The term urban sprawl has been used to describe low-density automobile-oriented settlement patterns with little comprehensive public planning. Opponents of this kind of settlement pattern claim that it is economically inefficient, socially inequitable, environmentally damaging, and aesthetically ugly. They have called for more planning, growth restrictions, growth boundaries, greenbelts, open
... [Show full abstract] space conservation, environmental laws, historic preservation, and other mechanisms to promote many of the compact, transit-oriented cities. Other observers suggest that the problems with sprawl have been overrated and the efforts to stop it are likely to be ineffectual or to backfire.