Urban Sprawl Coursework Example

Urban Sprawl and Its Challenges
In the past one decade, studies on urban settlement and development have concluded that the future of all people even in the most underdeveloped countries will be completely urbanized. One key indicator of this projection is the urban sprawl, a pattern of people’s migration from the highly populated urban centers to low density and developing the area in search of better lives. Similar to urbanization and gentrification, urban sprawl has both benefits and disadvantages regarding economic, social, political and environmental aspects of living.
Urban sprawl is a strong concept in the process of urbanization. It refers to the extension of urbanization towards the exterior regions or suburbs outside major city due to increased population and development of infrastructures. Consequently, the flow of economics and finances, and geography of connections between social, cultural, political and economic systems emerge defining the true nature of urban sprawl. Another aspect of urban sprawl is that people living in such areas depend more on automobiles since distances are longer than those in the urban centers that are pedestrian friendly. As such, due to the following factors.
The most critical factor is lack of comprehensive planning. Comprehensive planning refers to the development of housing designs, zoning, and policies with consideration of the communities neighboring the big cities. Consequently, the outskirts become poorly developed and houses people of lower classes.

Moreover, lower land and tax rates in the suburbs have attracted many people from the cities. Other factors include rapid population increase, subsidized infrastructure such as sewers and roads in underdeveloped areas, and consumer preferences regarding housing, recreation, and other services.
On the positive side, urban sprawl opens opportunities for the spread of ideas, integration of communities, cheap housing, and flow of finances, improvement of transport and communication systems, and social development. However, it also brings worrying challenges such as the emergence of urban slums that are usually characterized by poverty, insecurity, and poor housing. Also, it will lead to low health, sanitation and education services. Finally, these areas result in degradation of the environment as they continue to increase in scale and scope.
In brief, urban sprawl refers to the spread of urban conditions to the exterior of a major cities leading to absorption of suburbs and ultimate urbanization. As such, it has benefits since it opens new opportunities for the people, investors, and government. However, it introduces challenges such as environmental degradation, poor housing, and low quality of services. Luckily, these challenges can be addressed through comprehensible planning, regulating population growth, and development of effective policies.
References
Global Cities: Full Documentary. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 16 March 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncq8eccy-bY