On average, sprawling low-density residential development usually costs local governments more to provide public services than it returns to local coffers. This means sprawl produces less tax money for schools, police and fire stations, parks, and other public services. Sprawl accelerates the decline of cities and towns. Metropolitan areas are rapidly spreading geographically, even as central cities and towns decline. For example, while the City of Baltimore lost about 250,000 people over the past 25 years, its suburbs expanded by 67 percent.
Sprawl destroys community character.
The place to start is in your local community. Town, city, and county master or comprehensive plans are intended to serve as guides for land use and provide the vision for a community's future. The zoning ordinance should implement the plan, by spelling out in more detail the kinds of land uses permitted, the densities of residential land, and the intensities of commercial and industrial land use allowed. Subdivision ordinances detail such matters as how far buildings need to be set back from streets and the width of streets and sidewalks. Current versions of many of these ordinances and plans contain outdated standards that result in sprawl.