2/ Do you think urban sprawl has contributed to the obesity problem the United States is facing?
This question can lead into 2 different questions:
Does urban sprawl contribute to the big problems in the United States?
Does urban sprawl contribute to the problem of obesity (a health condition) in the United States?
In my opinion, both the questions have the same answer: yes. As mentioned in the answer for question 1, urban sprawl can lead to many problems such as the lack of public services. The United States is known for its colossal number of immigrants, these immigrants will mostly result in states like Texas for low costs since states like New York and California require a much larger amount of money to live. However, in big cities, overpopulation is not a surprise, overpopulation can lead to overloading in hospitals, schools, and even living spaces. Overpopulation can also point out more social problems like racism, sexism and the increase in crime rates.
The answer for question b is fairly similar. As rural areas are being urbanized, the people are introduced to new technologies, fast food and other conveniences that require less movement, making the people taking more calories and burning less. As those areas being urbanized, the time management gets out of hands and people will fall into those unhealthy conveniences without noticing and lead to obesity.
3/ Is urban sprawl an issue in Western countries or do countries like Vietnam/China face the same problem?
Vietnam also face the same problem with urban sprawl like Western countries and America but in different aspects, they are not the same. Unlike Western countries or America, Vietnam does not have as much permanent immigrants. On the other hand, urban sprawl of Vietnam is mostly created out of necessity. For the past few years, this communist country started to open to the world, mostly due to the young teenagers trying to become like teenagers in Korean, United States and other developed countries. McDonalds, Starbucks, sneaker lines like Lebron, Jordan, etc. starts to find their ways into Vietnam through the teenagers’ demands. Cities like Hanoi, Da Nang and Saigon are always the target for urbanization and international companies, leading to overpopulation and problems just like in Americas. Another reason for urban sprawl in Vietnam is because of its Northern neighbor: China. For many years, Chinese items made their ways into Vietnam through both smuggling and legal transporting, creating a reputation for these “made in China” labeled items. During about the past five year, the Chinese businessmen came to Vietnamese seacoast, invested in hotels, resorts and restaurants, thus increasing the urban sprawl in the coast cities.
4/ Is it good or bad that urbanization is occurring rapidly? Support your answer.
It is a good thing that urbanization occurs regularly and periodically. However, rapid urbanization can result in devastating consequences. As we all know, urbanization can lead to many issues economically, socially, slowing the overall growth of the city. According to National Public Radio, a huge part of urbanization is played by the millenials that move to colleges, leaving rural areas and build up new towns (Beau Dure). Rapid urbanization also affect the people as most people in the rural areas are used to their lives, urbanization make them rush to their jobs to get a better life and start to forget about other important things like religion, sanitations and social interactions.
5/ What are some effects of urban sprawl?
Advantages: Urbanizations turn the countryside into bigger cities and increase the income for the people. It also helps with unemployment rate, international businesses. It also solve the problems of transporting, increasing cultural diffusions and the services businesses. Urbanization also comes with better education, making better workers to contribute to the growth of the city.
Disadvantages: Urbanizations can lead to overpopulation, resulting in the lack of hospitality, housing, overloading in schools, hospitals. Overpopulation can also lead to problems like traffic jams and pollutions. pollution such as air pollution can directly harm the people, but on the long-term growth, water pollution and earth can also lead to the death of plants, animals, affecting the businesses of the rural areas which also affect the economy of the cities.
Bibliography:
Dure, Beau. “Millennials Continue Urbanization Of America, Leaving Small Towns.” NPR, NPR, 21 Oct. 2014, www.npr.org/2014/10/21/357723069/millennials-continue-urbanization-of-america-leaving-small-towns.
Mohapatra, et al. “Rapid Urban Expansion and Its Implications on Geomorphology: A Remote Sensing and GIS Based Study.” Geography Journal, Hindawi, 20 Oct. 2014, www.hindawi.com/journals/geography/2014/361459/.
Ren, Y, et al. “Effects of Rapid Urban Sprawl on Urban Forest Carbon Stocks: Integrating Remotely Sensed, GIS and Forest Inventory Data.” Journal of Environmental Management., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Dec. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23122621.
Holcombe, Randall. “Urban Sprawl: Pro and Con.” PERC, 12 Jan. 2018, www.perc.org/1999/02/10/urban-sprawl-pro-and-con/.