About half of all sprawl nationwide is related to U.S. population growth and the other half is related to land use choices, according to the results of this ground-breaking scientific analysis of U.S. Bureau of the Census data on the 100 largest Urbanized Areas of the United States. Over the 20-year period studied, the Areas examined sprawled out over an additional 14,545 square miles of farmland and natural habitats -- and that was just for the half of Americans who live in the 100 Areas studied. The findings suggest that plans and programs from governmental agencies, think tanks, universities and advocacy groups aimed at stopping sprawl must include a two-pronged approach using both land-use/consumption tools and population stabilization in order to halt urban sprawl.

100 Largest U.S. Cities
by Leon Kolankiewicz and Roy Beck

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