Historic preservationists often are scorned because we try to protect the old, the historic. But our allegiance is actually to the future, not the past. Not every old building is historic, certainly not every old building is worth saving, and sometimes places are of great historic or cultural significance even if they are not old. Preservation values diversity in place. Knowing and appreciating the heritage context of place offers future generations a broader array of choices and preserves the possibility of a fuller experience.
Sprawl is the uncontained bleeding edge of urban development.
At its worst, sprawl serves to disconnect people and place. Consider how very different the George Kessler Plan of 1901 for the creation of the Memphis Parkway System is than the reality of the Nonconnah Parkway. Obviously cities depend on growth and development but edges do not have to endlessly bleed. They do not have to result in sameness everywhere. There is no rule or market that says defining landscape character must be re-configured so that stands of oaks and hickory must be uprooted or that existing roads must be rerouted to make way for the new.