Sprawl refers to the conversion of agricultural land to urban and suburban uses, especially in which region?

Sprawl refers to the conversion of agricultural land to urban and suburban uses, especially in which region?

• A. Europe
• B. North America
• C. Asia
• D. Africa

Answer: (B)

Sprawl describes the outward spread of a city into surrounding agricultural land, creating low-density suburbs, new highways, and scattered development rather than dense, compact growth. This pattern is most pronounced in North America, where after World War II people moved to single-family homes in suburbs, cars became central to daily life, and policies encouraged building new communities on farmland around cities. The result is a continuous ring of development that converts farmland into residential and commercial uses. In Europe, tighter population density, historic town centers, and strong land-use planning tend to limit outward expansion, keeping growth more within existing urban areas. In Asia, rapid urbanization often concentrates around dense city cores and along coastlines, with large-scale development but not always the same widespread suburban sprawl pattern seen in North America. Africa is experiencing fast urban growth and peri-urban expansion, but the classic North American suburban sprawl model is the most characteristic pattern associated with this concept.

Sprawl describes the outward spread of a city into surrounding agricultural land, creating low-density suburbs, new highways, and scattered development rather than dense, compact growth. This pattern is most pronounced in North America, where after World War II people moved to single-family homes in suburbs, cars became central to daily life, and policies encouraged building new communities on farmland around cities. The result is a continuous ring of development that converts farmland into residential and commercial uses.

In Europe, tighter population density, historic town centers, and strong land-use planning tend to limit outward expansion, keeping growth more within existing urban areas. In Asia, rapid urbanization often concentrates around dense city cores and along coastlines, with large-scale development but not always the same widespread suburban sprawl pattern seen in North America. Africa is experiencing fast urban growth and peri-urban expansion, but the classic North American suburban sprawl model is the most characteristic pattern associated with this concept.