What is urban sprawl?

Urban sprawl refers to the unplanned and uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into the surrounding rural land. This phenomenon often occurs when cities grow rapidly without adequate planning, leading to the development of suburbs or exurban regions that may lack essential infrastructure and services.

As urban areas expand outward, they can consume agricultural land, forests, and open spaces, leading to various environmental and social issues. This type of growth typically results in low-density development characterized by single-family homes, increased reliance on automobiles, and the potential for increased traffic congestion and pollution as more people commute into the city from these spread-out regions.

In contrast, controlled growth or planned expansion — which options A and B suggest — involves strategies and regulations to manage how urban areas develop, focusing on sustainable growth and preserving surrounding environments. Development on reclaimed land (option D) typically refers to specific projects aimed at converting unusable land into habitable space and does not encapsulate the broader concept of urban sprawl. Therefore, the definition of urban sprawl aligns most accurately with the idea of unchecked and disorganized urban growth.