Stop suburban sprawl

It probably seemed innocent enough in the 1950s when people started to move to suburbs in droves. But if Washington, D.C., knew then what it knows now, it would have realized the peasants were revolting.\nAfter all, it's good to be king -- to live on a courtyard at the end of a winding road; to rule an aluminum-sided castle with a dominion of landscaping and a serfdom of squirrels. Don't forget the wrought-iron gate to surround the village and a gatekeeper to welcome friends and defend from invaders. \nWhat turned into an imperial patchwork of subdivisions has slowly become a royal pain: suburban sprawl. Washington is starting to take notice, but the novelty about suburban sprawl is that our parents and grandparents started it, and it's within our power to end it. \nSo what's this suburban sprawl nonsense and what's so bad about it? Environmental damage galore: wasting land and using gallons of gas to get to work and back every day. Subdivisions are paving over natural areas like a wildfire, and it's clear from a glance at the map that sprawl poses a threat to wide open spaces. \nAs suburbs creep further from the city, commutes get longer and leisure time becomes more scarce. Road rage and gridlock don't do much for our quality of life, not to mention that obesity and isolation have been linked to neighborhoods that lack sidewalks and social centers. When people\nflee from cities, they leave behind others who can't afford to leave -- with boarded-up businesses and underfunded schools. \nAt home, I hardly noticed wood frames growing like weeds in the outer reaches of Chicago. But now that I've lived near a utopia of urban planning and seen how idyllic city life can be, I'm a bit outraged by suburban sprawl. \nCase in point: Old Town Alexandria, Va. If a town could be a bar, this berg would be Cheers, where everybody knows your name. There is hardly a foot between the rowhouses (think early days of San Francisco). Shopping, parks and houses are all within walking distance. People do a lot of walking there -- most residents can even hike to the metro station and reach the steps of the Capitol in 30 minutes. \nIt's a town with a design that's upheld as a paragon by new urbanists, a group dedicated to restoring urban areas and embracing the diversity that makes real neighborhoods so interesting. The movement has gained steam in some states, where tax incentives attract businesses to locate in decaying areas rather than settle in the outer reaches of the urban area. The national government -- more specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency, has gotten involved by funding brownfield clean-up, an effort to convert city lots into usable space. \nBear with me as I get a bit dewey-eyed about the possibilities of grassroots self-government, but college students have a lot of power to renew exhausted urban centers. As we graduate and disperse to urban centers, we can vote with our rent checks to eliminate excessive commutes and invigorate inner cities.\nImagine the renaissance waiting to happen: diverse neighborhoods where people sit on their front porches, talk to their neighbors and put their sidewalks to good use. It would be a symbolic end to the segregation that's left a cultural divide between the city and the suburbs, a step toward greater equality. \nUrban renewal won't come without a fight, and it isn't ultimately ideal. Political inertia opposes change on the legislative front. Few legislators condemn suburban sprawl. Gas companies and the auto industry stand to lose if people trade driving for walking and taking public transportation. They're not as worried about Mother Nature as their stockholders, and spending big bucks on political contributions helps them sleep well at night. \nAnother problem lies within the Starbucks and Gap stores that perk up a run-down neighborhood. Property values increase, and rent soars out of reach of native residents. The government can check this by subsidizing rent, and new residents can help original residents gain economic mobility. \nThe helping hand would mean playing the part of a "neighbor" in the true sense of the word. Since hours of commuting would be eliminated, more social interaction and community service will become viable options.\nPutting a stop to sprawl comes down to supply and demand. If we reinvigorate existing development, wetlands and woods will not be disturbed. \nI've heard it said a thousand times that our generation is paralyzed by apathy, but I think this is an issue where we can prove the naysayers wrong.