They want safe, healthy places for their children to live and grow. Most of these women are good people. They're hardworking, go to church regularly, upstanding citizens who wouldn't step on an ant on the sidewalk types of folks. But, their actions are causing the greatest destruction of our remaining open lands. Through consumer demand.
Sprawl eats up our open space.
It creates traffic jams that boggle the mind and pollute the air. Spawl can make one feel downright claustrophobic about our future. There are lots of studies and reports and Web sites that feature data on the quantifiable consequences of urban sprawl. For example, a study by Rutgers University showed that sprawl costs taxpayers 20 times what it provides in financial gain to speculators. However, these consequences are rarely presented as a problem caused by individual choice.