The Definitions and Characteristics of Urban Sprawl

Houshmand E. Masoumi

Urban sprawl is a form of community development, which has been common in the North-American urban areas after the Would War II. Of course it has roots in the industrial cities of the late-nineteenth century, but during the recent five or six decades, it has been a characteristic of the American urban areas.

This type of settlement has been especially well-known for the form of the low-density, newly built suburban subdivisions.

These communities are usually planned and known as heavily automobile-oriented settlements. Therefore through the recent years, some scholars have complained about the failures of such subdivisions in relation with urban environment, travel behavior, public health and so on. Meanwhile, some researchers have suggested alternative types of developments like New Urbanism, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

What Does Urban Sprawl Mean?

As mentioned before, urban sprawl is a phrase for low-density, car-oriented extensions of urban areas in the outskirts. However there is no unique definition on which all the scholars agree. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary suggests: “the spreading of urban developments (as house and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city”. In a newer encyclopedia definition, Encarta World English Dictionary uses “urban area” instead of “city”, and “countryside” instead of “undeveloped”: “the expansion of and urban area into areas of countryside that surround it”.

Other Definitions and Characteristics of Urban Sprawl

In addition to the above definitions, there are other definitions which have been presented and used by reputable organizations. For example, The Heritage Foundation offers a simple definition: “low-density, residential development beyond the city’s limits”. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rural Program defines urban sprawl as “dispersed low-density development that is generally located at the fringe of an existing settlement and over large areas of previously rural landscape”.

The Natural Resources Defense Council focuses on car use: “sprawling development eats up farms, meadows, and forests, turning them into strip malls and subdivisions that serve cars better than people”. Reason Public Policy Institute describes about suburbanization and sprawl: “many people think that sprawl is synonymous with suburbanization…another way of characterizing this process is thinking of sprawl as the ‘transitional period between rural and urban land use’ ”. The Sierra Club gives a completely negative perspective: “sprawl- scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space”.

Although there are different definitions for urban sprawl, but most of the suggestions emphasize on the low-density developments for auto use.

Reference

All the Definitions are gotten from:

• Gillham, O. (2002), “The Limitless City: A primer on the Urban Sprawl Debate”, Washington: Island Press.