As a species on the planet we have so far shown little regard for the environment that sustains us. The use and misuse of our land creates devastating results for entire species of plant and animal life. One main aspect of this challenge is that of urbanization. As our cities become larger and our population grows we are faced with the challenge of having adequate living space for the human population while maintaining a balance of the natural habitat for wildlife. With the growing number of humans inhabiting the planet, we will be forced to pursue other means of sustainability to the environment. Taking another look at urbanization and making the best use of the land we have is going to become a major concern in the near future. There are many current approaches being in use to help with this issue. We will need many more efforts to make sure that we do not do further damage to our planet. We need the planets natural resources to survive. We more we encroach on the ecosystems of plants and animals that we depend upon for live and sustenance the harder it will be to overcome problems we create in these ecosystems. One approach that is being used in city planning is compact development. Populations often migrate to urban communities in search of employment. To accommodate the influx of people, communities are using compact development. This is the practice of developing housing close to transportation sources, employment, and social services. With compact development the need to individual transportation diminishes. With easily accessible public transportation fewer employees need to commute to get to work. In some of these communities, it is possible for employees to bike or even walk to work. This cuts down on the number of vehicles on the road and reduces the air pollution in the community. (Environmental Planning, 2007) In doing so, this effort helps our communities in several ways. Less air pollution leads to less water contamination and healthier environments for plants and animals. Another issue that we are facing with the amount of land we are using is the brownfield and landfill issue. Contaminated lands are not being cleaned by the communities. Instead the urban areas grow larger to accommodate the loss of land. Cities are now taking steps to implement clean-up of these areas, so that they can be occupied either by wildlife or humans again. This is a very long process. It takes time and resources to undo the damage inflicted on the land by human inhabitation. Steps are being taken in some communities to mitigate the damage now. Even still more should be done to support this effort. (The Rhizome Collective, 2007) Water pollution can also contribute to the damage caused by urbanization. When cities cover the land with streets and concrete, the rain water is not absorbed into the soil as it should be. Instead, communities build drainage systems to distribute the run-off to sewage treatment centers. If these treatment facilities are able to keep up with the amount of run-off produced in the city there is no issue; however, if the treatment centers are overloaded or accidentally dump the run-off water into the natural waterways without treatment the effect can be devastating to both human and animal water supplies. According to World Watch 2008, urbanization also fragments natural spaces and threatens biodiversity, as expanding cities exert pressure on ecosystems on the fringe of urban areas. However, rural-to-rural migration, including movement to remote areas, forest frontiers, and coastal areas with greater land and resource availability, is often more harmful to biodiversity. In an article by J. Ottensmann, it is noted that while the population of Indiana is projected to increase by 15% from 2005 to 2040, the amount of land in Indiana in urban use could increase by a third or more, resulting in the loss of over 60,000 acres of rural land to urban development, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. Human occupation takes up far more space than just the land we live on. We need to make room for business, transportation, and food resources for the additional people. The main issue that we will face is the urge to put action off and leave it for future generations. This is a mistake that we can not afford to make. The time is now and time is of the essence. We will need to compel our leaders to act as if this is a life or death situation, because it is the suture of our next generations that are at stake. In implementing the compact development we can cut down on air and water pollution in our cities and the surrounding lands. One major consideration will be that in compact development the need for individual transportation is dramatically reduces. Public transportation and other means of transportation will become the preferable choice. Reducing the amount of vehicles we have on the road for commuting will go a long way in protecting our environment. It will help with air pollution, global warming, and water pollution. It will also cut down on the physical wastes created by these vehicles. We will consume less tire products and repair parts needs to for vehicles that we do use if we can cut down on the amount of mileage we put on these cars. In implementing brown field and landfill cleanup we can make use of the land that we have currently laid claim to. Cleaning and proper disposal of the wastes and building material that may already occupy these spaces will help elimination water contamination. These brownfields and abandoned landfills are often left uncheck. During a rain the rain water washing from these areas into our water supply through the storm drains on our streets. There is no way to stop this from happening. We must concern ourselves with the damage that such runoff could be doing to our water supply and the water supply of the plants and animal life that surround our cities. Government officials will need to take a stand on allowing new developments on unimproved land until the land that we have is being used at its most useful capacity. This will be a difficult fight for our leaders. Builders would very often prefer to start on unimproved land as it is more cost-effective than cleaning up a lot or tearing down an old building to replace it with a new one. Much thought should go into the economic implications of the entire process. While it may be less expensive for the builders to start on fresh land it is considerable more expensive in the end for the human population to allow this behavior to continue. We must insist that we as a nation do what is for the greater good. Once we have implemented this plan on the city, county, state, and finally federal levels we will propose to assist any country that would like us to investigate its use of land. We will encourage our neighboring countries to look at the use of the land they inhabit as well. On a global level we could turn the chain of events that we have set in motion and make this a positive experience for the planet. We can help to clean our lands our waters and our seas. In the end our communities and the surrounding ecosystems will be healthier and safer for all of us while keeping up with the demand of our growing populations. Below is a plan to begin our journey towards land conservation. It will be imperative to the success of our communities that we take an in-depth look at how we can preserve and respect the land that we have. We will need the help of our local and federal governments on a level not yet seen on this issue. The year 2040 that Ottensmann mentions above is not so far into the future. If every community grows at this rate we will soon find that we are out of space. We will have no where to grow the food that sustains us. We will be irreparably damaging the environment and natural habitats around us.

Saving Space Sustainability Plan:
|Action Items |Action Steps |Timeline |
|(in the correct order) | | |
|Research and identify areas that land |Research brownfields and landfills on the internet. Find examples of |Month 1-3 |
|is not being used to its fullest |communities currently working on this issue with successful outcomes. | |
|potential | | |
|Develop a plan for a more wide spread |Develop a presentation that shows what other communities are doing on the|Month 1-3 |
|implementation of the Urbanization |issue and how it can help all of us to prepare for the future | |
|plans already in use. | | |
|Schedule times and days to present |Beginning with the Area that will require the most work, schedule meeting |1 year |
|this presentation across major cities |with the community leaders to implement that clean up and compact | |
|in the US. |development plan through their cites. Request a follow-up visit to answer| |
| |any questions and see what progress is being made. | |
| |. | |
| | | |
|Re-schedule a second visit |Address the issue of more strict building restrictions for urban areas. |1-2 years |
| |Pose the issue of not allowing unimproved land to be developed until the | |
| |clean-up of existing building and brownfields has been completed. | |

The steps are being taken in some communities. We so do understand the issues and are willing to make efforts to correct our past behaviors toward our environment. To overcome these issues we must maximize the use of the land we currently have. We can no longer afford to treat land as if it were an endless commodity. Preserving our natural ecosystems will be important in both human sciences and nature. We must replenish the lands that have already been laid to waste and try to regain some of the benefits we are losing by wasting the precious resource. We must strive to do this today and maintain sustainability tomorrow is our planet is to survive the upcoming growth in population.

References:
Environmental Planning 240 (2007) Urban Land Use Management. Retrieved Oct 5, 2008 from http://envplan240.pbwiki.com/Urban+Land+Use+Management
Hardee, K., Leiwen, J., & Young, M.H. (September/October 2008) Population, Urbanization, and the Environment. World Watch, 21(5), 34-39 Retrieved October 7, 2008 from GreenFile database.
Ottensmann, J. (2008) Land Use, Indiana Business Review, 83(2) 7. Retrieved October 8, 2008 from Business Source Complete Database
The Rhizome Collective (2007) Rhizome Collective Grove Brownfield Cleanup. Retrieved Oct 4, 2008 from http://www.rhizomecollective.org/node/8