Talk:Urban growth boundary

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The following mini-essay, by 62.60.4.221, makes some good points but is decidedly POV. Perhaps some of it could be incorporated into this page or Green Belt -- Nate

Meanwhile the costs of daily travel declined relative to the wages of city workers and many workers found themselves able and willing to "leapfrog" the Green Belt and inhabit deeper countryside areas, thereafter commuting to their existing urban or suburban workplaces. This tendency, or Urban Exodus was encouraged by the building of wider roads and the electrification of railways that raised average journey speeds. In such circumstances the Green Belt can be portrayed as something of a problem, enticing excess travel, wasting precious fuel, and accentuating the influx of townsfolk into villages, hamlets and market towns that have other priorities. Although some communities may benefit from the migrants' skills and spending-power, established residents of the countryside may doubt the social contribution of adults who spend a large proportion of their time travelling and some (mainly those too young to be earning or families renting accommodation) resent the fact that incoming commuters generally drive-up local property prices. For reasons of self interest, those already owning property there or in the designated Green Belt tend to be relatively satisfied and may even join in the chorus of demand for further upgrades to transport links.

Clearly escaping from the rat race becomes difficult when you realise that many other rats have followed your trail! Ironically those who escape from the cities become most vocal in defending the scenic values of the countryside and in opposing non-residential land uses there. Thus the suburbanisation of the countryside can be a social as well as a physical event. See also drawbridge mentality and NIMBY syndrome.