urban sprawl feeds obesity

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That it does. It also definitely makes you think twice before eating at a fast-food joint--read this book if you want to be grossed out!

Or watch the documentary "Supersize me". Boy that cured ME from going to fast food places much anymore!

[Jolt]

Or watch the documentary "Supersize me". Boy that cured ME from going to fast food places much anymore!

Yeah, that is another good one! Really shows how unhealthy the stuff is--he gained a bunch of weight, his cholesterol went up significantly AND his liver function tests were elevated, in addition to generally feeling rotten. And of course there was the "McPuke" scene in the car...

[Kitsune06]

People have a really funny way of going about prioritizing the things that most threaten their health and way of life.

I find it ironic that we can condemn one thing and yet be ambivalent about another... cycle to save gas and yet take cross-country flights every so often, condemn destructive ranching practices and yet use leather/meat/wool, condemn clear cutting and yet buy things with huge boxes and tons of wrapping paper, build wooden houses and move out into the newly cleared land- complain about urbane sprawl and yet not notice that cities sprawl because there are just more people, and people need somewhere to live. We *all* want that nice little ranch house with a yard and a dog etc etc...

The problem is, there just keep being more people to want that. Our kids grow up, and they want a house of their own. ...then they have kids and when they grow up, they'll want houses, too. Or apartments, or wherever... hence suburban sprawl. Americans want space, we don't want to live in apartments or flats on narrow little streets, just like we want our monster SUVs, our Vauxhalls and our Chevys, not the "little toy cars" we make fun of on european streets.

What Americans don't seem to get is that we have a decision to make- Either we are willing to settle for a little more crowding- a smaller yard, a smaller apartment, less sprawl and just larger buildings- or we realize that our children will never get to see the fields and forests we tear apart today to construct new apartment complexes and subdivisions. Already I've seen several field and forest areas fall to the hands of the urban (or suburban) developer... the fields across from my parents' house, the fields by my and my ex's old elementary schools, the pretty, wooded lot next to my apartment...

We've also got a problem with the European concept of zero or negative population growth. The population of the US and Canada will *double* in 117 years. Where do you think the sprawl will be then?
just saying.

[mimitabby]

someone cycling every day to save gas money more than makes up for the "cost" of that international flight.

what gets me are:
people leaving the faucet running.
people leaving their cars running.
cities planned so poorly that it's HARD to get to a supermarket
without a car.
people LIVING in their cars because they have too many activities.
people flocking to desert climates where you can't live unless you have a/c all year round!
off my soap box.
I loved the idea of a solar heated bathtub!
If we all do A LITTLE it will make up for the bad things that we do. it's a start.

today i will do my part. Taking an electric bus downtown so i can
go to Fremont on my bike.

[teigyr]

people LIVING in their cars because they have too many activities.

Hey now, you've peeked in my car!!! Though maybe it's laziness instead of too many activities.

[northstar]

I believe the Minneapolis/St. Paul was rated one of the worst cities in the country for urban sprawl. Ay, yi yi. I've been involved in some local development issues, and when we raise concerns about developments making the area less safe for pedestrians or cyclists, we are called communists, anti-diversity...you name it. We're trying to encourage development that allows people choice when it comes to their transportation, and we get screeched at by the auto-reliant because they don't want to subsidize other people's transportation. Not to mention we've been subsidizing the auto industry/way of life for YEARS AND YEARS...

[mimitabby]

fyi
i do some of this stuff too.
we all have to try to do better. I am trying!
Then i think. what about that woman in africa who can't get clean water for her little kids and has to wait in line to get a mosquito net to cover her babies with that she can't afford to get but maybe some of us rich westerners donated enough $$ to a charity who doles them out to her and maybe there are enough today?
and here i am running water down the drain, water that she could drink?

Sigh..

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

When DH and I met, we both had large houses with mortgages and several acres of land, 50 minute drive apart from each other.
We both sold our big houses, got ride of half of all our junk, and bought a LITTLE house outright, on a 1/3 acre, right in town here. We purposely looked for and bought a house where we would be able to WALK into town without using cars.
That's what we do- we usually WALK or BIKE the 1 mile round trip to Main St. and back- to the P.O, the bank, the drugstore, the cafe, the health food store, etc. Biking and walking. We only take the cars to do a big supermarket trip. We work at home (we are lucky that way, not all people can do that I realize).
We use a tiny fraction of the gas we used to use. Plus we are now in much better health.

[pyxichick]

Geography of Nowhere

This is an excellent book about urban sprawl which touches on all of these issues.

[teigyr]

Everyone here has great observations about what's going on. I often laugh when I look at the parking lot at work, there are so many huge trucks and SUVs that can't even fit in a parking spot! All of these vehicles are driven by ONE driver. I work/park in a restricted area so it is rare to have more than one person in a vehicle. A lot of our workgroup, also, live in places up to 100 miles away.

While I drive to work (due to my hours and distance, I pretty much have to though I would LOVE to take the bus or light rail if it was possible), my car gets over 35 mpg. My car also has enough room for my bike. When we're at home, we walk everywhere. We are in the city but not downtown. If we go to the grocery store, the post office, or out to eat, we walk. People actually laugh at us because we're known as "the walkers". Our one hangout is about a mile away or so and people seem to think we're doing something incredibly difficult by walking. If we go downtown, we take the bus then walk around. Is easier that way.

I am always amused by the people that travel to Europe and marvel about how they "ate everything they wanted and still lost weight!". Um...duh. Walking, biking (is common in Denmark) and racing to the underground are perfect little ways to get exercise in.