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The Costs of Sprawl Sprawl-like development can use many more resources -- five times more pipe and wire, five times as much heating and cooling energy -- than urban living. Sprawl also costs us 35 times as much land, and it requires 15 times as much pavement as compact urban living. When people live in compact areas, they tend not to drive as much. With good bus and train service, they drive even less. This is what El Cerrito looks like now. The effects of sprawl are desolate and terrible.   Artist's conception a future El Cerrito where sprawl has been minimized. (Photo: Steve Price / Urban Advantage) (More Images) Things you can do to make your neighborhood -- even a sprawling one -- more convenient and less ecologically damaging: Join with your neighbors to improve parks, shopping, and cultural activities, and to calm traffic. Advocate for city zoning changes that allow compact, mixed-use development. Live in an urban neighborhood or traditional compact town. Use public transit and demand improved and expanded service. Join the Sierra Club or Urban Ecology. For more information on the Sierra Club's Stop Sprawl campain, contact: John Holtzclaw Sierra Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign 85 Second Street, Second Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 977-5534 E-mail: challenge.sprawl@sierraclub.org Kate White, Program Director Urban Ecology 405 14th Street, Suite 900 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 251-6330 Up to Top | Printer-friendly version of this page