Urban Sprawl is defined as “peripheral growth that expands in an unlimited and non-contiguous way outward from the solid built-up core of a metropolitan area”
40% of the island could be considered as experiencing a high degree of sprawl relative to the rest. Sprawl construction represents 35–50% of the current total development. This is often facilitated by Puerto Rico’s extensive rural road network, allowing for linear development and the ability to commute easily throughout the entire island. Most of this construction is expanding outwards from major cities like San Juan and as previously stated is occurring in the coastal plains area of the island do to a number of factors: including the topographic landscape which makes it hard to develop in the central mountains, the different type of ecological systems prevalent on the island such as wetlands, and the ineffectual governmental guidance and enforcement of conservation policies. The consequences of urban sprawl include traffic congestion, increase in energy consumption and costs for community services, reduction of open spaces and fragmentation of habitats, pollution of waterways and air, habitat degradation, species displacement, reduction of the variety of species. All of these things can greatly hurt the natural surroundings in many ways.
|