Urban Sprawl—verstehen, messen, steuern

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During the 1990s, the phenomenon of urban sprawl received growing attention in the international planning debate. However, a survey of the literature yields no agreement in terms of defining and measuring urban sprawl. The absence of a common understanding constrains the analysis of sprawl's causes, costs and consequences, as well as the formulation of planning strategies towards economically, ecologically and socially acceptable land use patterns. Politicians and planners aiming to contain sprawl must agree upon a definition and a method for measuring progress in order to track their progress. This paper is intended to improve the understanding of causes, characteristics and effects of sprawl-type land use development, based on an overview of the international literature. In the first part, it gives a synthesis of sprawl definitions and measurement concepts. The second part outlines the dispute on causes and costs of urban sprawl and reflects possible empirical influences. Finally, a methodological framework for the measurement and assessment of land use patterns and dynamics is presented. This empirical approach operates with four general types of land use indicators able to depict the mu ltipl e dimensions of urban sprawl.