How Does Urban Sprawl Affect Canada's Human Systems?

Urban Sprawl affects different areas in Canada's human systems such as: transportation, health, and quality of life.

Transportation

    Areas that have sprawled are low density areas with a large amount of residential neighborhoods without much access to public transportation.

(Major Projects)

"Areas with urban sprawl require people to rely on their cars because it is too costly to implement effective public transportation. These developments often separate commercial areas from residential developments and require people to travel longer distances to reach amenities"(Huntington, Janis, and Rob Tarulli)

 In the areas that have sprawled most amenities such as the grocery store or even a library is not at a walk-able distance which forces people to use their cars because there is little to no public transportation available.

Health

   Transportation in sprawled out areas affects the health of the residents. The residential areas were essentially made for people with cars. Some neighborhoods don't even have sidewalks as no one uses them. There is no place that is close enough to walk to and that significantly reduces the amount of physical activity.

(OBESE BRITAIN!) 

"This lower level of activity increases the risk of obesity, which can lead to other health problems such as heart disease, high-blood pressure and diabetes"(Grabkowski, Leonardo R).

Obesity is a major problem in North America and the way in which we build our communities can affect the rates of obesity.

Quality Of Life

     
     As people sprawl they spend more time getting to and from work or school. This takes away from time that they could use to do something productive.

"When a city grows into a larger city, [the] average travel distance to go to school and work increases. People spend more time traveling [and] have less time for their family. Thus, quality of life reduces."(Teknomo, Kardi)

(The Conversation)

People often grow frustrated when they have to spend hours in traffic every day and this can affect their mood which may affect their productivity when they are at work or school. Canadians spent a large amount of time commuting "[on average Canadians spend] 32 working days sitting in traffic"(Coyne, Andrew). Time is money and losing time in traffic means that the Canadian economy loses money.