Seeing the Elephant: Multi-disciplinary Measures of Urban Sprawl

Abstract

In this paper we review and discuss multiple approaches of measuring urban sprawl. Our intent is not to propose new measures or methods but to present in a single paper an overview of approaches to measuring sprawl taken by scholars trained in a variety of disciplines. Our intent instead is to describe general approaches and to provide references to key sources for further examination. Based on our review, we draw two conclusions. First, over the last two decades we have made substantial progress in our ability to measure and analyze spatial patterns that constitute the problem known as urban sprawl. Second, because of the disciplinary boundaries in which this progress has been made, we understand parts of the problem better than we understand the problem as a whole.