Urban Sprawl
Published in The Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2026
Core contribution: This encyclopedia entry synthesizes urban sprawl as a multidimensional urban form and governance problem. It connects density, land-use mix, connectivity, and leapfrog growth with accessibility inequality, ecological fragmentation, infrastructure costs, and compact planning responses.
Highlights
- Defines sprawl through multiple dimensions rather than a single low-density indicator.
- Links urban form with social, ecological, and infrastructural consequences.
- Positions sprawl as both a geographic concept and a planning governance problem.
- Clarifies why compact, connected, and resilient planning responses must address multiple dimensions at once.
核心贡献: 本词条将城市蔓延综合为一个多维城市形态与治理问题。它把密度、土地利用混合度、连接性和跳跃式增长等形态维度,与可达性不平等、生态破碎化、基础设施成本和紧凑规划治理联系起来。
核心亮点
- 用多维度界定城市蔓延,而不是只依赖低密度指标。
- 将城市形态与社会、生态和基础设施后果联系起来。
- 把蔓延同时定位为地理学概念和规划治理问题。
- 说明紧凑、连接和韧性的规划响应必须同时处理多个维度。

