This site provides an overview on:

1. The Definition of Sprawl, and the terms associated with the subject 
2. Negative Impacts of Sprawl in our communities, our nation and our environment
3. The Causes of Sprawl, and forces that continue to drive the phenomenon
4. Methods of Combating Sprawl in our communities, states and our nation
5. Pertinent Statistics about Trends in Sprawl in the US and in New York State
6. References, Research Citations and Resources for more information on land development practices

Information on this website is based on the integrated Research and Extension project, Sprawl and Residential Preferences: Investigating and Building Educational Strategies on New Understandings of Land Use, a Cornell project that links the Colleges of Human Ecology; Agriculture and Life Sciences; Architecture, Art and Planning; and the Community and Rural Development Institute.

Joseph Laquatra, Principal Investigator: JL27@cornell.edu

Co-PIs:

• Nelson Bills: NLB4@cornell.edu
• David Kay: DLK2@cornell.edu
• Rolf Pendall: RJP17@cornell.edu
• Gregory Poe: GLP2@cornell.edu

The researchers gratefully acknowledge the contributions of graduate and undergraduate students involved with this project: Christopher Peters, Jordan Suter, Dehui Wei, Margaret Cowell, and Thomas Hammer.  We are also grateful for statistical assistance provided by Carolina Magri and writing assistance provided by Christopher Julian.