About Green Sprawl »

“Sprawl” (i.e. Urban and Suburban) is a concept that includes the outwards spread of densely populated environments into lower populated, more rural areas. This move into low-density land leads to more automobile-dependent development that encourages car dependency due to an increased separation between stores and residential areas. “Green sprawl” seeks to repair the dysfunction associated with suburban and urban sprawl, such as the partitions of residential and commercial uses, by transforming automobile-dependent communities into more interconnected, sustainably designed and functioning suburbs.

Green sprawl is the act of having buildings and areas that have several ‘green buildings’ and LEED certified buildings but are placed in a sprawl setting such as placement in strip malls and highly segregated by activity areas. It is seen as a solution to environmental issues but ends put catering to these problems because of its nature to ‘seem green.’

 It is often confused with sustainable development since it is acquires several characteristics similar to sustainable development such as low energy, high efficiency architecture. The contradiction of green sprawl lies in the idea of being auto dependent while maintaining an environmentally friendly image.