#urbansprawl — Public Fediverse posts

@crazyeddie @aworkinglibrary
It is probably about car dependency, car-centered areas. Like in the US where in many towns without a car one would struggle to do anything: getting to the grocery store, getting back from the store, reaching the other river bank as many bridges are motor vehicles only.

People can’t live without cars in such places. Even food banks have huge lines of cars, four "lanes". Some homeless people drive cars as well. Imagine the closest grocery store being 1 hour walking distance away, and the weather may be extremely hot/cold.

Many such areas don’t even have sidewalks or anything for walking at all. At the same time so called "jay-walking" is prohibited by law. The term "jaywalking" actually was invented by the cars lobby in the early 20th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking
Moving around by walking is extremely inconvenient, dangerous, taking ridiculous amounts of time, basically incompatible with everyday activities.

Also the parking lots, roads, intersections take up huge chunks of the city. Consider how much longer it takes to walk somewhere compared to what it could be without all these. Urban areas could look very different if they were human-centered and Points Of Interest were packed tightly.

And the bigger the city, the more space car infrastructure takes up. More lanes, wider intersections, parking lots can have up to many thousands spots, highways, freeways, interchanges of ridiculous sizes and shapes.

The topic is huge, what I mentioned is just the tip. Think of what you see around every day. Also all the noise. And danger it brings to everyone, not just drivers. The number of so called "accidents", another convenient term for the horrible things that happen everyday.

The areas which are pedestrian-friendly, bicycle friendly, have public transportation tend to have happier residents, more attraction points, more small businesses, more street life, way better air quality, less noise among other benefits.
Also social connections and interaction happen there and not on a 4-lane highway.

#Cars #Car #City #Urban #Streets
#Cities #CarFree #Roads #CarDependancy #StreetLife #Safety #Bycicles #Walking #UrbanSprawl #OneMoreLane #InducedTraffic #PublicTransport #PublicTransit #Access #PublicTransportation #Accessibility #Accessible #PublicSpaces #Socialization #Capitalism #Subsidies #Lobbying #WordsMatter #History #CarsAreDangerous #FuckCars

#Ausstellungstipp
Zwei empfehlenswerte Ausstellungen unter einem Dach:

"Suburbia. Träume vom Eigenheim – Wege aus der #Wohnungskrise" und
"Too Hot – Heiße Städte, neue Wege"

zur Zeit im Deutschen Architekturmuseum in #Frankfurt. 1/3

https://www.db-bauzeitung.de/news/ausstellung-suburbia-im-dam-frankfurt/

#Zersiedelung #urbansprawl #Flächengerechtigkeit #Segregation #AutogerechteStadt #SozialerWohnungsbau #Bauwende #Verkehrswende #Stadtentwicklung #Hitzeschutz #Schwammstadt #Klimaanpassung #Klimaresilienz #BlauGrüneInfrastruktur #BestPractices

How "federal policies increase debt and home size — and thereby sprawl": https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/how-the-government-built-the-american-dream-house

#housing #taxBreaks #mortgage #wealth #realEstate #assets #ownership #property #realEstate #insurance #loans #debt #taxes #urbanSprawl #policy #homeLoans

#Florida #WildlifeCorridor linking #StateParks would thwart #development

#LoxaLucie Headwaters Initiative aims to buy #HobeSound land for conservation.

by Timothy O'Hara, Jan. 2, 2026

"At a time when development pressure is pushing north into rural Martin County, conservation groups want to protect a wildlife corridor between two state parks in Hobe Sound.

"The Loxa-Lucie Headwaters Initiative was founded to protect the ecologically important corridor between #AtlanticRidgePreserve State Park and #JonathanDickinson State Park and connect the #LoxahatcheeRiver and #SaintLucie rivers. That would create a preserve for #NativePlants and #wildlife species that would span about 70,000 acres.

"The public owns #Hapatiokee and #PalMar regional parks, but there are thousands of acres of privately owned land in natural conditions that are ripe for development, said Guardians of Martin County Executive Director Greg Braun, whose group is part of the initiative.

" 'If they can connect the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia, we should be able to connect Jonathan Dickinson State Park to Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park,' Braun told TCPalm."

Learn more:
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/2026/01/02/florida-wildlife-corridor-state-parks-martin-county-jonathan-dickinson-atlantic-ridge-hobe-sound/87397089007/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/nARjr

#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeConservation #Florida #Nature #Wildlife #UrbanSprawl #InvasivePlants #NativeSpecies #ProtectingWildlife

#UK - How #WildlifeCorridors Are Helping Animals Survive In #Urban Areas

By Sarah Whitmore / 20 May 2025

Excerpt: "How animals actually use these corridors

"Let’s take #hedgehogs. Urban hedgehog populations are declining sharply — partly because their ability to roam has been limited by garden fences, walls, and roads. A hedgehog might need to travel over a kilometre in a single night to find enough food and a mate. The Hedgehog Street campaign has shown that something as simple as a 13 cm hole in a garden fence can turn a neighbourhood into a habitat network.

"#Bats, which are legally protected in the UK, rely on uninterrupted linear features like tree rows and waterways to navigate. When gaps appear in these features — from tree removal, #LightPollution, or #development — their movement is disrupted. Creating corridors that link #roosting sites with feeding grounds can dramatically increase their chances of survival.

"#Amphibians, especially species like common toads, face seasonal danger when crossing roads to reach breeding ponds. #UnderRoadTunnels and #AmphibianFriendly #drainage routes, used in projects supported by organisations like #Froglife, have proven successful at reducing #roadkill and supporting local populations.

"#Pollinators like #bees and #butterflies also benefit immensely from corridors. Isolated #wildflower patches can’t support long-distance foraging. But when these patches are linked — even via #roadside verges or #SchoolGardens — insects can move more freely and establish healthier, more resilient populations."

Read more:
https://thenaturenetwork.co.uk/how-wildlife-corridors-are-helping-animals-survive-in-urban-areas/

#SolarPunkSunday #RewildTheNight #UrbanSprawl #Development #Nature #WildlifeCorridor #UrbanRewilding #NatureCorridors #NatureCrossings #Wildflowers #GardeningForPollinators

A New Tool To Characterise The Socio-Environmental Dimensions Of Urban Rivers: Urban River Socio-Environmental Index
--
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105388 <-- shared paper
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #EnvironmentalEvaluation #SocioEcosystem #SocialConnectivity #UrbanRiver #Indicators #RiverRestoration #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #water #hydrology #urban #stream #ecosystem #cities #residents #community #nature #humanimpacts #artifical #engineered #URBS #watershed #drainage #management #restoration #geomorphology #hydrogeomorphology #ecology #urbansprawl #interdisciplinary #biophysical #social #community #France #Paris #MorbrasRiver #macroinvertebrates #riparian #vegetation #reaches #typology #landscape #landuse #landcover #variety #blandscaping