What is urban sprawl?

Urban sprawl refers to the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into surrounding regions. This phenomenon typically involves the spread of low-density residential and commercial development into previously rural or undeveloped land. Urban sprawl can result in a range of issues, including increased traffic congestion, environmental degradation, loss of agricultural land, and a reliance on automobiles for transportation due to the dispersal of services and amenities.

Understanding urban sprawl involves recognizing its characteristics, such as the formation of suburbs that are often far removed from city centers, the development of single-use zoning, and the increase in urban footprints without a corresponding increase in population density. This contrasts with the concept of controlled growth, which aims to manage urban development in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the environment and ensures efficient use of resources. Urban sprawl signifies the opposite tendency of haphazard growth that lacks planning or coordination with infrastructure and services, leading to sustainability challenges for urban areas and the surrounding ecosystems.