雅思大作文范文城市扩张.docVIP

雅思大作文范文：城市扩张 　　It has been argued that urban sprawl is the root of many environmental problems. Today, I am offering my viewpoint on this issue and reasons to support my position. What is urban sprawl? Urban sprawl is defined as the increased use of urbanized land by fewer people than in the past CWAC, n.d. . In the past, cities were compact and efficient but recently the density of land utilized per person has seen a major decline in the United States. From 1982-1997, the United States population had grown by about 17 percent, while the urbanized land had increased by about 47 percent during the same period in time CWAC, n.d. . Developed land per person has just about doubled in the last two decades and the sizes of housing lots larger than ten acres can account for over half of the land that was developed since 1994 CWAC, n.d. . This drastic change in urbanized areas has been met by both environmental impacts, as well as financial and time burdens on the people. 　　Along with the loss of farmland, there is a loss of wildlife habitats that are disappearing due to urban sprawl. These forests, meadows, and wetlands are disappearing and being substituted with pavement, buildings, and sterile urban landscaping. This loss of wildlife habitats make it hard for species to survive and makes it difficult for them to find suitable breeding ponds, hibernation sites, feeding locations, and to create practical nesting areas CWAC, n.d. . The urban sprawl has been so bad in some places that species of plants are becoming nearly extinct. For example, the Oak Savannas and the Oak and Pine Barrens both have been degraded to the point that there is less than 1 percent of the original species still around CWAC, n.d. .Urban sprawl has contributed greatly to air and water pollution as well as increased water and energy consumption. Since urban sprawl places people outside of walking distance to shopping areas and work areas, they are forced to rely heavily on cars to get from point