The close of WWII created the phenomon of sprawl in the United States. Urban sprawl existed long before this time but the U.S. took this idea and ran with it. Social needs and economic policies ramped up the spread of domestic sprawl. There are volumes of research that link urban sprawl with increased vehicle travel, material use, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Although there is a considerable amount of empirical data that coorelates these increases from an urban sprawl lifestyle with negative environmental impacts and its contributions to a variety of health problems-including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness, weakens the social fabric of local communities and, cost more for tax payers
