sprawl

      In the 1960s people were moving out of rural areas, into cities. This caused metropolises to form at an overwhelming rate. People left the rural country because they were drawn by the availability of jobs and convenience in the city. As a result new roads, housing, and factories sprang up to accommodate them (Woodbury). The resulting problems became known as "urban sprawl." Now, forty years later, people are pouring out of the cities into the newly forming "suburbs" at a similarly overwhelming rate. They leave the city because they are drawn by the availability of security, peace, and lower population density. New roads, housing, and commercial centers spring up to accommodate them.
      "Brownfields" are the areas of cities that have been abandoned and left in conditions of waste and plight as people flee the metropolises for the suburbs. This most often occurs in old industrial areas where factories have closed down. No longer having any use, these factories are often fenced in or boarded up and left to fall apart. This commonly leads to unsightliness, waste of community space, and pollution from underground tanks (Kay, 18). The redevelopment and revitalization of these brownfields is the key to fighting urban sprawl.
      Brownfields are not, however, the only problem caused by urban sprawl. The Sierra Club, which closely follows this problem, delineates six common negative consequences of urban sprawl on their web page: 1) increased traffic on highways and neighborhood streets 2) air and water pollution 3) an increased likelihood of deadly plains floods 4) inefficient use of tax revenue 5) overcrowding of suburban schools and 6) the destruction of parks, farms, and open spaces (Sierra).
      There are some attempts to deal with these problems. Mr. Stephen Hayward, in the March 22, 1999, National Review wrote an article that was clearly cynical of both the methods and motivations behind anti-sprawl efforts. In his article he lists four anti-sprawl strategies that are most often tried: limits on the amount of land available for development, higher-density residential development, more mass transit, and more aggressive urban planning for the future (Hayward). But, since Dr. Coleman Woodbury, PhD., wrote, in the March 1960 issue of the American Journal of Public Health about the existence of these problems four decades ago and they still exist just as they did then, it is clear that the most often tried strategies have not, and are not, working. The underestimated effects of redeveloping brownfields must be looked at as the solution that currently has the highest potential for relieving the problems of urban sprawl.
      The 1999 United States Conference of Mayors did a survey to find out more about brownfields in cities, the problems they cause, the steps that are being taken to with them, and what would change if the problems were dealt with. The survey, which was taken of 223 cities with populations more than 30,000, found that two thirds of the cities estimate that the redevelopment of their brownfields would lead to a huge increase in tax revenue for the city and large numbers of jobs would be created (United). Also, many of the cities would be able to support large numbers of additional residents (United). The Conference reached a consensus that efforts to fix brownfields would lead to "job growth, neighborhood revitalization, environmental protection, and an expanded tax base." (Karamargin)
      This concept of redeveloping brownfields has been successfully exercised in both Fannual Hall, in Boston, MA, and Old Sacramento, in Sacramento, CA. The American Urban Experience, a video made by Urban Productions, in conjunction with the Urban Lands Institute, tells the story of each of these places. They were both the subjects of revitalization projects that would lead to their having stimulated more solid communities, urged the rebuilding of urban houses as well as the production of new urban developments. Fannual Hall, in particular, was an abandoned manufacturing site. It was revitalized into a commercial center. The area is now a very popular regional tourist attraction and commercial center which brings great revenue to the city of Boston, and its economy. All of this was initiated by the revitalization of Fannual Hall. Old Sacramento found similar successes with the revitalization efforts there. (Urban Productions)
       Projects such as this can and will work in other urban areas, with even greater and more far reaching success. For instance, some people blame a lack of sense of community for the problems of urban sprawl. Dolan Cummings, a writer for the British magazine Building Design, points out the success of a program in Bradford, England, which required tenants to sign a "'mutual aid' compact" in order to increase the sense of community held by area residents. (Cummings 15) Redeveloping brownfields, however, may have the same effect. By revitalizing an ugly, useless part of a people's neighborhood into a thriving, useful area you will cause local pride. People will identify with their neighborhood and take an active interest in that revitalization project. In doing so, they will come into close contact with other people who have the same interest. This will create the same sense of community, perhaps with even closer bonds, as the Bradford project. The majority of the problems cited by the Sierra Club(increased traffic, pollution, suburban overcrowding, and destruction of green spaces) will be addressed by this increased sense of community. More efficient use of wasted urban spaces will lead to more convenient locations for commercial and social centers, making it less likely that people will feel compelled to travel long distances for necessities or entertainment. This new pride will lead people to be less likely to have a desire to abandon their urban neighborhood for the suburbs - they would have no reason to leave a thriving, improving urban area. And, if we are not wasting space with dilapidated factories we are more likely to be able to save the green spaces we have for parks, farms and other open spaces.
      The revitalization of brownfields is the key to ridding cities and suburban areas of the negative effects of revitalization. The redevelopment projects themselves will take care of a great deal of the problems, and the indirect effects of the redevelopment will trigger improvements in all other areas affected by urban sprawl. We have seen in the past what does not work. Now we need to follow the examples of Fannual Hall and Old Sacramento and revitalize the nation's brownfields in order to restore beauty, utility, and efficiency to our metropolises and their surrounding areas.

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WORKS CITED

Cummings, Dolan. "No sense of community" Building Design 19 Nov. 1999; 15

Hayward, Stephen. "Suburban Legends; The fight against sprawl is based more on anti-
     suburban animus than on facts." National Review 22 March. 1999

Karamargin, C.J. "CONFERENCE OF MAYORS CALLS FOR FOCUSED EFFORT TO
      REDEVELOP BROWNFIELDS" State News Service 28 April. 1999

Kay, Jane Holtz. "Condemned No More; The greening of America's Industrial Wasteland."
      Institue of Public Affairs: In These Times 7 Feb. 2000; 18

Sierra Club. "Urban Sprawl Factsheet" Accessed: 9 Feb. 2000.
      <http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/factsheet.asp>

United States Conference of Mayors, The. "THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
      RELEASES SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON THE STATUS OF BROWNFIELDS IN 223       U.S. CITIES" 27 April. 1999.

The American Urban Experience. Prod./Dir. Art Ciocco. Exec. Prod. Edmund Bacon. Urban
      Productions in conjunction with the Urban Lands Institute

Woodbury, Coleman, PhD. "Impact of Urban Sprawl on Housing and Community
      Development" March. 1960