Charlotte is now in nonattainment of federal air quality standards, and Raleigh will soon be in nonattainment. Nonattainment means that those cities are not meeting air quality standards that federal regulators believe are safe for human protection. While in nonattainment, these localities will stop receiving certain federal highway monies for road construction. This uncontrolled road construction is the main culprit behind, not only air pollution, but also the advent of sprawl. Sprawl is the result of bad land use and transportation planning.
Sprawl eats away at the urban fringes, and devours the rural landscape and open spaces near cities.
It also destroys wildlife habitat, wetlands, and farmland. Giving society transportation options has wide-ranging impacts, that positively effects our health, quality of life, and environment.