P R E S S • R E L E A S E
10.17.02

CONTACTS:
David Goldberg, (202) 412-7930
Barbara McCann, (202) 974-5128
John Bailey (202) 974-5157


Comprehensive Sprawl Study Ranks Metros
Sprawl associated with highway deaths, air pollution, traffic

(WASHINGTON, D.C) – Metropolitan areas that sprawl more have higher traffic fatality rates, more traffic, and poorer air quality than less sprawling areas, according to a landmark study released today. The report, Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact, is based on a three-year research project conducted by professors at Rutgers and Cornell universities.

Unlike previous studies, which attempted to evaluate sprawl based on one or two statistics such as density, Measuring Sprawl uses 22 variables to rate metro areas on four different aspects of their development. The “scores” for each factor indicate how badly those regions have sprawled in terms of spreading out housing and population; segregating homes from the activities of daily life; lacking the focus of strong economic and social centers; and building poorly connected street networks.

This comprehensive and academically rigorous study truly breaks new ground by going a step beyond the index to demonstrate how sprawl development patterns affect the way people live.

“For the first time we are able to define sprawl objectively so we can see how it measures up,” said Don Chen, Executive Director of Smart Growth America. "What this study tells us is that sprawl has a direct and negative impact on our everyday lives.”

Among the report’s findings:

• More Driving. The daily distance driven per person is more than ten miles more in the most sprawling places than in the least sprawling, adding up to 40 more miles of automobile travel each day for a family of four.
  
  
• More Traffic Deaths. The ten most sprawling places average 15 traffic deaths for every 100,000 people, while the least sprawling average 10.7 deaths per 100,000.
  
  
• More Air Pollution. Ozone pollution levels are as much as 41 parts per billion higher in the most sprawling areas, which can mean the difference between safe, “code green” air quality and “code red” air quality.
  

In addition, the research found sprawl to lack even the one benefit defenders most often attribute to it: lower congestion. People in sprawling areas endure no less traffic-related delay than those in more compact places, but have fewer alternatives in travel routes and modes, the study found.

The report ranks 83 metropolitan areas, accounting for nearly half the country’s population, and finds that Riverside-San Bernardino California is the most sprawling overall. It is followed by Greensboro and Raleigh, both in North Carolina; Atlanta; Greenville, South Carolina; and West Palm Beach. The most sprawling metropolitan area in terms of low-density housing is Knoxville, Tennessee; the place with the poorest mix of homes, jobs, and shops is Raleigh; The place with the weakest centers of activities such as town centers is Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, California, and the place with the most poorly connected street network is Rochester, New York.

Metropolitan Region                                           Overall Sprawl Index Score          
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA PMSA                                        14.2                             
Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC MSA                        46.8                              
Raleigh-Durham, NC MSA                                                      54.2                              
Atlanta, GA MSA                                                                 57.7                             
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC MSA                                            58.6                               
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL MSA                 67.7                              
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury, CT NECMA                     68.4                              
Knoxville, TN MSA                                                               68.7                               
Oxnard-Ventura, CA PMSA                                                    75.1                              
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA                                              77.2                              

The full report, metropolitan area fact sheets, and a peer-reviewed research paper are all available on Smart Growth America’s website at www.smartgrowthamerica.org. For more information, call David Goldberg at (202) 412-7930 or John Bailey at (202) 974-5157.

Smart Growth America is a diverse coalition of nearly 100 advocacy organizations organizations with a stake in how metropolitan expansion affects our environment, quality of life and economic sustainability. Coalition partners include national, state and local groups working on behalf of the environment, historic preservation, housing affordability, social equity, land conservation, neighborhood redevelopment, farmland protection labor and town planning and design.

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