I've long been an opponent of urban sprawl, primarily due to its negative aesthetic and sociological impact, but I've been wondering if there has been any studies carried out that discuss the extent of its effects on the environment and carbon footprint. Just fooling around with the Google Earth measurement tool suggests that there are enormous gains to be made by rethinking the way our cities are designed.



Assume, say, that a person living in the furtherst Southern end of the Canberra urban conglomeration commutes to 'Civic' and back everyday. Canberra has a population of about 340,000 people. Obviously a straight line journey is not possible, but assume that it is. About 20 kilometers in total for a one way trip. Now compare this to London.



A person living in the outer-most fringe of the Commuter Belt would only have to travel 3 kilometers more. Of course we must take into consideration heavier traffic, but other possibilities are available to such a person that would be precluded (or made too costly) by sprawl like public transportation.

Does Australia have a serious sprawl problem? Obviously land is ample here in comparison to the United Kingdom, but does this justify our current urban planning?