sprawl
sprawl / sprôl/ • v. [intr.] sit, lie, or fall with one's arms and legs spread out in an ungainly or awkward way: the door shot open, sending him sprawling across the pavement she lay sprawled on the bed. ∎ spread out over a large area in an untidy or irregular way: the town sprawled along several miles of cliff top. | [as adj.] (sprawling) the sprawling suburbs. • n. [usu. in sing.] an ungainly or carelessly relaxed position in which one's arms and legs are spread out: she fell into a sort of luxurious sprawl. ∎ a group or mass of something that has spread out in an untidy or irregular way: a sprawl of buildings. ∎ the expansion of an urban or industrial area into the adjoining countryside in a way perceived to be disorganized and unattractive: the growth of urban sprawl. ∎ such an area: Washington's suburban sprawl.DERIVATIVES: sprawl·ing·ly adv.
Sprawl
Sprawl
A term used in debates about urban growth, sprawl does not have a precise, academic definition. As a noun, it most often refers to spread-out development that requires people to use a car for every activity, because it strictly separates housing, shopping, schools, offices, and other land uses from each other. The commercial sprawl landscape features wide roads flanked by parking lots that surround mostly single-story buildings; there are usually many cars but few pedestrians. As a verb, sprawl most often refers to metropolitan areas that are consuming land at a faster rate than the population is growing. Sprawl is said to be worst in cities that are spreading out even though their population is stagnant or declining. Some people criticize sprawling growth because it creates traffic congestion, air quality, water pollution, and the revitalization of older neighborhoods harder to address.
see also Smart Growth.
internet resource
Smart Growth Online. "The Cost of Sprawl: How Much Does It Cost to Drive to Work?" Available from http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3071.
David Goldberg