Measuring Sprawl

Abstract

Sprawl is a popular subject in the urban literature, yet conceptualization and measurement have proven elusive. Projects which focus either on empirical advances in the quantification of urban form or related phenomena like travel behavior are rarely conversant, leading to a fundamental disconnect between operationalizing the concept and modeling its effects. Here, I build on previous work in developing a new index of sprawl and examine changes in urban morphology at the metropolitan level in the United States from 2000 to 2010. I then illustrate face validity by outlining suggestive relationships between the index and associated environmental and housing outcomes, while comparing it with other commonly used measures. I find that sprawl continues into the twenty-first century, and that this proposed measure demonstrates initial face validity with respect to key environmental and housing outcomes. I conclude with a discussion of the results and suggestions for future research.

Race/Ethnicity and Geographic Access to Urban Trauma Care

“…We theorize that the 8.0-km definition may be appropriate in LA, given similar average travel distances and indices of urban sprawl. 18 However, NYC and LA have higher rates of traffic congestion than Chicago, 19 suggesting that the fixed definition may result in more conservative estimates of the disparity in these cities.…”

“…Although Crandall and colleagues determined that traumatic injury occurring more than 8.0 km from a trauma center was associated with higher mortality in Chicago, to our knowledge, a similar fixed measure has not been evaluated in LA. We theorize that the 8.0-km definition may be appropriate in LA, given similar average travel distances and indices of urban sprawl . However, NYC and LA have higher rates of traffic congestion than Chicago, suggesting that the fixed definition may result in more conservative estimates of the disparity in these cities.…”

“…We theorize that the 8.0-km definition may be appropriate in LA, given similar average travel distances and indices of urban sprawl. 18 However, NYC and LA have higher rates of traffic congestion than…”

A New Approach to Land-Use Structure: Patch Perimeter Metrics as a Spatial Analysis Tool

“…Such knowledge is a base to a sustainable development agenda for European countries. Newly emerging landscape forms, better detected using innovative approaches as the example provided in this study, require an original analysis of land-use relationships, pointing out the significance of an enduring assessment of landscape alterations, and then supporting and orienting convenient conservation policies [12,22,26,71]. Comparative analysis is particularly suited to clarify the socio-environmental consequences of land-use transformations and landscape fragmentation in ecologically-fragile and socially-divided European metropolitan regions under increasing anthropogenic pressure, with the aim of achieving a sustainable model of urban growth [72], more effective planning policies and strategies encouraging a land-saving economic development.…”

Urban (un)planning and social vulnerability in the context of rapid urbanization and data constraints: a quantitative study of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

“…Various urban vulnerability conceptual frameworks exist. For example, Fang et al As exemplified by the different frameworks, what constitutes the 'urban' varies across contexts (Laidley, 2015;Krellenberg et al, 2016). Conceptualizing urban vulnerability in different cities requires in-depth inquiry and analysis.…”