Characteristics

Sprawl is characterized by several land use patterns which usually occur in unison:

Single-use zoning

Commercial, residential, and industrial areas are separated from one another. Large tracts of land are devoted to the same type of development. Zoning areas are segregated from one another by roads, green space, or other barriers. As a result, the places where people live, work, shop, and recreate are necessarily far apart from one another, usually so far apart that walking is not practical, so activities all require a car.

Low-density land use

Sprawl consumes much more land than traditional urban developments because new developments are of low density. The exact definition of "low density" is arguable, but a common example is that of single family homes, as opposed to apartments. Buildings usually have fewer stories and are spaced further apart, separated by lawns, landscaping, roads or parking lots. Lot sizes are larger, and because more automobiles are used much more land is designated for parking. The impact of low density development in many communities is that developed or "urbanized" land is increasing at a faster rate than the population. In some places, a population increase of one or two percent can produce an increase in developed land of as much as thirty percent.

Another kind of low-density development is sometimes called leap-frog development. This term refers to the relationship, or lack thereof, between one subdivision and the next. Such developments are typically separated by large tracts of undeveloped land, resulting in an average density far lower even than the low density described in the previous paragraph. This is a 20th and 21st century phenomenon generated by the current custom of requiring a developer to provide subdivision infrastructure as a condition of development. Usually, the developer is required to set aside a certain percentage of the developed land for public use, including roads, parks and schools. In the past, when a local government built all the streets in a given location, the town could expand without interruption and with a coherent circulation system, because it had condemnation power. Private developers generally do not have such power (although they can sometimes find local governments willing to help), and often choose to develop on the tracts that happen to be for sale at the time they want to build, rather than pay extra or wait for a more appropriate location. The cheaper the land, the higher the profit margin.

Car dependent communities

Areas of urban sprawl are also characterized as being extremely dependent on automobiles for transportation. Most activities, such as shopping, commuting to work, concerts, etc. require the use of a car as a result of both the area's isolation from the city and the isolation the area's residential zones have from its industrial and commercial zones. Walking and other methods of transit are not practical; therefore, many of these areas have few or no sidewalks.

Scale of development

Development in these areas tends to be on a larger scale than that of older established areas. This typically involves larger houses, wider roads and larger stores with expansive parking lots. Low density sprawl also requires large public investments in infrastructure, and some believe that sprawl-type growth is not economically sustainable.

Homogeneity in design

Because developments are built as large-scale tract projects or massive office parks, neighboring buildings tend to resemble one another. Built from similar design principles, sprawled cities also lack diversity, sometimes creating a sense of uniform design.