Introduction Sprawl is the widespread growth of suburban areas far beyond the existing boundary of populations. Common examples of sprawl include cookie-cutter housing developments and strip malls. Many of us either work, play, or shop in areas which are considered suburban sprawl zones. Suburban sprawl is all around us. Even if we can't see the growth in our own town, chances are that cities and towns close by are witnessing this obvious expansion of their borders.
Suburban sprawl has many consequences for the environment and our quality of life.
Be sure you understand the issues surrounding suburban sprawl. Read the background article on sprawl and check out the sprawl resource guide to get an overview of the issue. You understand the issue of sprawl if you can explain what sprawl is, understand why sprawl happens and you have a general idea of the consequences of suburban sprawl. Now that you know some things about sprawl, let's take a look about what the media is saying about the issue. Check out these stories in some local papers from around the country from the Sprawl resource guide.