Suburban Sprawl, Global Warming, and Childhood Obesity

These trends are linked. People, especially parents, move to sprawling suburban communities for lower taxes, more land, and perceived safety. These enclaves are cut off from the “sidewalk grid” linking older, more urban communities. It is this grid that enables walkers and bikers to actually get somewhere, such as the store, school, gym, or library, instead of just going in circles for recreation. To get anywhere, the enclave adults have to drive and the kids have to be driven.

The extra lawn in these developments is often just enough to justify the purchase of a small tractor lawnmower, contributing more greenhouse gases. City properties are usually small enough that even a manual push mower could do the job and the exercise could save a trip to the gym. Parents may think their kids will play more on more land but that does not seem to correlate.

Being isolated in individual cul-de-sacs, kids must be driven to events at school, for sports, for other classes and even for playdates, adding tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Simultaneously, the kids are not getting that extra exercise that comes from biking or walking or skipping to the school, the practice field, or their neighbor's house. Their movements must be planned and choreographed to accommodate the parental shuttle service.

Sprawling to evade taxes? Dream on. Sprawl just transfers taxes from property taxes, which pay for schools, aforementioned sidewalks, and other social benefits, to gasoline tax. Just an extra 10 miles each way, each day, for 200 working days per year adds up to 4,000 miles per year. At an optimistic 20 mpg, that's 200 gallons and $600. Sure, only part of that is actual federal tax, but does that distinction really make you feel better?

If every family could walk or bike for just 2 trips per week instead of using the car, the US would be independent of foreign energy, thousands of tons of greenhouse gases would be saved, we would be a little healthier, we would know our neighbors and environment a little better, and we could each be about a pound lighter each year. It would be especially nice if many people did this because we would see our neighbors, and not just their cars, more often. But don't wait for everyone to do it... you can do this on your own!

See also “My Car, My Carapace” for an older, related rant.