The Definition of Urban Sprawl

• Urban sprawl occurs when housing developers build new residential areas outside of the city limits. Typically, these areas are well outside of the city due to the cheaper land cost. The areas of urban sprawl include neighborhoods consisting of well spread out houses and little retail centers. Retail centers such as shopping malls often exist between the city limits and the neighborhoods, requiring cars to be the main source of transportation for residents.
  
  

History of Urban Sprawl

• Urban sprawl began in the 1950s. After World War II, America saw an increase in its economy. Soon afterward, housing developers began planning housing communities outside of the city limits on cheaply purchased land. As these communities offered cheap housing in safer areas, Americans began fleeing the cities in favor of the suburbs, a trend that continues to this day.
  
  

Key Characteristics of Urban Sprawl

• There are three main characteristics of urban sprawl--leapfrog development, ribbon development and single-dimensional, low-density development. First, developers skip over the open land directly outside of a city and choose cheaper land farther away to build housing developments, which is known as leapfrog development. These developments are all single-dimensional, low-density developments, meaning that they are comprised of mostly housing and have small population numbers. Finally, the developers build retail centers along the side of the roadways to accommodate these suburbs; this is ribbon development.
  
  

Advantages of Urban Sprawl

• There are advantages of urban sprawl for some people. It can provide more affordable housing then living within the city limits. Areas where urban sprawl has occurred often have a lower crime rate, which is attractive to many families. Urban sprawl also leads to well spread out housing that offers more land space then homes inside the city limits.
  
  

Common Problems Associated with Urban Sprawl

• The biggest problem with urban sprawl is the negative effect on the environment. Since these developments must be built on large areas of land, urban sprawl leads to a loss of farmland. According to the Clean Water Action Council, the amount of farmland in Wisconsin dropped by 32.6 percent between 1950 and 2002. These developments also increase energy consumption and air pollution.