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The reasons for the culture of urban sprawl in the USA substantially boil down to white flight. Urban planning was a disaster in most US cities, the governments and services were dysfunctional, and there were too many people in the cities that middle class folks didn't want themselves or their children around. Arguably the death knell of urban family living was forced busing. Suburbia was a way to get away from people who couldn't afford two cars, and to live around only people who could afford that.

You will not curb the suburban sprawl problem in the US until ways develop for communities to control who lives in them. Right now the only mechanism is price. The rich can sustain unsprawled urban enclaves because they price undesirables out of their neighborhoods.



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