Experts throughout both the developing and developed world have debated whether people should be encouraged to live in rural areas rather than cities in order to solve obstacles encountered with traffic congestion and transport issues. Personally, I strongly disagree with this proposal. This essay will give examples from the US government and the National Environment department of the US.
Firstly, citizens migrating to suburban areas might have a negative impact to the environment due to the possible increment of the use of cars and other mode of transportation to commute to work, as most of job positions are held in companies and business located in the heart of the main cities, and It is well known that one of the main sources of air pollution originates from transportation in general such as cars, buses, trains, to name just a few. Empiric research from the National Environment department of the US showed that, on average, the commuting hours a person spend per week is 12 hours, which contributes to air pollution 3 times more than agricultural farming. Therefore, it is conclusively clear that if individuals are motivated to live outside the urban area, the commute hours will be prolonged and the damage to the environment could be catastrophic.
Secondly, the economic impact of this proposal for both, governments and citizens, cannot be overstated. This is largely because car owners will have to spend more money on gasoline and those who would use trains and busses will need to pay higher prices as rural areas are usually located within significant distance from the cities. Additionally, governments would need to improve public transportation to those areas in order to guarantee availability to people have access to trains, busses, and other type of transportation. Recent figures released by the US government showed that almost 40% of the federal budget is destined to transportation which includes construction of bridges, new roads, maintenance of highways, public transportation, to name just a few. Therefore, it is possible to state beyond doubt that, people living in the countryside will increase household expenses and it will rise financial impact to governments.
In conclusion, from the arguments and examples given, I firmly disagree with the statement that people moving to suburbs will solve traffic and transportation problem as it is predicted that this measure will increasingly grow the negative impact on the environment and the economy of a country.