Urban Sprawl Essay

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Lacia Vaughan 5 November 2012 ENGWR 102 The Effects of Urban and Rural Living What is the difference between Urban and Rural living? What are the pros and cons of living either of these different lives? Lets us see. Urban Sprawl is the uncontrolled spread of urban areas, usually taking place on the outskirts of cities, involving the mass construction of residential areas and commercial buildings. Two causes for this being the fact that land and housing costs are cheaper compared to cities, and higher property and business taxes have pushed businesses to the suburbs where taxes are typically low. Some argue that this could be positive for the growth of a local economy or the fact that it will do nothing but ruin the environment around us. Destruction of animal and plant life, the pollution it brings to the air, and the natural beauty of the wildlife being destroyed are just some of the reasons why so many citizens are opposed to this idea of "Urban Sprawl". Rural living areas on the other hand are not so much frowned upon. Houses are spread vastly apart leaving abundant room for gardens and fields. Due to a much reduced number of people inhabiting the these places, there is more room for pets to be owned and wild animals to roam around that keep the equilibrium maintained in the nature. The difference between the two is that people living in urban areas lead a more “urban” life, while the people who inhabit rural areas experience the more rural aspects of life. Some see this as an advantage, and again some see it as a threat to the environment around us. According to environmental groups, "Urban Sprawl is gobbling up open spaces in fast-growing metropolitan areas so quickly that it could spell extinction for nearly 1,200 species of plants and animals." Urban Sprawl takes over places that exceed beyond city limits into the natural and agricultural areas,
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