Sprawl is a problem. Sometimes called “Urban Sprawl” and sometimes called “Suburban Sprawl”. There are a few types of urban sprawl, but we know it best as low-density residential communities on the edge of urban areas ^[1]. This recent article from The Atlantic Cities quantifies the high costs of sprawl.

Compact development costs, on average, 38 percent less in up-front infrastructure than “conventional suburban development” for things like roads, sewers and water lines. It costs 10 percent less in ongoing service delivery by reducing the distances law enforcement or garbage trucks must travel to serve residents (well-connected street grids cut down on this travel time, too).^[2]

It’s a huge problem, and being mostly minimalist and against consumerism myself, I don’t understand why Americans think they need all of that space. I grew up in various suburbs and it sucked. To get to what little community events there are you have to hop in a four wheeled petrol-guzzling machine. The four to eight lane roads are bordered with chain restaurant after chain restaurant. If you walk or bike somewhere people think you are out of your mind. Continue reading →