The Costs of Sprawl Defined

The financial consequences of sprawl are steep, and also broad, affecting budgets in places we might not even think of, writes architect Steve Mouzon.

1 minute read

March 21, 2011, 9:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

In part one of his look at the costs of sprawl, Mouzon looks at its impact on police and fire departments:

"The sprawl above allows police to protect 46 housing units per mile of travel. The neighborhood allows police to protect 175 units in that same mile. This has a very real impact on police department budgets."

"Because each police team can protect only 1/4 as many homes per mile in sprawl, you need close to four times as many police in the field to afford the same degree of protection. The city also has to buy, fuel, and maintain four times as many patrol cars to get that same level of protection on patrol."

Thanks to Steve Mouzon

FULL STORY: Costs of Sprawl - Part 1

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 in The Original Green Blog

Government / Politics United States

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