Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-193) and index.

Is urban sprawl a serious problem? Chapter overview / Environmental Literacy Council ; Urban sprawl causes a host of problems for U.S. communities / Don DeGraaf, Jill Lankford, and Sam Lankford ; Urban sprawl destroys habitat and farmland and harms biodiversity / Cynthia Berlin ; Urban sprawl is partially to blame for the nation's obesity problem / Brian Johnson ; Urban sprawl also afflicts developing countries / Neha Menon ; Urban sprawl is the American dream / Rachel Dicarlo ; Many suburbs are neighborhoods that provide good places to live / Terry O'Neill ; Concerns about urban sprawl are class-based objections to middle-class developments / Robert Bruegmann ; Some criticisms of urban sprawl are not supported by serious research / Samuel R. Staley and Matthew Hisrich -- Does urban sprawl harm the environment? Urban sprawl is a major environmental concern / Clean Water Action Council ; There is a clear connection between urban sprawl and air pollution / Matt Weiser ; Urban sprawl threatens the nation's water supplies / Brian Johnson ; Urban sprawl is threatening some of the most endangered wildlife / Eddie Nickens ; Urban sprawl is contributing to global warming / Worldwatch Institute ; Urban sprawl and automobiles cause fewer environmental problems than many people think / Ted Balaker and Sam Saley ; There is no crisis over disappearing farmland or open-space / Owen Courrèges ; Urban sprawl in some cases can help farmers / Wayne Wenzel ; Urban sprawl may not be so bad for wildlife / Space Daily -- Does urban sprawl contribute to the decline of cities? Urban sprawl has impoverished U.S. cities / Olga Bonfiglio ; Bigger, older cities continue to lose populations / Associated Press ; Inner cities continue to decline economically / Daniel Muniz ; Urban sprawl is an inherent part of urbanization / Witold Rybczynski ; Urban sprawl has kept housing prices affordable in cities that have not tried to restrict suburban growth / Wendell Cox -- Should urban sprawl be restricted? Smart growth developments are effective and becoming commonplace in U.S. cities / Mark Alden Branch ; The city of Portland, Oregon, provides an example of successful smart growth policies / Mass Market Retailers ; Smart growth solutions are better at slowing urban sprawl than population control strategies / Sierra Club ; Smart growth works best when directed away from ecologically sensitive areas / Defenders of Wildlife ; Smart growth is a threat to the American dream / Wendell Cox ; The smart growth/new urbanism policies have many problems, even in Portland, Oregon / Kennedy Smith ; Population control is essential to stopping urban sprawl / NumbersUSA.