This document discusses the definition and measurement of urban sprawl. It begins with an overview of the origins of the term "sprawl" in the 1930s and its popularization in the 1950s. It then examines conflicting perspectives on sprawl and various definitions from different organizations. The document proposes defining sprawl based on eight dimensions: density, continuity, concentration, clustering, centrality, mixed-uses, and proximity. These dimensions can be quantified to objectively measure sprawl's characteristics in a given geographic area. The document concludes that defining sprawl objectively using land use characteristics can help planners make informed land use decisions.

1. Nathan RobinsonMRP Candidate 2011University of Massachusetts16 November 2009‘Sprawl’: Understanding its Meaning and Application t0 Practice

2. Presentation OverviewWhy Should We CareOrigins of ‘Sprawl’Confounding Perspectives and Definitions‘Sprawl’ definedConcluding Remarks

3. ‘Sprawl’ Why Should We Care?Loss of community spirit and valuesLess leisure timeTraffic congestion and CommutingOver-crowded schoolsHigher taxesAdverse fiscal impacts on local governmentsPoor Health, obesityUgly, monotonous suburban landscapesLoss of sense of placeLoss of Habitat and Open SpaceDecline in Mass TransitClimate Change

4. ‘Sprawl’s’OriginsOne of the earliest uses of the word "sprawl" in reference to land use was in a 1937 speech by Earl Draper, planning director of the Tennessee Valley Authority. “Perhaps diffusion is too kind a word…In bursting its bounds, the city actually sprawled and made the country side ugly…uneconomic of services and doubtful of social value.”William Whyte popularized “sprawl” with his essay in the 1958 book, The Exploding Metropolis. “Sprawl is bad aesthetics: sprawl is bad economics.”Much of his analysis continues to frame the debate on “sprawl,” to the present day.Costs of Sprawl, 1974, Real Estate Research Corporation

5. ‘Sprawl’s’ InfluenceSMART GrowthSocial ScientistsEnvironmentalistsPublic Health ProfessionalsPlanners/Municipal OfficialsArchitectsDevelopersCommunity GroupsTransportationAdvocates

6. Confounding Perspectives on ‘Sprawl’“As one person’s noise can be another person’s favorite musical expression, so too is one person’s sprawl another’s cherished neighborhood.” -Robert BruegmannSprawl: a compact History“Eighty-percent of everything built in America has been built in the last 50 years, and most of it is depressing, brutal, unhealthy and spiritually degrading…”James Howard KunstlerGeography of Nowhere

7. ‘Sprawl’ Definitions “Sprawl, simply refers to the low-density, residential development beyond a city’s limit.”THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION“Many people think 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.’ ”REASON PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE“…low-density, scattered, urban development without systematic large-scale or regional public land-use planning.”ROBERT BRUEGGMANSPRAWL: A COMPACT HISTORY

8. ‘Sprawl’ Definitions cont.“Sprawl−scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space.”THE SIERRA CLUB“Sprawling development eats up farms, meadows, and forests, turning them into strip malls and subdivisions that serve cars better than people.”NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL“dispersed, auto-dependent development outside of compact urban and village centers, along highways, and in rural countryside.”Vermont Forum on Sprawl

9. Sprawl≠ SuburbPropensity to equate sprawl with suburbs as a means for validation Suburbs not confined to the United StatesHistorically, suburbs were reserved for the wealthy and something the common man aspired to. Over half the population lives in suburbsLewis Mumford, early critic of sprawl, spoke highly of traditional, planned, inner ring suburbs.

10. ‘Sprawl’ Defined“Sprawl is a pattern of land use that exhibits low levels of some combination of eight distinct dimensions: density, continuity, concentration, clustering, centrality, nuclearity, mixed-uses and proximity.” -Wrestling Sprawl to the Ground: Defining and Measuring an Elusive ConceptStrengths WeaknessesObjective AmbiguityLand Use Characteristics InaccessibleQuantifiable

11. ‘Sprawl’ DefinedDefinition dimensions are consistent with the negative externalities associated with sprawlDensity- Residential Units/Sq. MileContinuity- Leapfrog, Fragmented DevelopmentConcentration- Open Space Protection, Infrastructure CostsClustering- Urban Form/Design, Impervious SurfacesCentrality- Relationship to Central Business District Mixed-Uses-Spatial Mismatch, Congestion/TrafficProximity- Distance Between Uses, Congestion/Traffic

12. ‘Sprawl’ DefinedDefinition dimensions can be operationalized tomeasure ‘sprawl’ over a defined geographic area. Allows us objectivity in measuring sprawlIdentify characteristics that are strengths and weaknesses. i.e. municipal area could have high-density land use, but have a low score with respect to proximity to proximity and mixed-use.Conducive to Master PlanDevelopment Incentive StrategiesFlexibility: Different regions have different resource limitations, weighting, and creation of other objective dimensions, allow us to quantify sprawl.

13. ‘Sprawl’ Measured

14. Conclusion‘Sprawl’ is a very controversial word has been influential in shaping the debate on development and growth management.Subjectivity has its benefits and costs‘Sprawl’ is not all low-density residential developmentAs planners we can use objective definitions to operationalize land use characteristics to help us make rationale and informed land use decisions.