American Suburban Communities: Are They Really a Threat?

American Suburban Communities: Are They Really a Threat?

The Introduction: Anatomy of Sprawl, by Robert D. Bullard, introduces a common reality troubling American cities: the suburban sprawl. Daily, more people are moving out of the metro areas into suburban areas causing traffic congestion problems and pollution problems amongst others. A clear example of this is the Atlanta area, which grew by roughly five hundred thousand people from 1990-1997 with a mere 1% being in the Atlanta metro area (Bullard 8). As a result, one of Bullard’s main claims is that a low-settlement sprawl is bad for everyone. That claim is not necessarily true.

One of Bullard’s main arguments is that the increase in suburban areas is “increasing deforestation and loss of vegetation” (Bullard 11). That is not true in all cases. The city of Doral in Florida is a suburban community just outside of the city of Miami. Doral used to be only a famous golf course but due to urban sprawl, it grew into a neighborhood and in 2003 it was promoted to a city (Doral). The city of Doral is an example of a successful and organized urban sprawl. The city has trees growing everywhere. No matter where one looks, that person is inclined to see green growing. A proof of this is that, Doral has been elected for three years in a row as the Greenest City in America, award that is given to the city that encompasses nature at its best (Doral). Instead of destroying its local flora, Doral is nurturing it. In addition, due to the central planning, Doral has set boundaries that can’t be expanded thus protecting the forests, wildlife, and rural areas that are currently neighboring it. Doral is living proof that suburbs can, instead of destroying, protect our nature.

Often, suburbs are blamed for unplanned construction and moving market jobs from the cities to the suburbs thus plummeting the urban core, amongst others (Bullard 2). I disagree with that point of view. Doral is the perfect example of the contrary. Since its beginnings, its boundaries were set on an area of 15 square miles and they haven’t changed since (Doral). Roads were built to facilitate possible congestions, a trolley system was installed to transport students and its unemployment rate is currently considered at full employment at 5.9% (Doral). The city has innumerous businesses, however, unlike Bullard argues, the suburb did not suck the businesses out of Miami. Instead, Doral drew new companies wanting to move into the area for the first time and which could not find space in the city of Miami. Today, Doral is home to approximately 40,000 people from which some commute to Miami for work and some just stay in Doral.

Lastly, the suburban city of Doral is a big exception to most of Bullard’s racial apartheid arguments. Bullard argues that only the white majority benefited from being able to move away from the cities (Bullard 3). That is not the case in Doral. Doral demographics are composed of 79% Latinos and the other 21% of the residents are composed of Whites, African Americans and Asians. It is overwhelmingly a minority suburb yet its average income is higher than the national average (Doral). What is really impressive about Doral, though, is the sense of community of its residents. It is rare to find a case in which neighbors don’t know each other. Every month there are special events in the parks and every year Doral’s “Relay for Life” attracts thousands of people from the community in the noble cause against cancer.

In conclusion, even though Doral can be considered an exception to the rule, it is without a doubt a case of successful and positive urban sprawl. Not only has it not had any of the problems suburbs throughout America have had in the past, as described by Bullard, but it has also proven it is possible to have an excellent suburban community.

Works Cited

Bullard, Robert D. “Anatomy of Sprawl.” Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in

            Atlanta. Eds. Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, and Angel O. Torres.

            Washington D.C.: Island Press, 2000. 1-20.

City of Doral. About Doral. Doral: , 2009. Web. <http://www.cityofdoral.com/cityofdoral/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=89>.