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Date Posted: Mon. Mar 26, 2007 7:05 am
Author: Paul Mahoney
Subject: A Common Loss: Sprawl Also Has Social Consequences

A Common Loss: Sprawl Also Has Social Consequences
March 25, 2007
By TOM SEVIGNY

Since the construction of the Shoppes at Farmington Valley on Route 44 on the site of the former Canton Golf Course, Canton has become a sort of poster child for the negative impact of sprawl in Connecticut. Politicians and citizens who live outside of Canton often use it as an example of what sprawl looks like and what towns should be avoiding when they make land-use decisions.

The debate that continues about this project tends to focus on its environmental and economic impacts. The destruction of a beautiful green space, the proximity to wetlands and the need for property tax revenue have dominated the discussion. I don't mean to downplay these issues - they are important and need to be examined.

But those aren't the only issues surrounding sprawl development. Often overlooked until just a few years ago, the social impact of sprawl is just starting to be examined, and the results are not pretty.

Studies have concluded that sprawl has a detrimental impact on our health and tends to isolate the elderly, children and the poor. A two-year study involving more than 200,000 respondents and reported in the American Journal of Health Promotion in 2003, as well as a 2004 RAND Corp. study, concluded that overall, people living in the car-centric suburbs are more likely to become physically inactive and overweight, and thus at higher risk for many chronic illnesses.

Due to sprawl, basic shopping, social and recreational needs are not within walking distance and public transit is lacking. According to a Brookings Institution report in July 2003, many seniors must rely on others for transportation or have items delivered to their homes, and may have to decide either to remain immobile and trapped at home or to drive when driving many no longer be a safe choice.

Children are likewise socially isolated by being dependent on others for transportation. The fact that many children no longer walk to school and need a ride to parks or ballfields adds to children's inactivity, which can lead to health problems such as obesity. According to a 2002 CDC report, 22 percent of American children are now obese, twice the level of 10 years ago.

Furthermore, according to Andres Duany in his book "Suburban Nation," sociologists point to "teen isolation and boredom" as a contributing factor to the high national rate of teen suicide. Nearly nonexistent before 1950 and the advent of the suburbs, by 2000 suicide accounted for more than 12 percent of youth mortalities, and the rate is much higher in the suburbs than in cities.

While these health aspects are finally beginning to receive the attention they deserve, another social impact that is hardly ever discussed is the loss of the commons. By commons I mean the social commons - the public places and open spaces that bring a community together. Public outdoor markets, Main Streets, public squares and parks, outdoor cafes and other hubs of community life give a city or town a sense of unique identity, belonging, connectedness, fun and tradition. Central Park in New York City, Boston Commons, Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Ore., and even West Hartford Center are examples how public spaces can define a community.

Which brings me back to the old Canton Golf Course. With winter still with us, I am reminded that the rolling hills of the golf course were magically transformed into a commons when snow was on the ground. The perfect sledding hill behind the funeral home would draw literally hundreds of people from Canton and the surrounding communities the day after a snowstorm - parents and kids having fun, neighbors talking to neighbors, people enjoying the fresh air and exercise, and lots and lots of laughter.

I have been told by the supporters of such developments as the Shoppes that life is full of tradeoffs and that change is inevitable with the march of progress. Sure, the sledding hill may be gone, but Canton now has economic benefits in the form of property taxes from the Shoppes. My reply is that we seriously need to redefine the concept of progress. In addition, something tells me that Canton would be a lot richer, and healthier, if we still had that sledding hill.

Tom Sevigny is president of Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion.

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