Suburban Sprawl & Urban Sustainability Problems

Many contemporary cities have enacted measures to prevent the continuous urban sprawl that results from their ever-growing populations. They reserve a portion of land for farms, parks, forests, and other such things. This is called a “greenbelt.”

The term “ghettoization” is used to refer to the degradation of inner cities in America. It occurs when affluent white Americans move out of inner cities to the suburbs and this population is replaced with much poorer populations. It occurred throughout the United States in the twentieth century and is one of the more significant problems facing American cities in the twenty-first century.

The “metropolitan area” of a city is defined as all the areas surrounding a city that can be said to have a high-level of economic or social integration with the city. So, if the majority of people who live in an area outside of a city’s political limits still commute to the city for work, school, or recreation than that area is said to be within the city’s “metropolitan area.” The definition is based on economic and social integration, NOT on physical proximity.

The term “megalopolis” is used to describe a stretch of land that contains multiple cities and connecting suburban regions. The stretch of land from Boston to Washington D.C. also includes New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and all the attending suburban areas. It is a highly urbanized stretch of land and therefore it is called a “megalopolis.”