The Pavement Problem

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that urban sprawl and the ever increasing population of the United States is causing one million acres of farmland to be paved over each year in order to build roads. The author points out that the American Farmland Trust (ATF) has been instrumental in developing many policies that that focus on farmland protection and local food systems. The paper relates that paving causes the urban heat island effect (UHI), which occurs when a metropolitan area is significantly warmer than its surroundings. The author underscores that paving impacts the natural seepage of rainwater at the soil surface and creates more soil erosion. The paper states that paving reduces the total area through which the soil absorbs rainwater causing more flooding and decreasing the amount of water in natural aquifers.

From the Paper:

"Soil erosion is the gradual wearing away of land surface materials, especially rocks, sediments, and soils, by the action of water, wind, or a glacier. Erosion also involves the transport of eroded material from one place to another, as from the top of a mountain to an adjacent valley, or from the upstream portion of a river to the downstream portion. Soil erosion can cause the top soil to be removed from farmlands which has the nutrients for the crops to grow. Also erosion can cause stream and ditch bank erosion which can result in the undermining of structures such as bridges or roads."

Sample of Sources Used:

• 22 Mar. 2008 <http://news.carjunky.com/environmental/paving-and-road-building-impacts-cdfe127.shtml>.
• Fwa, T.f. The Handbook of Highway Engineering. CRC P, 2006.
• Hunter, Rick. "Paving the Way." Allbuisness. 1 Nov. 2007. 22 Mar. 2008 <http://www.allbusiness.com/environment-natural-resources/pollution/6264323-1.html>.
• Kraft, Erika. "The High Costs of Paving." Cultural Change. 21 Mar. 2008 <http://www.culturechange.org/issue19/high_costs.htm>.
• "Political Affairs." 21 Mar. 2008 <http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/6205/1/297>.

More papers on The Pavement Problem:

• Analytical Essay # 129173 : "Kant and the Humean Problem"
• Case Study # 103131 : "Technical Memo: Potholes in Markham"
• Essay # 138057 : "Permeable Paving"

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