The Rise of Social Isolation in America is a Chief Factor in the Prolif

The Rise of Social Isolation in America is a Chief Factor in the Proliferation and Continuation of Suburban Sprawl At the very backbone of the body of reasons for which sprawl has accelerated so much in recent decades is the changing social culture in America. One must remember that sprawl is all about people, and one of the greatest factors that drive the trends of their behavior is culture. It is true that there are many other factors (I.E. economic) at play in the manifestation of sprawl, but the factor of culture is what lies at the very core of the entire issue. This core is the argument that Americans have gradually moved toward a socially and individually isolated culture. Essentially, the American community has become more disjointed and impermanent, creating an atmosphere in which living in a more dense population has become undesirable. To best understand how culture has changed, one must take into account the way it once was and what circumstances helped to alter it. Traditionally, living in the United States had comprised of a much more community-oriented culture. (Kingdon) This was especially true in the days before the automobile (and the railroad to a small extent) when communities were more isolated from mass movement, migration, and displacement of its denizens. Before the Baby Boom and especially before the Industrial Revolution, the American landscape, even on the east coast, was comprised of primarily isolated village communities and distinct urban centers. Travel and economic factors (economies were more localized then) created an environment where it was quite easy and possible for an individual to grow up, live and work, marry, and die in their hometown community. Hence, since people were more lik... ... so on, and so on. People will be more willing and capable of living in denser, more efficient environments only when the underlying culture that sustains sprawl is altered. The sense of the American community needs to be re-established if there is to be any real progress in the battle against sprawl. The REAL problem here then, is that changing the culture of a state, of a nation, is a very long and difficult undertaking†¦ Works Consulted Kristin Gotts, et al (no date) Better Together Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engineering in America; John F. Kennedy School of Government, Caimbridge MA Puntam, Robert D. (1995) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Simon & Schuster ISBN: 0684832836 Kingdon, John W. (1999) America the Unusual Bedford/ St, Martins Boston, MA Lowi, et al. (2001) We the People W.W. Norton and Company, NY, NY