American Cities and Sustainable Development in the Age of Global Terrorism: Some Thoughts on Fortress America and the Potential for Defensive Dispersal II

Abstract

This article discusses the potential impact of terrorist attacks on urban planning, design and development of the built environment in the United States. Defensive Dispersal I occurred in the nineteen fifties in this country, in part, as a result of a deliberate policy to disperse new development away from core urban areas to better withstand an atomic attack. This article examines the target-hardening of American cities in response to the threat of terrorism and the potential for Defensive Disperal II in this country, which the author believes may actually now be underway. The article discusses sustainable development issues related to urban sprawl in the United States, and a number of potential problems and trends that might become worse due to future fears of terrorist attack on America's cities.