The term "sprawl" was coined in 1956 and is defined as unplanned greenfield (undeveloped land) development on the periphery of urban areas that is generally single-use, single-story, low density, inexpensive to build, and requires little knowledge or expertise to create. Sprawl gobbles up our farmlands and woodlands while increasing dependency on fossil fuel, fosters obesity because you have to drive everywhere, diminishes the natural environment, decreases the feasibility of mass transit, all while failing to create a "sense of place" or build community.
There was once a time in America (before the second World War) when sprawl didn't exist. The ascent of sprawl to the predominant development form in the United States is based on many criteria:
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.