According to Randall G. Holcombe (1997), urban sprawl has been considered a negative aspect in the development of urban centres and land use. It takes three main approaches. The first is the leapfrog development that is when developers chooses to construct residential houses some distances from the main urban centre bypassing vacant land parcels closer to the city. The leapfrog helps in making economic development in the leapfrogged land by making it more accessible to people. The second is strip development that takes place when commercial development is linear along the major highways. This tends to lead to traffic congestion as shoppers enter and exit streets. However, it can as well lead to reduced traffic congestion since less vehicle travel lesser distance for shopping. It concentrates businesses that are related to high traffic. The third type is the low density, single-dimensional development with houses in relatively very large plots of land. The low density provides land for planting tree although, it can be considered wasteful. Problems associated with urban sprawl are as a result of failed government policies. Rights of ways can be obtained appropriately. The assumption that people live in the suburban areas and work in the city centres may not be entirely true. If the development is left to occur naturally, it shall do so in a decentralized manner.
The scenario presented here is important in the land use planning. The three main typical urban sprawl approaches describe how land use patterns develop in urban areas and particularly the economic implications. These insights can be very crucial in planning and development of policies such that development occurs to lead to the maximum benefits. The markets in an urban centre tend to direct development in a certain direction, and this can be very important in planning. The land use planners need to consider markets and distances to be travelled while planning.
Work cited
Randall G. Holcombe. Urban Sprawl: Pro and Con;In Defense of Urban Sprawl. 1997. Retrieved from http://perc.org/articles/urban-sprawl-pro-and-con on 4th March, 2014.
