It used to be farms, woods, country and dairy. It's all gone. They went in, bought the land up cheap and went crazy. Beck said population growth is a major factor in sprawl, even in communities that have smart-growth land use plans. Per capita consumption went up a third.
People are loosey-goosey in Greenville with the use of the land.
Fortunately, American communities over the last five years have started to focus on the loss of quality of life due to sprawl. What has arisen is the smart growth movement. Plans and programs to halt the urban sprawl that is devouring thousands of square miles of farmland, natural habitats and open spaces each decade must also focus on slowing population growth to be effective. Over the 20-year period studied, the nation's 100 largest cities sprawled out over an additional 14,545 square miles taking up more than 9 million acres of rural land, Beck said. According to 2000 Census Bureau statistics, South Carolina's Hispanic population more than tripled over the past 10 years, while other minority groups also saw population gains.