Janique Goff and the dichotomous ecological effects of the suburbs
For the ecologically-minded like Janique Goff, suburban sprawl represents a dichotomy in the environment. The suburb is linked to many environmental problems like car dependence. At the same time, it also provides a number of key advantages for those who wish to live greener lifestyles.
There's no denying that suburban development has a lot of downsides for both urban planners and environmentalists. First of all, it encourages citizens to live far away from their place of work. Suburbs are also usually not planned with public transportation in mind; therefore, suburban residents end up car-dependent, which in turn aggravates traffic and air pollution in cities as a whole. Moreover, suburbs are usually built over raw land, which tends to damage the environment therein.
Of course, not all bedroom communities are badly planned, and Janique Goff realizes that there are many ways by which suburban residents can live in a more eco-friendly manner with even more flexibility than urbanites do.
For starters, as suburban homes usually have yards, it becomes a welcome possibility for nature lovers to convert their backyards into homes for wildlife native to their region. In addition, suburban homeowners usually have more control over their homes and as a result, they can more easily retrofit eco-friendly technology.
