A few miles farther out are a Starbuck's, a movie theater, a Wal-Mart and several car dealerships. Beyond that, the well-manicured lawns, driveways with sport utility vehicles and big homes on big lots are far from the walking distance of grocery stores, city parks or ice cream stands. This is suburban sprawl, generally defined as poorly planned development that destroys green space and increases taxes, traffic and air pollution. Most importantly, says writer and D.C. resident Douglas Morris, it is killing off Americans' sense of community and civility. It breeds incivility, he says, as well as violent crime and sociopathic behavior.
Sprawl isolates people in their own homes in the suburbs.
Sprawl has turned America into a society of strangers. People realize that if they're never going to see anybody again, they can be rude and uncivil. The common pattern of living far from one's workplace, commuting to work, then returning home late in the evening means that many people don't bother to get to know their neighbors or involve themselves in their communities. Additionally, most suburban shops and restaurants are not within walking distance of residential neighborhoods, making a car more of a necessity. Sprawl's roots go back to the era of the Great Depression, with President Roosevelt's New Deal programs that favored suburban development.