Question

Why is urban sprawl a concern for environmentalists?

Answer 1

Urban sprawl may be rumored to have its benefits, but it has more cons than pros. Urban sprawl leads to higher water and air pollution. This increased traffic jams and crashes.

Answer 2

Environmentalists are concerned for urban sprawl because they usually have some major impacts in nature such as:

• Increase air pollution: The urban sprawl also increases car and truck traffic, this leads to a major increase in air pollution and ground-level smog.This causes poor air quality and also increases respiratory conditions such as cancer.

• Increase water pollution: The urban sprawl also increases water pollution because the rainwater picks up gasoline, lawn chemicals, heavy metals, paint, motor oil and other pollutants that are around lawns, roads, driveways etc.

• Increase water consumption: Urban sprawl can pollute water, increase water consumption and also cause distribution problems because more water is consumed for lawn watering and other landscapes activities.

• The loss in open space and wildlife habitats: Urban sprawl destroys more than one million acres of parks, farms and open spaces EACH YEAR. This threatens ecosystems all over the world.