Welcome to Northern Virgnia...Expect Delays

Being raised in a Virginia suburb of DC called Manassas – often referred to as a part of NOVA – I never understood the mentality of the average working person willing to wake up everyday knowing they, like many suburbanites, can expect to sit in traffic around 71 hours every year. Let’s consider the scope, for instance: Tyson’s Corner of Fairfax County, Virginia, employs about 117,000 people but only about 17,000 actually reside within the areas limits. An estimated 100,000 people commute to and from the Tyson’s area everyday putting a significant strain on the roadways, and commuter tempers. This is merely a symptom of the problem that urban sprawl presents. Urban sprawl is a problem affecting millions of Americans that we must now resolve.

Sprawl is broadly summarized as growing at a rate faster than the underlying infrastructure can support and service. This creates a less densely populated area which promotes automobile dependency creating the commuter burdens previously mentioned. More so, the environmental impact of sprawl ranges from devastating forests and farmlands – and their wildlife, increasing flood threat, damaging surface and ground water resources, and degrading air quality. Damaging our surrounding environments from this sprawl creates a disconnect from nature that has negative social affects as well. For instance, there is less green space for kids to play in the evolving suburban areas, limiting the time spent outdoors, constraining their abilities to explore the natural world and develop the appropriate appreciation for the natural world they otherwise would have.

So what will it take to break this habit that is as publicly understated as it is reckless? New Urbanism and Smart Growth are catch phrases increasing in popularity as trains of thought to combat sprawl. New Urbanism uses a combination of renewable energy sources, electric transportation, and walkable urbanism for planning and retrofitting purposes. This approach focuses directly on the generation and usage of electrical energy to have less impact environmentally and reduce energy consumption. Smart Growth similarly strives for reduced environmental impact and energy consumption but emphasizes mixing land uses, diversifying transportation options, and increasing population densities.