People saw it as a secure and comfortable environment for raising a family. One cause of urban sprawl was the nation s growing dependence on the automobile. The near-universal use of automobiles in the United States led to sprawl by allowing the distance between jobs, homes, and shopping centers to increase. Today, our sprawling patterns of development and reliance on cars have led to a cycle where each reinforces the other. In many areas, growth outpaces the services needed to support it.
Local governments face increasing costs for new roads, sewer and water lines and schools.
These higher costs are then passed on to local taxpayers. If current growth patterns continue, new development will consume as much land in central Maryland alone in the next 25 years as it has over the entire 350-year history of the State.