Reclamation
of Natural Space in Urban Areas
By Brent Langley
Natural spaces
in urban areas are characterized by either innate or engineered biodiversity,
including flora (trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, aquatic plants,
ferns, mosses, etc.) which, in combination with water features, modified soil
and land contouring (when necessary), encourage local fauna (butterflies, bees, birds, squirles, etc.) to gather and
utilize the ecosystem for food, water and shelter.
During the past
three hundred and sixty years, the human population has grown rapidly. From 1650 to 1850, the worldwide population
grew from approximately 500 million to 1 billion. From 1850 to 1930, it doubled to 2
billion. By 1975, it doubled again to 4
billion. Today, the earth supports
approximately 6.6 billion people. The
human population is projected to be over 7.8 billion by the middle of the 21st
century. (Campbell and Reece: 1190-1191)
Movement toward
urban communities rapidly increased in the mid to late eighteen hundreds as the
Industrial Revolution took root. Farming
practices advanced, requiring fewer farmers to produce the necessary
abundance. Factories drew large numbers
of workers to cities. As cities grew, they outgrew their original
bounds and continued to expand outward.
During the
beginning of the twentieth century, the automobile made it possible to travel
long distances in relatively a reduced time.
Roads were paved to provide access for those wishing to travel and to
improve interstate commerce. Parking lots and buildings were built to
house the new vehicles. The city
continued to grow outward because now people could live near the city and still
access the city easily.
After World War
II, when the middle class grew exponentially, the automobile became a
widespread commodity. The city continued
to expand as people discovered the joys of suburban life free from the crowded
city.
Urban sprawl set
in. Urban sprawl, the spreading of a
community to and beyond the outer fringes of a city, has become commonplace. Urban density measures human population in a
city. It is defined as the number of
people per square [mile] of land for urban use in a municipal or township
boundary. Lower urban densities are indicative of urban sprawl; that is,
low-density development beyond the edge of service and employment, which
separates residential areas from commercial, educational and recreational areas
thus requiring automobiles for transportation (TCRP). The Southeast Michigan Council of
Government (SEMCOG) notes that urban sprawl is ultimately a two-part process
with "sprawling low density growth at the suburban fringe and the
concurrent disinvestment and abandonment of older/urbanized communities"
(SEMCOG, 1991).
Urban sprawl and
subsequent disinvestment and abandonment of urban centers have led to a number
of widespread problems. Among these
problems are excessive developed land and neighborhood blight, air and waterway
pollution, diminished wildlife habitats, the high cost of public works, and unequal
distribution of public parks and recreation facilities.
Buildup of new
commercial developments in outlying areas has led to abandonment of
developments in urban centers, and resulted in unsupportable commercial
property throughout urban and suburban areas.
To further aggravate the situation, many manufacturing facilities have
closed down as they have become obsolete, more compact or moved operations overseas
and out of state. Abandoned properties drive
down property values and further degrade surrounding neighborhoods. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, urban sprawl,
aggravated by economic downturn has led
to an excess of 11.5 million square feet of retail space alone (CB Richard Ellis).
Residential properties have
suffered the same fate as retail and commercial developments, often as a result
of the abandonment of urban areas by businesses. When retail establishments, such as
restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and doctor’s offices have moved
beyond easy reach of the inner city, residents of the abandoned neighborhoods
have also taken flight. Because the
decrease in services and increase in abandoned properties drives down the value
of homes in the area, residential properties often become abandoned, left to be
taken over by banks and local municipalities.
Grand Rapids currently has approximately 2,900 vacant homes. That’s 7.4% of the total housing market. Vacant homes remain empty for average of 500
days (City of Grand Rapids).
Restoration of natural spaces can
accomplish several things at once in regard to property problems in urban
areas. Creation of natural spaces in
abandoned lots beautifies the area, improving the look of the surrounding district
and bringing property values up.
Beautification of a neighborhood also draws in businesses, improving its
overall economic wellbeing by creating jobs, increasing tax base and reducing
the burden on local citizens. Jobs mean
opportunity for improving residents’ incomes and their ability to maintain
their homes. In addition, by reducing
existing commercial, retail and residential properties to match demand,
property values and potential rents increase.
Finally, turning blighted properties, especially manufacturing facilities
and other brownfields, into natural spaces, eliminates potentially dangerous
areas and decreases cost of public oversight.
Air pollution has plagued cities
since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
“In 2005, global atmospheric concentrations of
CO2 were 35% higher than
they were before the Industrial Revolution” (http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html).
In 2008 the U.S. emitted 5,921.2 Tg CO2 Eq. This is actually a reduction in emissions
over the previous eight years and below 2000 levels. Most of these emissions are caused by burning
of fossil fuels. Current there is a push
to find alternative, cheap energy sources that will reduce our dependence on
fossil fuels and thus reduce our emissions.
However, there are currently ways
to reduce the affect of emissions on air quality. Creating natural spaces in our cities can
help reduce CO2 buildup
significantly. Trees are especially good
at sequestering and storing pollutants.
They can remove CO2, NO2, SO2, and O3.
According to the EPA, afforestation, the planting of trees where there
previously were none, results in sequestration of 0.6-2.6 metric tons per acre
per year for a period of ninety to one hundred and twenty years (Representative Carbon Sequestration Rates).
It would take approximately
Stormwater
and waste management issues also derive from urban sprawl. Extensive impervious surfaces, such as roads,
parking lots, driveways, and roofs, interrupt the natural water cycle. In the natural environment, precipitation percolates
through the soil, watering plants and recharging reduced ground water
reserves. The balance of it runs over
the surface of the earth until it reaches a body of water. Wetlands, bogs, and riparian areas filter the
water, removing pollutants before they can reach waterways.
Since cities are full of impervious
surfaces. Very little storm water is infiltrates
the ground. Instead, it is routed by
roofs, streets, and parking lots to sewers and thus carried to treatment plants
to be filtered before being sent on to streams and rivers. However, sewers and wastewater treatment
plants are seldom equipped to handle heavy storm surges at peak flow. Therefore, much of the stormwater is simply
flushed through the system, along with the wastewater, thereby further polluting
the waterways. Even when water simply
flows over the impervious surfaces directly into the waterways, it carries
pollutants like oil, fertilizers, bacteria and various other particulates,
thereby threatening the purity of our waters.
By adding and restoring natural
spaces in cities, we can significantly reduce stormwater overflow entering directly
into our waterways or treatment facilities.
Wetlands, swales bioretention ponds, rain gardens and wider riparian
buffer zones in association with woodland and prairie plantings can reduce the
rate of flow during and after storms, allowing rainwater to be filtered by
plants and thus into the ground. The
reduced flow would reduce the cost of water treatment as well as decreasing the
amount of pollutants entering our waterways. The hydrologic cycle (water cycle)
can be largely restored using well planned plant community restoration in
conjunction with use pervious roads and parking lots.
Wildlife habitats have been
devastated by urban sprawl. The creation
of natural spaces, including greenways, corridors for animals to traverse the
city in safety, can add beauty and diversity to long devastated areas. We have the opportunity to restore those
habitats, to bring back animals that deserted the area for open land away from
the city. Butterflies, bees, songbirds,
and various other animals seek habitats that support their food, shelter and
water needs. Cities can be such places.
Uneven distribution of parks and
recreation facilities can be corrected through the development of natural
spaces in urban areas. Those created
habitats can be a place of enjoyment, relaxation, socialization and learning
for the inhabitants of the city neighborhoods.
Many inner city residents have limited access to such places outside the
city due to limited finances and transportation. By putting them in the vicinities most
depressed by urban blight, we facilitate the restoration of neighborhoods, create places to gather in safety with
friends and family, places to learn about nature near home, opportunities to
enjoy the beauty of nature where once there was only an empty lot or an
abandoned home or brownfield, polluted industrial properties.
Natural spaces
in urban areas are characterized by engineered biodiversity, including flora,
such as trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, aquatic plants, ferns, worts,
mosses, etc. which, in combination with water features and modified soil and
land contouring, encourage local fauna to gather and utilize the created
ecosystem for food, water and shelter.
Stewardship
should be our guiding principle when measuring how we use our resources. Stewardship, according to Merriam-Webster, is
“the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to ones care”. Abuse of our environment, often in ignorance,
sometimes in exploitative ways, has led to destruction of natural space in
urban and rural areas in the United States, and around the world. Employing available technological and
scientific advances, we have the ability correct past mistakes and prevent
future problems. We have not only the
ability, but the responsibility to use what is available to restore the
environment to the best of our ability. Those
with understanding and capability to positively affect change in their
environment, whether social, economic or ecological, have the responsibility to
do so.
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