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Title: Hazardous to our Health: The Effects of Urban Sprawl on the Environment and its Inhabitants


1
Hazardous to our Health The Effects of Urban
Sprawl on the Environment and its Inhabitants
  • Erin Anderson-Ruddon
  • Kayla Arslanian

2
Hazardous to our Health The Effects of Urban
Sprawl on the Environment and its Inhabitants
  • Sprawl has four dimensions a population that is
    widely dispersed in low density development,
    rigidly separated homes, shops and workplaces, a
    network of roads marked by huge blocks and poor
    access, and a general lack of well-defined
    thriving activity centers or downtowns (Ewing,
    Pendall, and Chen 2002).
  • We hypothesize that urban sprawl is harmful to
    the environment and that the environmental
    degradation suffered increases health risks in
    these areas of sprawl.

3
Urban Sprawl Air Pollution
  • Air quality is greatly affected by sprawl.
  • Motor vehicles are the leading source of air
    pollution.
  • In areas of sprawl, destinations are far apart,
    creating a dependence on automobiles to get from
    destination to destination.
  • The need to make more car trips increases the
    average persons daily miles driven.

4
Air Pollution The Sprawl Index
  • The sprawl index categorizes areas according to
    their level of sprawl.
  • A standard deviation of 50 separates a high area
    of sprawl, from an average area of sprawl, from a
    low area of sprawl (Sturm and Cohen 2004).
  • For example, Atlanta, GA, an area of very high
    sprawl has an index of 57.7 whereas Chicago, IL,
    a denser city has an index of 121.2.
  • For every 50 unit decrease in standard deviation
    on the sprawl index (more sprawling), there is a
    1.96 miles/day increase in driving per person.
  • For every 25 unit increase in standard deviation
    on the sprawl index (less sprawling), there is a
    5.4 miles/day decrease in driving per person.
  • This shows that people in more sprawling areas
    drive longer distances, more often than those
    living in areas of relatively low sprawl.

5
Automobiles Air Pollution
  • Because inhabitants in areas of great sprawl have
    to drive longer distances more frequently, they
    burn more fuel than persons living in areas of
    lesser sprawl.
  • The advent of sprawl could threaten the current
    positive trend of cleaner air.

6
Automobiles Air Pollution
  • Automobiles account for
  • 30 of all oxides of nitrogen (any gaseous form
    of nitrogen) emitted into the air.
  • 30 of all hydrocarbon emissions.
  • The main component of fossil fuels, hydrocarbons
    combust when fuel is burned, releasing chemicals
    such as methane and benzene into the atmosphere.
  • Benzene is a known carcinogen.
  • 32 of all carbon emissions.

7
Automobiles Air Pollution
  • Automobiles account for
  • 30 of all oxides of nitrogen (any gaseous for of
    nitrogen) emitted into the air.
  • 30 of all hydrocarbon emissions.
  • The main component of fossil fuels, hydrocarbons
    combust when fuel is burned, releasing chemicals
    such as methane and benzene into the atmosphere.
  • Benzene is a known carcinogen.
  • 32 of all carbon emissions.
  • In areas where sprawl is high, cars account for a
    greater number of these pollutants.
  • For example, in Atlanta, vehicles account for 58
    of all nitrogen oxides and 47 of all hydrocarbon
    emissions (Frumkin, 2002).

8
Urban Sprawl Ozone
  • Sprawl affects a regions ozone levels.
  • Ozone is a photochemical smog created then
    organic gases (specifically VOCs, nitrogen
    oxides, heat and sunlight interact (Goldman
    2001)).
  • Though ozone is necessary in the stratosphere to
    protect earth from the suns UV rays, in the
    troposphere it degrades air quality, and is
    considered a pollutant.
  • Currently, over 90 metropolitan areas regularly
    exceed ozone standards.
  • The EPA attributes 50 of smog precursors to
    motor vehicles (Benfield, Raimi and Chen 1999).

9
Urban Sprawl Ozone
  • Land use patterns affect levels of ozone. In
    sprawling environments, individuals release more
    VOCs and nitrogen dioxides into the atmosphere,
    both of which are components of ozone.

Table 1 Average daily VOC and NOx emission rate
for compact and disperse cities (Borrego,
Martins, and Tchepel et al 2006).
10
Sprawl Index Ozone
  • Every 25 unit increase in the sprawl index (less
    sprawling) relates to a 7.5 parts per billion
    decrease in maximum ozone levels.
  • Ozone levels between the most sprawling regions
    and the least sprawling regions differ by 41
    parts per billion (Ewing, Pendall, and Chen 2002).

11
Urban Sprawl Ozone
  • Urban sprawl not only contributes to higher ozone
    levels, but ozone also covers more area in
    sprawling regions

Figure 2 Ozone concentrations (relative to
background ozone levels) at 2pm in alternate city
structures (Borrego, Martins, and Tchepel et al
2006).
12
Urban Sprawl Ozone
  • Ozone affects more people in areas of greater
    sprawl

Table 2 Population affected by ozone
concentrations (Borrego, Martins, and Tchepel et
al 2006). Again, because individuals living in
sprawl produce more VOCs and nitrogen oxides
daily, as a result their ozone levels are higher,
cover more area, and affect more people than
compact cities. This is because individuals in
compact cities produce less VOCs and nitrogen
oxides. Thus, their ozone levels, area and
population affected by ozone are not as greatly
impacted by ozone pollution.
13
Carbon Monoxide Analysis
  • Sprawling regions also emit an alarmingly large
    amount of carbon monoxide. Combining demographic
    information and data collected on how much carbon
    monoxide an average car emits, we can see how
    dangerous sprawl is for air quality.
  • The EPA estimates that the average car annually
    produces 22g CO for every 12,500 miles driven
    (EPA, 1997). This means that the average car
    produces .00176g CO for every mile driven (22g
    CO/12,500).

14
Carbon Monoxide Analysis
  • It is also recorded the average person in the
    Atlanta metropolitan area travels 34.1 miles/day,
    whereas the average person in the Philadelphia
    metro area dives 16.9 miles a day, and the
    average Chicago metro inhabitant dives 19.9 miles
    per day (Frumkin, 2002).
  • On the sprawl index, Atlantas score is has a
    57.7 (very sprawly), Philadelphias is 112.6
    (average sprawl), and Chicagos is 121.2 (higher
    sprawl).

15
Carbon Monoxide Analysis
16
Carbon Monoxide Analysis
17
Carbon Monoxide Analysis
  • The Atlanta metro area has nearly two million
    less people then the Philadelphia metro area, yet
    Atlanta emits around two billion more pounds of
    carbon monoxide yearly. Chicagos metro area has
    twice the population of the Atlanta metro area,
    and Atlanta still produces more than one billion
    pounds of carbon per year.
  • The differences seen are attributed to sprawl
    individuals living in sprawl drive more
    frequently and drive than those living elsewhere,
    and the impact this car dependency has on the
    environment will be detrimental.

18
Water Pollution
  • Urban development in watersheds (an area drained
    by a river or some other body of water) can
    greatly alter the composition of a river, which
    can in turn affect water quality
  • This section focuses on two watershedsthe
    Schuylkill watershed and the Waquoit Bay
    watershedand examines how sprawl impacts these
    two bodies of water.

19
Schuylkill River, PA
  • The Schuylkill River has some of the highest
    dissolved solute concentrations of all water
    sources in the northeastit has the highest
    nitrate levels and the second highest chloride
    levels (Interlandi and Crockett 2003).
  • The Schuylkill also had the fastest increase for
    nitrate, chloride and residuals over all other
    watersheds in the northeast (Interlandi and
    Crockett 2003). This suggests that development in
    the Schuylkill watershed negatively impacts the
    river.

20
Schuylkill River, PA
  • From 1982 to 1997, developed land in the
    Schuylkill watershed increased from 21.5 of the
    total watershed land area to 28.5over 34,000
    hectares of forest and agricultural land were
    urbanized. This change in land use resulted in a
    31 increase in developed land.
  • When sprawling occurred in the watershed and
    developed land increased by 31, chloride levels
    increased 37 in that same time period
    (Interlandi and Crockett 2003).

21
Waquoit Bay, MA
  • The Waquoit Bay is located in Cape Cod, MA, and
    like the Schuylkill watershed, the Waquoit Bay
    watershed has seen a recent burst in urban
    development.
  • The predominant source of nitrogen in the water
    comes from atmospheric deposition, fertilizer use
    and wastewater disposal.
  • in the 1980s, the major source of nitrogen
    changed from atmospheric deposition to
    wastewater, reflecting the increase in
    urbanization in the Waquoit watershed (Bowen and
    Valiela, 2001).

22
Land Use Change in the Waquoit Watershed
23
Waquoit Bay
  • Between 1938 and 1990, when most urbanization
    occurred in the area, nitrogen inputs into the
    Waquoit bay watershed increased twofold (Bowen
    and Valiela, 2001).
  • In 1990, wastewater accounted for 22 of the
    bays total nitrogen delivery, whereas in the
    mid-century, it only accounted for 2.
  • Thus, nitrogen from wastewater increased ten-fold
    during the period of urban sprawl in the
    watershed.

24
Health Hazards of Sprawl
  • The harmful effects that sprawl has on air and
    water quality have implications for human health.
  • AIR
  • Nitrogen oxides can react with numerous compounds
    to form acid and other particles
  • Particles can inflict damage to lung tissue
  • which can cause or worsen respiratory diseases
    such as emphysema and bronchitis

25
Health Hazards of Sprawl - Air
  • VOCs release hydrocarbons, some of which are
    carcinogenic
  • Carbon monoxide
  • affects the central nervous system, causing
    visual problems, reduced ability to work or
    learn, and difficulty performing tasks
  • At extremely high levels, carbon monoxide is
    poisonous and can cause death (EPA, 2006).

26
Water Related Hazards
  • Nitrogen
  • Through water pollution, increased nitrates in
    the water can cause methmeglobenemia in infants
    under six months.
  • Blue baby syndrome because the hemoglobin goes
    from being ferrous to ferric (FE2 to FE3).
  • This is an oxidizing reactionthus, the
    hemoglobins ability to carry oxygen is lowered,
    making the infants blue. This syndrome is
    potentially fatal

27
Water Related Hazards
  • Storm runoff
  • currently 5,529 water bodes in the US are
    impaired by pathogens (Gaffield, Goo, Richards et
    al 2003).
  • The insecticides in runoff that infect water have
    carcinogenic effects in humans. The amount of
    disinfectant (such as chlorine) can also have a
    carcinogenic effect.
  • The EPA estimates that ingestion of drinking
    water with disinfectant byproducts is responsible
    for 1100-93000 cases of bladder cancer each year
    (Gaffield, Goo and Richards et al 2003).

28
(Gaffield, Goo and Richards et al 2003).
Impaired Water Bodies in the USA
29
General Health Hazards
  • Sprawl categorically makes people less healthy.
  • The overall sprawl index significantly predicts
    the number of chronic medical conditions and of
    physical health-related quality of life of the
    residents in the area.

30
Sprawl Index (Abridged)
  • As a regions sprawl index increases by 25
    points, the number of residents suffering from
    various chronic conditions decreases (Sturm and
    Cohen 2004).

31
CONCLUSION
  • America will undoubtedly continue to develop,
    thus, action must be taken to ensure that further
    development is not hazardous to the environment
    and to its inhabitants.
  • It is necessary that that future designs must be
    eco-friendly, and moreover, must consider the
    health of its residents.

32
Works Cited
  • An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality Organic
    Gases (Volatile Organic Compounds - VOCs).
    Environmental Protection Agency. 5 December 2006.
    lthttp//www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.htmlgt
  • Air Emissions Trends - Continued Progress Through
    2005. Environmental Protection Agency. 5 December
    2006. lthttp//www.epa.gov/airtrends/econ-emissions
    .htmlgt
  • Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Wikipedia. 5 December
    2006. lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_metrop
    olitan_areagt
  • Benfield, F. Kaid, Matthew D. Raimi, and Donald
    D.T. Chen. Once There Were Greenfields How Urban
    Sprawl is Undermining Americas Environment,
    Economy, and Social Fabric. New York Natural
    Resources Defense Council, 1999.
  • Borrego, C., H. Martins, O Tchepel, et al. (2006)
    How Urban Strucutre Can Affect City
    Sustainability from an Air Quality Perspective.
    Environmental Modeling and Software. 21 461-467.
  • Bowen, Jennifer L. and Ivan Valiela. (2001). The
    Ecological Effects of Urbanization of Coastal
    Watersheds Historical Increases in Nitrogen
    Loads and Eutrophication of Waquoit Bay
    Estuaries. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
    Aquatic Sciences. 58 1489-1500.
  • Chloride. Wikipedia. 5 December 2006.

33
  • Chicagoland. Wikipedia. 5 December 2006.
    lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Metropolitan
    _Areagt
  • Delaware Valley. Wikipedia. 5 December 2006.
    lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Valleygt
  • Ewing, Richard, Rolf Pendall, and Don Chen.
    Measuring Sprawl and its Impact. Smart Growth
    America. 24 October 2006. lthttp//www.smartgrowtha
    merica.org/sprawlindex/MeasuringSprawl.PDFgt
  • Gardener, Sarah. The Impact of Sprawl on the
    Environment and Human Health. Urban Sprawl A
    Comprehensive Reference Guide. Ed. David C.
    Soule. Westport, CT Greenwood Press, 2006.
    240-260.
  • Gaffield, Stephen J., Robert L. Goo, Lynn A.
    Richards et al. (2003) Public Health Effects of
    Inadequately Managed Stormwater Runoff. American
    Journal of Public Health. 98 1527-1531.
  • Goldman, Todd. "Consequences of Sprawl Threats
    to California's Natural Environment and Human
    Health" eScholarship Repository. Institute of
    Urban Regional Development at UC Berkley. 24
    November 2006. lthttp//repositories.cdlib.org/iurd
    /wps/WP-2001-06gt
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  • Health and Environmental Impacts of NOx.
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    Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human
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  • Interlandi, Sebastian J. and Christopher. S.
    Crockett. (2003) Recent Water Quality Trends in
    the Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania, USA A
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  • Nitrate. Wikipedia. 5 December 2006.
    lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrategt

34
  • What are the Six Common Air Pollutants?
    Environmental Protection Agency. 5 December
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  • Wolfe, Amir H. and Jonathan A. Patz. (2002)
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  • Images
  • Massachusetts Estuaries Project. 5 December 2006.
    lthttp//www.oceanscience.net/estuaries/Quashnet.ht
    mgt
  • Schuylkill River National State and Heritage
    Area. 5 December 2006. lthttp//www.schuylkillrive
    r.org/images/home/home_map.gifgt
  • Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Bay Research
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    eserve.org/images/bw_aerial_photo_wshed.jpggt
  • Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Bay Research
    Reserve. 5 December 2006. lthttp//www.waquoitbayr
    eserve.org/images/lu_change_wb_watershed.jpggt
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