The Suburbs are Literally Killing the Planet

Video Description

Cities are not associated with being green, but when you measure carbon emissions per household, suburbanites have a much higher carbon footprint than city dwellers. And that’s because American-style suburbia is designed in a way that forces people to live unsustainable lifestyles. ➜ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flurfdesign ➜ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flurfdesign/ ➜ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/flurfdesign.bsky.social ➜ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flurfdesign ➜ References & Timestamps: 0:00 Intro US household carbon footprints (interactive map): coolclimate.org/maps ________________________________________________________________________ 1:07 City design is important Carbon emissions per capita: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/4002897 Evolution of the Chicago landscape: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/10144/chapter/20 The Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences of Sprawling Development Patterns in the United States: https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-characteristics-causes-and-consequences-of-sprawling-103014747/ The Green Squeeze: America’s Nature Crisis: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/10/GreenSqueeze-report.pdf ________________________________________________________________________ 2:22 Home & transportation emissions Emissions by transportation mode: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566 Home & transportation energy use by location: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2014-03/documents/location_efficiency_btu.pdf How can we reduce the climate footprint of the suburbs?: https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-can-we-reduce-climate-footprint-suburbs McMansion Hell: https://mcmansionhell.com/ Residential Buildings Factsheet: https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/built-environment/residential-buildings-factsheet Transportation Sector Emissions: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/transportation-sector-emissions ________________________________________________________________________ 5:13 Suburbs destroy nature Global distribution and density of constructed impervious surfaces: https://doi.org/10.3390/s7091962 Which Countries Have the Most Pavement Per Person?: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/2/20/which-countries-have-the-most-pavement-per-person ________________________________________________________________________ 7:03 Worsening climate change “Entirely foreseeable”: The L.A. fires are the worst-case scenario experts feared: https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/california-fires-foreseeable-worst-case-scenario-rcna186887 How suburban sprawl and climate change are making wildfires more destructive: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/los-angeles-wildfires-climate-change-urban-sprawl/ The city and the coming climate: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139061353 Urbanization exacerbated the rainfall and flooding caused by hurricane Harvey in Houston: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0676-z US household water use: https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts ________________________________________________________________________ 9:28 Lawns suck Judge fines cancer patient, 72, for overgrown lawn: https://nypost.com/2022/01/13/judge-fines-cancer-patient-72-too-weak-to-mow-lawn/ Kentucky Bluegrass: https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_popr.pdf Lawn Maintenance and Climate Change: https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/5/11/law-maintenance-and-climate-change Natural Lawn Care Techniques: https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/natural-lawn-care-techniques/5065.html Second federal court upholds $30K in fines for Dunedin homeowner’s tall grass: https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2022/07/20/second-federal-court-upholds-30k-in-fines-for-dunedin-homeowners-tall-grass/ Village tries to fine Long Island woman who replaced lawn with native plants: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/native-plants-lawn-long-island-woman-fined/ ________________________________________________________________________ 12:32 Green cities are more livable cities Due to climate change, Nevada says goodbye to grass: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/due-to-climate-change-nevada-says-goodbye-to-grass/ Minnesota Will Pay Residents to Grow Bee-Friendly Lawns: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/minnesota-will-pay-residents-grow-bee-friendly-lawns-180972430/ The traffic calming effect of delineated bicycle lanes: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2024.100071 ________________________________________________________________________ 16:00 How to fix the suburbs Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/04/12/air-pollution-paris-health-cars/ Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780865477506/suburbannation/