Waterloo, Ontario Sprawl and its Effects

This humorous video is an interview of a construction sign about the urban sprawl that is occurring in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and consequently destroying the surrounding natural environment and harming the chances of some animals to survive.

-Oliver

Without a Car

I'm a Georgia Tech first semester freshman. For this very reason I cannot legally own a permit to park anywhere on campus. This is quite different for me—before coming here I drove my car several times every day. Even to and from my high school, which was only a couple of miles away. Thankfully the part of Atlanta in which Georgia Tech resides (Midtown) is much less sprawling than where my house in Birmingham is. Also, several mass transit systems are available, on and off campus. The Stinger buses, Tech Trolleys, and Stingerettes are all available for students to use on and around campus. There are free shuttles to Atlantic Station on the weekends. Also, the MARTA system of trains and buses is a relatively cheap alternative to a car. The Tech Trolley's route even stops at the Midtown MARTA station, eliminating the need of walking or using a car to get there. There are disadvantages to these systems such as having to wait potentially long times for the buses and trains to arrive—but they generally get me to where I need to be on time.

-Oliver

Hammer Forum on Sprawl in Los Angeles

This interesting video is a Hammer Forum on how to reduce sprawl and congestion in Los Angeles, California. Like Atlanta, Los Angeles is one of the most sprawling cities in the United States. Hammer Forums, as their site says, are "timely, thought-provoking events" that address current social and political issues. They are held by the Hammer Museum (http://hammer.ucla.edu/) at UCLA.

-Oliver

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

I visited Gatlinburg, Tennessee a few weeks ago to present research at the Mid-Southeast ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) conference. The trip was the first time I had been to Gatlinburg since I was much younger. To get there from Atlanta, all one has to do is drive north on I-85 out of Atlanta and continue going straight for three or four hours. The stretch of road will change into a few differently named interstates and highways along the way, but one will eventually enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The drive through the park is scenic to say the least. When one finally exits the park, he will be in Gatlinburg. Because the town is in such close proximity to the park, it is mostly a resort town and major tourist attraction for its old fashioned and charming feel. It is mostly filled with tourists around Christmas time, which is when it occasionally snows in the area. Unfortunately, this mass of tourists causes almost unbearable traffic on the small roads and influence the rise of "tacky" tourist attractions in the town. It is known for its sometimes dangerous encounters with bears in the middle of town. But overall, the visit was an enjoyable one and I would go again—if only to drive through the Smokies.

-Oliver

Sprawl in Atlanta

Atlanta is generally thought of as a suitable place to live. However, it is ranked as one of the most, if not the most, sprawling city in the United States. This has negative influences on several aspects, most notably traffic and the environment. The daily commute to work for most people from the suburbs not only wastes time but gas as well, further polluting the already suffering atmosphere. MARTA, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, exists as a cheaper and more eco-friendly alternative to driving a car—it replaces them with trains and buses. However, MARTA is one of the only mass transit systems that still does not receive funding from the state.

-Oliver

Piedmont Park

Beautiful Piedmont Park is the largest park (200 acres) in the city of Atlanta. The park is located next to Midtown—a walk's distance from Georgia Tech's campus. As a result of being so close to Midtown, the views in the park are an interesting contrast of nature and skyscrapers in the distance. As Ben reminded us in his last post, we should all get off of campus more. Piedmont Park is a great place to do so and offers many fun and relaxing activities. The green space can be used for walking and playing sports. The two playgrounds are excellent if adults with kids visit the park. The lake (Lake Clara Meer) is useful for fishing. The swimming pool and bathhouse are commonly used in the summer. In addition, several festivals are held there annually such as the Atlanta Dogwood Festival and Screen on the Green. Therefore, this 200 acre park is useful for many activities, including walking, picnicking, swimming, fishing, and playing.

-Oliver

Get off campus and get to know the rest of Atlanta

Our good professor has posted a link to an editorial, written by our own president Peterson, on his blog. The editorial can be read here. It discusses Atlanta, mainly the areas surrounding Georgia Tech.

Now as we all know, Georgia Tech is a great campus, but the surrounding city is thriving with opportunities. Atlanta is the largest city in the southeast, containing the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. Major media companies such as CNN and TBS were also founded here. And not unexpected of our great school, graduates here largely have a hand in finding other companies.

Atlanta's a great place to soak in some culture. One might spend some time at the Atlanta History House, the Margaret Mitchell House, the Woodruff Arts Center which houses the Atlanta Symphony, High Museum of Art, the Alliance Theater, Fabulous Fox Theater, Atlanta Ballet, Martin Luther King Historic Center, and Carter Center are all within a small radius of campus.

If none of those suit your fancy, Atlanta also has a zoo and an aquarium. One can also watch the Hawks and the Falcons play.

So as you can see, Atlanta is a happening area with plenty to do, whenever we're not studying, of course.

Peihsun (Ben) Yeh

Tin Drum

Tin Drum is an amazing Asian restaurant with Thai and Indian food located in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech students are fond of the food served in Tin Drum since Georgia Tech students have a good proportions of Asian and India students. The food of Tin Drum is very delicious. The chefs make sure that their customers have a good meal, and the customers come again. The chefs are so good that even the pessimistic customers find it difficult to find a mistake. I also visited to Tin Drum when I heard about the food. I loved the delicious food as I had already ate 5 dishes of rice.
-PrIyAnK sHaH

Atlantic Station

I and some of my new friends went to watch 2012 in one of the theaters in Atlantic Station. Before the movie, we were roaming around in the Atlantic Station. There were many rich people roaming in Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Macerate. It had eateries and retailers like Target, H&M, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Dillard's, and K-La. It was like moving around New York. It looked like New York as they were preparing for the Christmas. The lightning made it more wonderful.
-PrIyAnK sHaH

Decatur

I went to have a lunch in Decatur as it was my friend's birthday. We went to Chopatti which was an amazing Indian restaurant. It was filled with diverse people and different variety of Indian food. The food was very delicious. The time that was spent turned out to be very helpful because I learnt about the various restaurants in Decatur. I also learnt that we need to go to different places if we want to know about the various types of food.

-PrIyAnK sHaH

Effects of sprawl

Is it the beginning of the effect of sprawl?
In the past centuries, living in a sprawl was a dream for the American people. People loved to stay in the sprawl. As a result, a massive mass of people lived in the sprawl because it had freedom, affordability, family life, and upward mobility. Suburban way of life was embedded in the American consciousness. But in the 21 centaury, suburban project has become less sustainable. It says that suburban dream does not have a future due to oil depletion.

-PrIyAnK sHaH

Feature: Urban Sprawl - a new epidemic in Accra

Clearly, sprawl is not a phenomenon restricted to the US. Indeed, it has even breached continents. This article tells of sprawl in Accra, which is the capital of Ghana. The sprawl is growing faster than can sustaining infrastructure, and taking a quote from the article: "Urban Sprawl is the new epidemic destroying our city."

The article details all the hallmark effects of sprawl, such as pollution and heavy traffic congestion. In Africa, more occurs, such as the endangering of wildlife, and loss of arable land. In addition to the latter, it also causes movement of farming into the outskirts of the city, leading into a increased reliance on automobiles, producing further pollution. The residential area that springs up are also out of the affordability range of many, thus they move into the outskirts. The general pattern is that they congregate into specific areas, creating slums that attract more poverty.

We hear about sprawl so much but not so about solutions. This article does explain to approaches. One of them is called the "Compact City Model" which capitalizes on existing land, pedestrian convenience, and affordable housing for all. The other, called "Green Belt Strategy" which aims to contain a city in a ring of land that is reserved by official authority. I think both of these are fine ideas and there are reported success in other areas.

In conclusion, in order to obtain a better quality of life we should go back into simpler times, where planning is done for the public interest. To take another quote from the article, "Anti-sprawl is not anti-growth."

Peihsun (Ben) Yeh

Video: An Urban Sprawl By The Sea

The video above analyzes the results of urbanization because of a university that has just been given degree-awarding powers in the town Falmouth on the south coast of the English county of Cornwall. The university, University College Falmouth (primarily a traditional and performing arts school), has recently brought an influx of students from not only England but all around the world to this relatively small town. Above all, the narrator dissects the culture changes this arrival has installed in Falmouth through a series of interviews with students, business owners, and local residents. Specifically, he characterizes the recent display of skateboarding culture and graffiti.

-Oliver

Do Something

The video is reasonably similar to the effects taking place in the Suburban sprawl. Firstly, it tells us about the ever-increasing crises of the oil. Since many places are distant from the houses, we cannot move to that place without the car. Due to this, there are more toxic gases emitted in the atmospheres. Under such circumstances of the deadly pollution, Nature is revealing its fury. There are some consequences which will ultimately lead to the extinction of the Human as well as animal cycles or may be the entire world. It adds on by saying that “it is continuing with Floods, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Sicknesses”. For example, the recent disastrous floods in Atlanta had led to deaths of people and animals. So, the Video (it’s the people saying) states that we all need to do something rather than just “closing our eyes”. We should eradicate pollution. From my point of view, this can be done by eradicating Cul-de-sacs as it shown in “Rajeev’s blog” (group c3).
-PrIyAnK ShAh

Terminal station

Terminal Station is a blog about Atlanta real estate. The author also blogs about other topics such as politics and economics, and to my amusement, "stupid ideas".

The most recent blog begins by citing a poll by the ABC, stating that Atlanta is, according to the poll, the 13th most desirable place to live in. Whereas most people would be glad to think that Atlanta beat out the thousands of other cities in the US, and that 13 is relatively high on the ranks, the author thinks we can do better as a city. Environmental wise, the author exclaims that Atlanta should be higher up on the list, as Atlanta has an abundance of natural resources, and a "very vibrant outdoor community." (http://terminal-station.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-dont-really-think-13th-counts.html) The only reason that Atlanta lost it's spot to other cities is due to the inept leadership that the city has had over the last two decades, whose ignorance met the growing community with a lack of walkable neighborhoods and more means of alternative transportation. Clearly the author does not think Atlanta constitutes a "fine" community.

The author also occasionally employs a sarcastic tone to make a point. A previous post, titled "College Football Hall of Fame to ATL. Yawn" shows this. This post is also one such post that the author uses different means of communication in, for example, a map of the location of the HOF. Another post uses a slideshow and a table of stats to back up his report about larceny.

- Peihsun (Ben) Yeh

Gadget's Description

Hi everyone this is Priyank. Actually, one of my gadgets has been erased. But, I don’t know how it happened. So, I am giving a brief description of my gadget that I was supposed to enter in my blog for my neighborhood. First, I signed as my user name, group 8 in the Google so that I can save the map on my account and can add it to my blog. Second, I added the name of the landmark as I was unaware of the address and the also, the street name. Third, I saved it again with the balloon and then, I created a new map. Afterwards, I saved as a blog title and gave a minute description on the left side of the page as instructed by the professor. Again, I saved the blog with my name in parenthesis with the place like Decatur (Shah, Priyank). Then, I clicked on Customized and then choose Layout. Following then, I clicked on to add a Gadget. I added the java script from the saved map and then, the group name and I paste the code. I saved it for the blog so that everyone can see the map of Decatur.
-PrIyAnK sHaH

Atlanta Unsheltered

Hi, I am Priyank Shah. I am writing a blog on "Atlanta Unsheltered". This blog examines about current critical situations taking place in some of the places in the city of Atlanta. People call that America is an urbanized country. Unfortunately, there are some places in America that are still not sheltered. Also, some of the places are unsheltered in Atlanta. Recently, the floods in Atlanta had made it known to the Atlantic citizens, the American citizens, and many people residing out of the country that some of the places in the city of Atlanta is not properly developed. In fact, my parents called me to confirm whether I am safe and not facing any problems on the day when there were floods in Atlanta. As per the news in India, my mother was convinced that people were facing problems. Even, many people were dead. Thanks to Georgia Tech, I was safe. Some houses in an unsheltered Atlanta area were filled with floods and victims were suffered due to the lack of management of drainage system and facilities to move out from their houses. Although Atlanta has many facilities and is one of the best places in South America to live in, Atlanta is still unsheltered.
-PrIyAnK sHaH

Article Summary: "Telecommuting and Urban Sprawl"

The article "Telecommuting and Urban Sprawl" analyzes in depth the effect that telecommuting has on city size. It describes how telecommuting allows people to work from "electronic cottages" (their homes) or anywhere they are connected to the internet. The author, Hyok-Joo Rhee, mentions that commuting daily to a central workplace is "a phenomenon of the pre-information age." "Telecommuting and Urban Sprawl" concludes that with increased prevalence of telecommuting in the economy, the more expansive urban sprawl becomes. However, the effect that telecommuting will have on overall city size is still unclear as telecommuting remains a fledgling activity.

-Oliver

Using the Library Resources

I used the library site to search for an article related to suburbs. The article that caught my eye was by USA Today-‘Crowded Houses Gaining Attention in Suburbs’. This article is a bit old, it was written in 2006. But it is still relevant in today’s world. The article talks about the overcrowding in the various suburbs of New York and Washington D.C. In the year 2006 police conducted raids many raids and basically kicked 200 Latinos from their homes in a New York Suburb. The immigration of the people has crowded up places like the New York Suburb and the suburbs of Washington D.C. This is one of the most pressing situations in America, a place for immigrants to stay as the influx of immigrants has not reduced in the past few years. This is also a very bad situation for the people coming from outside as now they do not have definite housing or security from getting kicked out. Furthermore the people have to also stay in more crowded places than they would like to live.

All I can say about this article is that it gave me a whole new perspective about the lives of immigrants in America (Basically the Latino population). And I can say, proudly, that Georgia Tech has one of the biggest and best library databases in the world.

Trying out technology...

Instead of borrowing a USB camera from the library, I tried out my webcam.

It didn't turn out so good...



shotty quality, I apologize

Atlantic Station

Hi Shaurya here again. Right now I am doing an English project on a neighborhood in Atlanta and I have chosen Atlantic Station. So i would like to tell all of you people something about my project.
It is one of the newest developments in Atlanta and it has been a huge success with the people of Atlanta. It is a mixture of traditional neighborhood and the suburban sprawl. Plus it is also a very pedestrian friendly neighborhood. It is one of the only five places in Atlanta where a person can survive without having a car. This is also aided by having most of the basic amenities at a walking distance. The people in this neighborhood are also quite friendly. They will help a person with anything and everything. These reasons plus the colonial architecture made me chose Atlantic Station as my neighborhood.
But the basic reason I chose Atlantic Station is because of its close proximity to the GATech Campus.

Little Five Points

Hi, this is Oliver again. I recently visited a neighborhood in Atlanta called Little Five Points because I needed observations of the area to tie into the essay I am writing about it. Similar to Decatur, Little Five Points is a very colorful and distinct place that has much to offer. The atmosphere is sort of like a small town's main street, yet with more flair. There are many sidewalks--it is very pedestrian friendly. The people I saw walking around were very diverse and multicultural. The stores in the center of "Little Five" are varied but mainly consist of vintage boutiques, bookstores, record stores, and novelty shops. Two of the most popular shops are A Cappella Books and Junkman's Daughter (novelties). Most of the storefronts are very creative in their design. However, most essentials can be bought at the nearby Publix or Target, which are both within walking distance. Original restaurants such as The Vortex Bar and Grill (repeatedly voted as having the best hamburgers in Atlanta) and Little Five Corner Tavern saturate the area with quality food. Unique events are held often at places such as the Variety Playhouse--a popular music venue--or at one of the three theaters in the neighborhood. The surrounding houses are not those of a modern cookie cutter subdivision. The majority are historical Craftsman bungalows that each have their own individual style. In addition to all of the characteristics I have already mentioned, there is an abundance of green space nearby. This space takes the form of two parks: Inman and Candler. Overall, I found Little Five Points to be a livable and rather charming area and I would suggest that you visit if you haven't been already.

-Oliver

Decatur

Hi, I am Priyank Shah from India. Unfortunately, I am unacquainted of the places in Atlanta. So, I thought that I would explore some of the well-known places in Atlanta and in addition, to write of one of the neighborhood in Atlanta was a part of my project. However, the one that dazzled me was Decatur, GA. The reason it astonished me was it gave me the view that was apposite for my project. I think the place is somewhere in middle of Decatur.




When I entered that spot, I marked it out why do the people love to stay in Georgia. This is because when the first time I landed to Atlanta, I didn’t mark out any difference between my cities (Mumbai) and Atlanta. However, when I saw Decatur, it made me feel that I am at home. It was a totally different experience for me that I didn’t expect in Decatur. There was a something analogous to porch in that area and it was surrounded by green space. It had a clear view with two students doing their homework, children playing Frisbee, girls gossiping, and a couple eating an ice-cream. It looked phenomenal in Decatur. Children were playing Frisbee and they were making a lot of noise. It is implicit that people make noise when they play. It looked a contrast between the students studying at one side and children making noise on the other side. On the other hand, the girls were having tittle-tattle. Although that looked amazing, the couple was the one that amazed me. They were aged. But, they looked like “a pair made in heaven”. I was looking at them. They were having a talk after eating the ice-cream. Soon, the old woman was making faces and trying to avoid the old man and the old man was expressing regret to the old woman. There were no actions from the old woman. But, she ultimately listens to the old man. It may be because of some misunderstanding. However, the thing that I noticed for them was true love that is rarely seen these days. This made me to put pen to paper about this city.
-PrIyAnK sHaH

Swine flu '09

Swine flu ‘09

Decatur Metro, a blog that posts about each and every event that is happening in Georgia, decided to write a blog on the recent Swine flu epidemic. The blog post tilted “Quarantined Emory Students in Today’s NY Times,” states that students across the U.S. are being quarantined to prevent the spread of the swine flu. The New York Times article states that there are currently over 2,000 students on campus that has been infected by the swine flu. The article further states that the Emory has special dorms called the “Swine Flu Dorm,” where students will be quarantined to prevent the spread of the flu. Even though the idea of being quarantined might sound dreadful to some kids, but actually they enjoy the “guilt-free” laziness. However, it also shows a contrast by interviewing other students that claims that being quarantined is like being in a retirement home. The blog also says that the professors are aiding the students who are suffering from the swine flu by giving homework such as “go to sleep.”
Since it has given suitable evidence about the people suffering from the swine flu and this will rally round the people to acquire the information of recent circumstances (statistics of people suffering from swine flu), people are constrained to read the blog.
Ultimately, the blog informs the campus students of Georgia Tech about the current situation of the swine flu because it is spreading effortlessly and so, students should be aware of the flu. Even though Georgia Tech is not quarantining students, the Georgia Tech health center is constantly sending e-mails to inform the students of the epidemic. Not only those students with the swine flu are getting proper treatments to the flu but also they are aided by the professors. The a
For more info, vist : http://www.decaturmetro.com/
By Priyank Shah

Overheard in the Atl

Peihsun (Ben) Yeh

"Overheard in the Atl" is a collection of quotes and conversations overheard in and around Atlanta, GA, and the surrounding areas. The blog's layout is simple and straightforward. There is no pictures, music, movies, etc. The blog doesn't have one single author, instead, the entries are submitted by readers themselves who have heard something that is blog-worthy, much like the popular "fmylife.com". And also like fmylife, the blog entries are usually humorous, and sometimes downright hysterical.

Here's a quote apparently heard at Georgia Tech:
* (Two researchers are outside their building taking a smoke break)
* Researcher 1: You know, I hear Splenda's bad for you.

So why does the blog exist? Why does the author, or rather, why do the authors, feel compelled to write? On the left side, a little bit further down, there is a list of similar affiliates, such as "Overheard in Athens" and "Overheard in Auburn." These collections are important in their own right. Before pictures, video, and music, how was information relayed? By word of mouth. These collections are a display of culture presented in the most direct way: from the people themselves. If anything else, they might exist just for the sake of hilarity, something to read to pass the time and have a laugh.

# Bum: (outside MARTA station) Spare change? Spare change?
# (He breaks into a perfect David Bowie imitation)
# Bum: Ch-ch-ch-changes! Turn and face the train! Changes!

- Homeless Guy: Excuse me, can you spare some change for some psychedelic research?

Mumbai

Hi I am Priyank Shah from Mumbai in India. As we know about India, India is one of the examples of the sprawl neighborhood. To some of the extent, it also has some traces of the traditional neighborhood. Yes, I live in the area which people call traditional neighborhood. I am a suburban resident. There are many modes of transportation from the suburb abs. We can travel either by trains or vehicles. So, we do not face much problem even if accident occurs because there are large distributions of networks. The houses here are well organized. People live in apartments and there are shops below these apartments. So, the people can go directly to the stores. We can say even that the houses here are blended. People here also have a strong aversion to live near the Quick-Mart as highlighted in the book because they think it occupies the place and make it useless such as the parking lots. There are also offices apartments and shops beneath those offices.The open spaces are utilized to a great extent over here. The people use it for agriculture. The roads are gnerally curved over here so that they can see the beautiful flowers or verdure if they pass through that area or they can see the traditional India.

Singapore, Singapore

Hi,my name is Shaurya Singh.I am from a place called Singapore,which you guys would or would not have heard of.It is one of the contestant for the smallest countries in the world.In this country the concept of a sprawl neighbourhood is non-existent.To be more precise in my analysis it is a perfect gel of the sprawl neighourhood and traditional neighourhood that are present in the USA.Singapore has a combination of apartments and single family homes.
In the documentary "Blueprint America" the concept of getting stuck in traffic or living far from work is alien for me.Hence,all this is kind of information does not register and further more the pulic transport of Singapore was rated in the top 3 in the world.So it only takes us about 1hour for us to get from one end of Singapore to another.But as the topic requires an explanation(description) of my neighbourhood,I will try my best.Just imagine you have merged New York and Washington DC,you get Singapore.It is a miracle of architecture,it has combined the traditional neighbourhood with modernistic way of living.On the other hand the concept of sprawl is totally ignored.When a government has to make a 100 Square Kilometer land mass livable for 4 million,it can't afford to set up sprawl development.As we know from the book "Suburban Nation",sprawl is a total waste of space and resources.This kind of problems made it a big hindrance for it to spread in Singapore.People this is all I can think about my country right now in terms of the book and documentary.Wait till the next blog and you guys will learn more.

Mountain Brook, Alabama

My name is Oliver. I have lived most of my life in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama named Mountain Brook. It was initially developed as a housing subdivision by Robert Jemison in 1929, but has expanded much since then. The community was eventually incorporated in 1942. It is in contrast to Cumming, Georgia in that it consists of a mix of traditional neighborhoods and suburban sprawl. "The Tiny Kingdom," as some people call it, is heavily wooded and hilly with several rivers and creeks such as the Cahaba River intersecting it. These characteristics make it a rather popular place for bouldering, canoeing, and hiking. Most of the originally developed areas in Mountain Brook are connected by recreation paths, used often for walking, jogging, or riding bikes. There are three "villages" throughout the suburb and city of Mountain Brook -- Crestline Village, English Village, and Mountain Brook Village. Each of these villages is organized with a main street, shops, and restaurants towards the center, and houses in the surrounding areas. The shops, restaurants, and houses are fairly diverse in style but not in size because of strict height regulations. There are hardly any strip malls, apartments, or big box retailers in the city. Unless one lives right outside of one of the villages, a car is necessary to get to any shops or restaurants as there is not a very reliable and prevalent mass transportation system. The city is particularly affluent and is the wealthiest and best educated in Alabama. With the median income for a family being around $160,000, no one lives below the poverty line. Racial diversity is nonexistent, with about 99% of the 21,000 person population being white. Around 30% of the population is below age 18, while 16% of the population is 65 years of age or older. There are about 10% more females than males. From my experiences in the suburb, I can say that it definitely supports the idea that traditional neighborhoods are generally better to live in than suburban sprawl. For more information on the neighborhood I grew up in, you can visit its Wikipedia page.

-Oliver

Cumming, Georgia

Hi all, my name is Peihsun Yeh, but I just go by Ben. I moved around a lot, so there's no "one" place that I can really say I grew up in. I was born in Taiwan, and I moved into the States when I was 7 or so, and from then I have moved to Massachusetts, to Georgia....back to Massachusetts....back to Georgia, which is where I am now. I spent the longest time in the neighborhood I live now, which is a neighborhood called Creekside, in the city of Cumming in Forsyth County, and unfortunately I dont' remember much of where I lived before then.

Here is a mapquested image of my neighborhood (circled by black):

The starred spot is my house. Creekside and the surrounding area are a textbook definition of sprawl . There are shopping plazas neighborhorhoods and roads galore. There is no place outside my neighborhood accessible by foot. In fact, my neighborhood is situated at the intersection of two heavily used roads, and there is a Publix and other shops right across the road, yet not a crosswalk in sight. The two streets that cross are always busy, and even busier around rush hour which makes going in and out of the neighborhood a giant hassle.

As for the neighborhood itself, Suburban Nation mentions that neighborhoods seemingly go under no planning, as characterized by a multitude of curved roads and such - Creekside is guilty of that. Creekside is also plagued by planning with complete disregard to the sporadic elevation, which further discourages walking to even inside the neighborhood. The houses themselves were not like the "cookie cutter" houses that were described in Suburban Nation (houses that looked exactly like the one next to it) - they do exhibit a certain degree of architectural variety.

I would like to point out that I'm (or used to be) an avid runner, and in all my years of running in that neighborhood, I don't think I've seen more than 20% of the residents there. BThe people are friendly enough to smile and nod should you pass them by, but people mostly keep to themselves. Even at the neighborhood pool (which isn't more than a 10-15 minutes walk away from even the farthest corner of the neighborbood, yet people would prefer to drive there), a common gathering ground of children and adult alike, the people, detached, do not display any sense of community.

Creekside does seem to support the contention that is presented in Suburban Nation, which is that urban sprawl is "bad". Creekside is not an old neighborhood. My family and I must have moved there just a few years after it was built. The fact that I had to drive to get anywhere outside the neighborhood is more frustrating than anything else. It would be easily more livable if the area isn't so automobile dependant. And despite the sprawl, my friends and I often have a hard time finding interesting places to go within the city.