Suburban Sprawl

Suburban Sprawl combines historical, political, economic, geographic, and urban planning analysis to provide the most comprehensive overview of why and how urban sprawl occurs. It shows that all previous attempts to pin the blame on one or two causes - "highway building" or "consumer preferences" - totally miss the complex and interwoven character of public policy and private interests in creating today's urban form. The authors have included the detailed analyses of expenditures which show that federal housing subsidies have contributed significantly to sprawl in the post-war period, as well as a comprehensive overview of policies that can be used to reduce sprawl or reduce its negative consequences. This book will inform the growing policy community involved in regionalism and the general urban policy community. It can also be assigned in undergraduate and graduate level classes in urban sociology, geography, urban politics, and urban planning.

Wim Wiewel (University of Illinois at Chicago),  Joseph J Persky

1. Public Works and Land Use Policies: The Importance of Public Infrastructure in Chicago's Metropolitan Development, 1830-1970, 2. Urban Land Cover Change in Northeastern Illinois: A Landsat View from 1972 to 1997, 3. Property Taxes, Schools, and Sprawl, 4. Land Use Planning Tools in Illinois: Preventing or Promoting Sprawl? 5. Transportation in the Chicago Metropolitan Region Since 1970, 6. Commercial Motor Carrier Operations in the Northeast Illinois Region: Impacts on Land Use Trends Since 1970, 7. The Role of Regional Planning Agencies in Suburban Deconcentration, 8. Housing Policy and Urban Sprawl in the Chicago Metropolitan Region, 9. Employment Subcenters and Subsequent Real Estate Development in Suburban Chicago, 10. High Technology Employment Concentration and Urban Sprawl in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, 11. The Impact of Federal and State Expenditures on Residential Land Absorption: A Quantitative Case Study - Chicago, 12. New Federal and State Policies for Metropolitan Equity