Urban sprawl is one of the key issues facing cities today. There is a large volume of
literature on the topic but despite this there is little agreement as to its characteristics and
effects. The paper discusses some of the most contested issues of urban sprawl. It looks
at the various definitions of sprawl; examines the effects of sprawl, assessing these in
relation to planning and market led approaches; and discusses methodological
approaches relating to measures of sprawl in terms of its impacts and forms
