Responses to Urban Sustainability (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Regional planning efforts manage urban growth and resource use

They are coordinated across multiple areas, including:

• cities

• suburbs

• rural areas

Examples of regional planning efforts include the creation of higher-density urban areas focused on sustainable design initiatives

• These include walkable, mixed-use commercial and residential areas with major goods and services accessible within a short walk

• These efforts also help prevent urban sprawl

Regional planning efforts may also attempt to integrate transportation systems across multiple areas to reduce car dependency

Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial sites in urban areas that may be contaminated by residual pollution

• Redevelopment of brownfields focuses on making the land usable for new residential and commercial development

Benefits of brownfield redevelopment include:

• the reduction of urban blight 

• the revitalization of neighborhoods

Urban growth boundaries are legal boundaries that aim to limit sprawl, decrease traffic congestion, and reverse the decline of inner-city neighborhoods

• These growth boundaries attempt to constrain economic growth and physical development to specific areas. 

• Proponents of this movement hope to conserve rural lands by preventing sprawl while using the city core more efficiently by encouraging higher-density developments within urban areas

Farmland protection policies seek to preserve agricultural land from urban development

Farmland protection policies rely on zoning laws to prevent non-agricultural use of farmland and financial incentives for farmers to continue agricultural production

• These policies:

  • reduce urban sprawl

  • preserve ecosystems

  • provides for locally sourced food