We’ve heard about the downsides of suburban sprawl- those brand-new subdivisions, strip malls and office parks that keep expanding the boundaries of development. Sprawl eats up agricultural and recreational land. It impinges on ecologically important habitats. It’s inextricably linked to traffic congestion and pollution woes associated with an automobile-based lifestyle.
There are alternatives to sprawl and to spending hours of every day in a car. Consider living in a city, for example, or in an older suburb where the homes are built within walking distance of a village center. Seek out communities that promote smart growth management, communities that try to balance housing needs with open space and agricultural land protection.
When choosing a home, consider its location in relation to other places you need to get to: work, schools, movie theaters, doctors, parks. Look for neighborhoods with safe walking, bicycling, and public transit options that connect to where you need to go. Some seemingly innocuous details, such as the way neighborhood streets are laid out, can have a major effect on the quality of your life. In gated communities or neighborhoods where cul-de-sacs predominate, you usually need a car to get to a store or even to visit a friend who lives on the other side of the development. But in communities where the streets and laid out in an old-fashioned grid pattern, the streets are connected- making it easier for you to walk and bicycle here to there.
If your attracted to a distant suburb because of the housing seems cheaper, factor in the cost to your household of owning multiple cars, as well as the energy and time you’ll spend commuting and chauffeuring your children. Consider living in a mixed-use neighborhood where homes, stores, offices and other businesses share the same area instead of being segregated into separate zones connected only by automobiles. Work from home if you can or live as close to work as possible- you’ll save money, reduce pollution, and give yourself the price less gift of time.