work and shopping, and even to schools. Yards exist, but are smaller, requiring less water use, and less displacement of native systems per capita, and less chemical support. Instead of every home having a second rate playground, small parks exist in close proximity to many houses and many children, where they have the opportunity to play together without being shuttled there by car. Because of the compactness, it is also possible to economically provide efficient water, waste water, and solid waste collection, treatment and disposal systems.

The suburb is an experiment that has failed society. Given its inefficiency and its environmental impacts, the car-dependent suburb is an experiment that may prove fatal.

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