1. Module 4: Problems – Unsustainable Urban Communities
MPP 655: Policy Making for Sustainable Urban Communities
MPP Module 4

2. The emergence of suburbia, as we know it today
The need for an environmental justice
The emergence of “food deserts”
The displacement of nature
The growth of “grey infrastructure”
MPP Module 4

3. Emergence of Suburbia
MPP Module 4

4. Emergence of Suburbia
Post-World War II America, and the need for a massive increase in affordable housing
Modifications to the Mortgage Market by the Federal Government
Application of the principles of Mass Production to housing delivery
Rise of the “detached, single family home” in strictly zoned residential neighborhoods
MPP Module 4

5. Entrenchment of Suburbia
The dream of “country living”
The rise of the automobile
The development of leapfrog development
The emergence of the American Lawn
Deinstitutionalization and the persistent problem of affordable housing
Public Housing Projects and the gutting of the Inner City
MPP Module 4

6. The Need for An Environmental Justice
MPP Module 4

7. Need for An Environmental Justice
“White flight” and the abandonment of the Downtown Hubs
Poor folk and polluting activities both converge on cheap land
Polluting activities seek out lands that are politically vulnerable and ill-represented
Poor folk begin to organize to “take back” their neighborhoods
MPP Module 4

8. The Emergence of Food Deserts
MPP Module 4

9. Emergence of Food Deserts
The rise of Fast Food Outlets and the fall of the “Mom and Pop” store
Supermarkets choose to “follow the money” into the suburbs
Poor neighborhoods gutted and left to rely on fast food, liquor stores and check cashing outlets
Emergence of the Food Justice movement
MPP Module 4

10. Getting Nature Out of the City
MPP Module 4

11. Growth of “Grey” Infrastructure
The growth of dark impervious surfaces
The problem of heat islands
Stormwater runoff
Air pollution, PM10, and PM2.5
Fragmentation of natural habitats
Channelization of rivers and streams
Fragmentation of watersheds
MPP Module 4

12. Summary Emergence of Suburbia The Need for an Environmental Justice
The Recognition of Food Deserts
The Appropriation of Nature
The Over-reliance on Built Infrastructure
The Need to “bring nature back into the city”
MPP Module 4

13. Questions?
MPP Module 4