society
health risks and health behaviors
housing and urbanization
social science perspectives on epidemiology
concepts
Urban sprawl, perhaps more accurately suburban sprawl, is the term for rapidly growing residential and commercial land development across a previously rural landscape. Commentators vary in more precise definitions, but there is general consensus that sprawl is typically characterized by the following attributes: relatively low densities of buildings and population, compared to traditional cities; segregation of land uses into tracts of homes, shops, and workplaces, which are separated from each other, sometimes by great distances; a network of roads with relatively large blocks and limited access, compared to traditional cities; and a lack of well-defined centers, such as downtowns. [Source: Encyclopedia of American Urban History; Urban Sprawl]
urban sprawl
urban geography