Released in 2014 by Smart Growth America, Measuring Sprawl 2014 examines how some places in the United States are sprawling out and some places are building in compact, connected ways.
The report is an update of the 2002 report Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact, a landmark study that has been widely used by researchers to examine the costs and benefits of sprawling development. The report includes research linking sprawl to a multitude of health and transportation problems, and analyzes development patterns in 221 metropolitan areas and 994 counties in the United States as of 2010, looking to see which communities are more compact and connected and which are more sprawling. Communities are assigned to a sprawl index, and the researches examine the impact of the sprawl index on quality of life. Finally, this report includes specific examples of how communities are building to be more connected and walkable, and how policymakers at all levels of government can support their efforts.
