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What Are the Factors of Urban Sprawl?

Urban sprawl is a major component of study in the social sciences, namely urban planning. Occasionally, urban sprawl surfaces as a topic of general interest, most often in association with debates about traffic congestion or life in suburbia. Although definitions of the phenomenon vary, researchers from Smart Growth America consider sprawl "the process in which the spread of development across the landscape far outpaces population growth."

  1. The Automobile

    • GM helped dismantle the use of streetcars in the 1930s.

      As parodied in the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," several companies with stakes in the auto industry, including General Motors, purposely dismantled public transportation in cities across America in the 1930s in an effort to bring the automobile to national prominence. Clearly, they succeeded--the car is the primary mode of transportation for most Americans. According to Emory University professor Howard Frumkin and countless other urban observers, increasing use of the automobile throughout the 20th century fueled suburban growth, which is, in most cases, synonymous with urban sprawl.

    Low-Density Development

    • According to professor Reid Ewing and his colleagues at Smart Growth America, low-density residential and commercial development is the most common factor of urban sprawl. Low-density residential development is characterized by subdivisions of suburban homes, which can include small, tract homes or larger dwellings, sometimes called "monster homes" or "McMansions." The commercial development that surrounds this housing often is dedicated to one-story strip malls. The automobile thrives in these environments, where people and places are spread out from one another.

      According to the Smart Growth America report, places such as Knoxville, Tennessee, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, have low residential densities, with large cities such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles representing high residential densities.

    Choice

    • According to the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University, choices made by individuals and businesses are significant factors in the proliferation of urban sprawl. Cornell's experts claim that many Americans desire the amenities that life in a suburban environment can offer. These features include larger houses, more space between neighbors, better schools, lower property taxes and a more natural environment. This preference, according to Cornell sociologists, naturally leads developers to provide what is in demand, fueling more suburban growth and urban sprawl.

      The experts at Cornell also claim that it often is cost-prohibitive for developers to build in some inner-city locations, making far-flung suburban spaces more attractive. They also note that as agriculture has struggled in many places, farmers have been willing to give up their land to development for relatively low prices.

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