suburban sprawl
City edge creep
Suburban sprawl is the outward expansion of low-density residential development from urban centers, typically characterized by car-dependent neighborhoods, strip malls, and separated land uses.
The term carries negative connotations—critics associate sprawl with traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and the loss of farmland or open space: Suburban sprawl has swallowed what used to be orchards.
- cul-de-sacsStreets closed at one end
- gated communitiesEnclosed neighborhoods with controlled access
- exurbsCommunities beyond suburbs
- single-family homesStandalone dwellings for one household
- garage doorsHinged vehicle shelter barriers
housing developments · new construction · commuter belt · car dependency · heat islands · school districts · strip malls · urbanization · zoning · zoning laws · cookie-cutter · property taxes · traffic congestion · tract housing · white flight · habitat fragmentation · lawns · soccer moms
- 1950sEisenhower, poodle skirt, Elvis Presley, Rosa Parks, baby boom
- suburbiasuburbs, burbs, subdivision, subdivisions, cul-de-sac
- suburbssubdivision, bedroom community, commuter town, dormitory town, satellite town
- land usezoning ordinances, land management, arable land, industrial, pastureland
- growthgrowth, grow, growing, growth rate, increase
- demographicspopulation density, population growth, age distribution, population, gender ratio
suburban sprawlurban density
Population per city area
urban infill · high-rise living · city center · tenement housing · row houses
suburban sprawlnew urbanism
Walkable mixed-use development philosophy
walkable neighborhoods · transit-oriented development · planned community · urban planning · sustainable development