Upon careful review of the existing literature, I have arrived at a definition that contains most of the more commonly accepted sprawl components. Researchers cite several different processes as the major driving forces behind urban sprawl. As these dense urban areas approach a build-out stage and there is little room for any new development to take place, new locations are sought on the city s peripheries. For example, developments in internet technology now allow for meetings to be done online and have given consumers the opportunity to purchase goods from their personal computers. For example, gas prices have dropped so low that the cost of driving a car to and from a workplace is generally insignificant.
People are simply in their cars for longer periods of time.
This automobile dependence also drives global energy consumption that results in increased air pollution. Another cost of sprawl is increased infrastructure and public service costs. Ewing also notes the loss of resource lands as one of the most important costs of urban sprawl. These resource lands may be either agricultural lands used to produce food to support a growing population or natural areas that are important for stormwater management, groundwater recharge, water pollution control, habitat, and biodiversity. Another cost is the decline of the central city, which for most of this country s history has been the traditional center of everyday social and economic activity.