Olivia Zolik

Pre-AP English 10

Ms. Yeaton

17 January 2018

Annotated Bibliography

Torrey, Barbara Boyle. “Urbanization: An Environmental Force to Be Reckoned

With.” Urbanization: An Environmental Force to Be Reckoned With, Population

Reference

Bureau, Apr. 2004,

www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2004/UrbanizationAnEnvironmentalForcetoBeReckon

edWith.aspx. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

In the article, “Urbanization: An Environmental Force to Be Reckoned With” written by

Barbara Boyle Torrey, the author explains the facts and statistics concerning urban sprawl.

Torrey writes that the growth rate of urban sprawl differs depending on the region. Torrey states,

“Among developing countries, Latin American countries have the highest proportion of their

population living in urban areas. But East and South Asia are likely to have the fastest growth

rates in the next 30 years” (Torrey par. 2) Torrey continues to talk about how urban sprawl is

affecting the environment. She says that urban sprawl causes there to be higher consumption

rates in food, energy, and goods. The higher consumption rates in energy affect the environment

through light pollution as well as air pollution. The growth of urban sprawl will lead to more

pollution and consumption of goods. Urban sprawl is causing resources to be more limited as

there are more people living in more compact spaces.

 Torrey adds that there are things that can be done to help reduce urban sprawl. She claims

that “a strong urban governance is critical to making progress” (Torrey par. 19). A government

that has a strong stance and plan on how they want to control urban sprawl can help reduce the

impact it can have on the environment. Torrey adds that local governments would be a better

solution than national government because data is different depending on the area. Local

governments should have a plan in place on how they want to prevent more urban sprawl from

further damaging the environment.

“Urban Sprawl.” Edited by George Tsiattalos, Everythingconnects.org, 20 Nov. 2013,

www.everythingconnects.org/urban-sprawl.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

In the article, “Urban Sprawl” from a website founded by George Tsiattalos, the writer

discusses many of the effects urban sprawl has on the environment. First, the writer explains that

urban sprawl is “the expansion of poorly planned, low-density, auto-dependent development,

which spreads out over large amounts of land, putting long distances between homes, stores, and

work and creating a high segregation between residential and commercial uses with harmful

impacts on the people living in these areas and the ecosystems and wildlife that have been

displaced” (par. 1). Overall, urban sprawl is the process of destroying natural habitats and

wildlife in order to give humans more buildings. These buildings are created purely for the desire

for entertainment and large living spaces. The writer then continues that urban sprawl has many

consequences that cause the environment to suffer. Urban sprawl leads to pollution, wasted

space, destruction of wildlife, and many more negative impacts.

Urban sprawl creates many different problems for the environment. One of the issues

causes by urban sprawl is pollution. Urban sprawl leads to air pollution due to the increase of
vehicle transportation and travel time. It also leads to water pollution due to the amount of

gasoline and chemicals from runoff. Urban sprawl leads to more water consumption because

people need to use it more often for things such as residential use and watering grass and

gardens. It leads to degraded human health because there is less availability for physical activity,

like walking instead of driving to the nearest grocery store. Physical inactivity can lead to obesity

which correlates with numerous diseases. Another issue caused by urban sprawl is crowded

schools and higher taxes. The schools become more crowded due to the school districts having to

be larger to accommodate the larger region of students. Taxes are raised because the government

needs a way to get money to build more buildings in expanding the city. Finally, urban sprawl

causes destruction of wildlife habitats and open space. This is an issue because the destruction of

these spaces are also destroying habitats and opportunity for cleaner air with less pollution.

Urban sprawl has numerous consequences on the environment.

Dunn, Colin. “The Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl.” Greener Ideal, Mediavine

Publisher Network Architectural Digest, 20 Aug. 2017, greenerideal.com/news/6989-urban-

sprawl/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

In the article, “The Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl” by Colin Dunn, the author

claims that urban sprawl is bad because of the negative effects it can have on the environment.

Dunn explains that some of the effects include: cities replace good farmland, destruction of

wildlife habitat, and pollution. Dunn explains that urban sprawl takes up good usable farmland

which impacts the amount of fresh produce and food we can grow. He writes that by creating

more cities we are destroying wildlife habitats which is affecting the organisms and plants that
naturally live there. Urban sprawl is also creating more pollution due to the increase of

transportation by car or bus throughout these cities. Each of these factors is affecting the

environment which can in turn affect people's health and happiness.

Colin Dunn explains that urban sprawl can lead to many negative impacts. He also

mentions that the reason some people support sprawl is because it provides more housing and

entertainment purposes for the growing population. These people would rather support their

desire for more than the need for the natural land that was originally there. Dunn states, “The

constant spread of cities facilitates this, making additional land available for a growing

population.” Dunn writes that the demand for housing is so strong that it overpowers the need for

natural land. He gave no suggestions on how to prevent urban sprawl besides thinking about the

negative impact it is having on the environment. Dunn tries to persuade readers that urban sprawl

is, for the most part, a negative process that continues to occur throughout the world.

Heaton, Andrew. “How Can We Stop Urban Sprawl?” Architecture . Construction . Engineering

. Property, Architecture, 18 Mar. 2016, sourceable.net/can-stop-urban-sprawl/. Accessed 15 Jan.

2018.

In the article, “How Can We Stop Urban Sprawl?” by Andrew Heaton, the author claims

that urban sprawl is something harmful that must be stopped in an effort to preserve the

environment. Heaton emphasizes that urban sprawl is the reason for long commutes to work.

Long commutes also lead to more transport by car which ultimately leads to more pollution. He

mentions that urban sprawl affects the possibility for youth activities and job opportunities for

people. It causes people to have to settle for what they can manage with the distance they have

time to go each day. Heaton also mentions that urban sprawl can lead to destruction of
productive agricultural land. The amount of farmland being destroyed in order to put in place

new housing caused there to be a decrease in the amount of produce being grown. Urban sprawl

causes a significant amount of loss and consequences on the environment.

Andrew Heaton discussed efforts that can be made to prevent urban sprawl. He writes

that one option for change is “high-rise developments but also to a greater diversity of medium

density housing options within the middle suburbs, including subdivisions, townhouses, detached

units and low rise apartments, with intensive development in and around critical transport links”

(Heaton par. 15). The amount of space that could be saved by doing this is substantial. The use

of medium density housing options could save habitats from being destroyed and keep farmland

available for producing food. Urban sprawl could easily be prevented by the use of medium

density housing options which could benefit the health of the environment overall by reducing

pollution and other negative factors.