Consequences of Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl, according to Cornell University's Department of Development Sociology, "is generally defined as the increased development of land in suburban and rural areas outside of their respective urban centers." Sprawl is most often characterized by low-density development marked by detached single-family homes, strip malls and reliance on the automobile for transportation. Urbanists, particularly those associated with "new urbanist" and "smart growth" movements, have roundly criticized urban sprawl for a variety of reasons.

Health Concerns

• In late 2003 and early 2004, two landmark studies were published showing that as urban sprawl in an area increased, so did negative health effects among residents of the area. The first study, lead-authored by Reid Ewing, a research professor at the National Center for Smart Growth, showed that individuals living in sprawling counties recorded fewer minutes of walking during leisure time. They also weighed more and had a greater prevalence of hypertension than their counterparts in less sprawling places.

  The study that immediately followed, written by Boston University Professor Russ Lopez, showed that for every one-point increase in an urban sprawl index, the risk of obesity and overweight among residents increased significantly. This work sparked a flurry of research in the area with several studies confirming the link between urban sprawl and excess weight.

  Some papers, however, refuted this association. For example, a 2008 article in the "Journal of Urban Economics" revealed no connection. The authors criticized the earlier work for not controlling for self-selection--the idea that obese individuals were more likely to choose to live in sprawling neighborhoods.

Environmental Impact

• Urban sprawl increases traffic congestion, according to the Sierra Club. Since urban sprawl is most often designed to be navigated with private automobiles, residents of sprawling areas drive three to four times more than those living in dense neighborhoods that are more conducive to alternative forms of transportation.

  The Sierra Club connects this to harmful environmental effects, noting that excessive driving is a prime contributor to air pollution that can cause cancer and other illnesses. The Sierra Club also claims that to make way for strip malls and other buildings and areas typical of urban sprawl, more than one million acres of parks, farms and open space is cleared yearly.

Social Impact

• In his 1993 book, "The Geography of Nowhere," urban social critic James Howard Kunstler implicated urban sprawl as a major reason for a breakdown in sense of community. Kunstler's claim in his book is that since sprawl requires large amounts of driving, people do not interact with one another socially in their neighborhoods. He abhors the modern suburb and sprawling cities for their lack of public space and reliance on private motor vehicles.

  Kunstler built on the 1961 book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," written by the late Jane Jacobs. In it, Jacobs broadsided city planners for promoting sprawl. Among its negative consequences, according to Jacobs, is the fact that with less social life on the streets, there are fewer "eyes on the streets" to regulate crime and other nuisances.

  The work of Jacobs and Kunstler is the most often cited in what has become a litany of catcalls against the perceived negative impact of sprawl.