The point of this thread is to:

 

1. Identify what communities are currently sprawling the most.

2. Criticize land use policies that lead to this.

3. Explain why the people allow this to happen. What makes them worse than other suburbs?

 

For metro Toledo, there are two glaringly obvious sprawlers- Bedford (Monroe County, Michigan) and Perrysburg Township (Perrysburg city isn't too bad). What makes Perrysburg Township particularly bad is their zoning laws. They have a large minumum lot size rule, thus banning any high density, single family residential. Higher density housing developments are becoming popular in metro Toledo, but they are not allowed in P-Burg Township. Developers want to build on small lots, but they are denied approval. The level of ignorance in the township government is a HUGE problem. They want Perrysburg Township to maintain some sort of "rural charm" bullshit (LOL!) and think high density neighborhoods will ruin this, as if rampant urban sprawl has not. :roll: They fail to see that their enforcement of zoning laws requiring low density subdivisions just ends up destroying more of the undeveloped areas in the long run. They don't see the big picture...

 

For those who don't know, Perrysburg Township is made up of mostly upper-middle class, well-educated :roll: (lots of college grads, but mostly business types), White neo-conservatives who like to cut themselves off from all things "urban" and "big city." There are lots of Bush votes in P-Burg Township. In fact, it's arguably the most conservative place in all of metro Toledo.

 

Sylvania Township and Springfield Township used to be the worst (80's/90's), but they have pretty much filled themselves up, and are slowly starting to see the errors of their ways.

 

Any pictures are more than welcome...

Hamilton Twp...30 miles northeast of Cincinnati.Reason? Well there was nothing but forest in that area, now it's nothing but cookie cutter homes. I'm guessing cheap land is the reason and of course brand new schools.

Really though. It's not that the education is bad. It's the peer pressure from other students, that my get your son or daughter to do things that he or she normally would not do.

C-Dawg, I've thought about this too. How important really are "schools" to people? While I don't doubt abhorent school districts are a deterrent for families, are "schools" still a high priority for parents? The answer is no. I grew up in a booming suburb called Avon Lake (just over the border from Cuyahoga County in Lorain) that has a good school system, but if these new people moving in REALLY cared about the schools, then they would have moved to Rocky River, Bay Village, or Westlake.

 

I believe that low taxes, high square footage, and "newness" actually motivate people more than schools.

People want new flawless houses and its expensive to bulldoze old houses.

Liberty township and part of Fairfield township - the new sprawl central in Butler County

 

Here is one for you guys:  This is inbetween I-71 and I-75 about the same longitude as PKI.  Now a good portion of the image is still farmland, but you can see the digusting sprawl beginning to eat/tear through the fields.  Just cant wait until it reaches the point of the Liberty Twp and Fairfield Twp image above!  You can see it now!

 

What's the logic behind winding subdivision streets? Is it suppose to add to the aesthetics? I'd prefer to live on a street that's linear. I know that some cities like Cincy and Pittsburgh are like that in the city but it's usually because of the geography of the area.

What's the logic behind winding subdivision streets? Is it suppose to add to the aesthetics? I'd prefer to live on a street that's linear. I know that some cities like Cincy and Pittsburgh are like that in the city but it's usually because of the geography of the area.

 

THis was typically done to deter speeding and discourage the "unwanted elements" from just driving through a neighborhood.  This is what I have picked up from shows I have watched and information I have read about subdivisions and suburbia. 

What's the logic behind winding subdivision streets? Is it suppose to add to the aesthetics? I'd prefer to live on a street that's linear. I know that some cities like Cincy and Pittsburgh are like that in the city but it's usually because of the geography of the area.

 

AndrewN, you are pretty much right.  It is a traffic calming technique.  It is a design element that natural slows down traffic through areas where you wish it to travel more slowly.  Cities are able to use grids (linear streets) because they have frequent stops (lights, stop signs, crosswalks) as well as on street parking, bldgs close to the street and lots of people around.  These types of things also slow down traffic.

 

For example you would never go flying through downtown Cincy at 50mph, 30-35mph seems really fast as you are traveling in a city...therefore most cars travel around 20-25mph or slower.  Suburbs have only one option for this...curvey roads.  Hence the terrible street layout of suburban communities!

 

Developers make more $$$ off of cul-de-sac lots (that's French for dead end street). Take a drive to any suburban subdivision underconstruction and you'll see the first lots to sell are the ones at the end of the cul-de-sacs.