A sense of community is often lacking. Provide public places, civic amenities Development patterns to avoid Segregated uses Strip commercial Buildings surrounded by parking lots Office parks Ribbons of development into rural areas We are building sprawling mega-cities that provide this lesser quality of life, while consuming vast acreages of farmland and wildlife habitat. Fifty years ago, Los Angeles was a delightful place to live, a sunny city surrounded by stunning mountain ranges, and the nation's number one agricultural producer. Now it's a vast mega-city stretching 50 miles in all directions, with commuters driving 50 miles between their job and affordable housing. Traffic congestion reduces mobility, but lack of public transportation and scattered services and jobs mandate auto travel.
Air pollution remains a major problem, despite dramatic reductions in individual auto emissions.
Agriculture has all but vanished. Many species and habitats are rare and imperiled. A variety of fiscal and social problems accompany this sprawl. Inner cities, and then inner suburbs, decay as growth moves outward like an ever-expanding doughnut. Peripheral growth incurs tremendous costs for constructing and maintaining infrastructure, costs which are rarely internalized into the price of new development.