The phenomenon of cities moving outwards into rural areas creating more segregated land use areas is known as urban sprawl. Rather than having work, shopping, recreation, and school in one area as in the city, urban sprawl separates these activities of daily life. Residential areas are created that are away from the city. Many people begin to live in neighborhoods that are purely residential and have houses on much bigger lots than in the city. As a result, more natural resources are destroyed, farm land is taken over, and people become more dependent on cars for transportation. These changes lead to significant health considerations in areas that have urban sprawl in the United States and it is beginning to affect India as well.
In his article, “Urban Sprawl and Public Health,” Dr. Howard Frumkin discusses the health problems associated with this increased dependence on motor vehicles and use of land. When people live outside the city, they are often no longer within walking or biking distance to their work, shopping, or other daily activities. As a result, they depend on driving a car to these places. Active transport is not an option. Thus, people engage in less physical activity when they live in the suburbs. Physical activity is extremely important for promoting overall health and prevented many health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Not only does being more dependent on cars decrease physical activity levels, but it also increases air pollution. For people living in the suburbs created by sprawl, commute to work and other places is usually much longer than that of people living in the city. Thus more gasoline is required on a daily basis because they have to drive further and there is no option for walking or biking instead of using a motor vehicle.
Other health concerns associated with increased motor vehicle use include greater numbers of traffic accidents and mental health issues. Because people spend more time in the car commuting to places, they experience more stress and road rage. However, there are some mental health benefits associated with living in the suburbs. People usually live closer to the natural environment because they have and see more trees, grass, animals, and flowers. This might provide stress relief from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Water quality is another factor that is affected by urban sprawl and directly relates to public health. More pollution occurs from roads, construction, and parking lots. Fertilizers and pesticides used for agriculture also pollute water. Water quantity can also be reduced by destruction of land and forests causing rain water to be less easily absorbed or restored as groundwater (Frumkin, 2002).
In his article in the Times of India, Radheshyam Jadhav discusses how urban sprawl has negatively affected farmland in India particularly in the state of Pune. He says that it has caused problems relating to land use, the environment and agriculture. The amount of farmland taken over for residential, industrial, or other related purposes is in the thousands of acres. As a result of so much land being cleared, fewer crops are produced. Food scarcity is becoming a problem as a result of this reduced agricultural output. Clearing so much land has also displaced many people in Pune. Creating more residential areas has not been beneficial for the people of the slums. Even if better housing is built, the poorest cannot afford it. Gokhale-Benninger does not believe that urban sprawl is effective for providing housing for the growing population but instead that it results in a loss of biodiversity (Radheshyam, 2010).
Frumpkin suggests several solutions to combatting the health problems caused by urban sprawl. Making areas of mixed land use and having more sidewalks would help to increase physical activity. Having shopping, play, schools, and work in close proximity to residential areas would allow people the opportunity to engage in active transport and would decrease dependence on cars. People would be more likely to walk or bike to their activities if they were closer and if infrastructure was put in place so that they could do it safely. Bike lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks need to be built to encourage active transport. This would also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other harmful substances released into the environment by cars. An easy intervention to improve air quality would be to plant more trees and leave more green spaces (Frumkin, 2002). The article in The Times of India suggests that the government should make laws protecting farmland and the natural environment and should not initiate or allow developments that are environmentally disruptive and damaging (Radheshyam, 2010).
Radheshyam, J. (2010, December 16). Urban sprawl on farmland is not healthy. The Times of India.
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