A Journalist's Guide To Urban Sprawl

"If you live in an American city of any size at this moment in history, chances are somebody is raising concerns about suburban sprawl. It comes up in stories about traffic and attempts to deal with it. It is named as a culprit in environmental pieces on air pollution and water quality. After simmering for years as a discussion among urban planners, environmentalists

and others, the issue of how cities grow has burst forth as a topic of mainstream debate.

...For environmentalists, the question is whether development can be made more compact to protect nature, while at the same time creating a palatable, even pleasant, human habitat. Some architects and urban designers are rebelling against designing places for cars rather than human beings, and they are beginning to offer alternative visions. In some cities, business leaders concerned with economic sustainability have wondered whether metro areas with widespread congestion and a corporate-cookie-cutter landscape can hold their appeal.

Working against all of them is the widely accepted view that housing is less expensive and public safety and schools are better in the distant suburbs. We hope this guidebook will serve as a roadmap to this sprawling set of issues and help you create stories sure to

resonate with your audience."

Thanks to Ashwani Vasishth