How is urban sprawl defined?

Urban sprawl is characterized as the uncontrolled and often unplanned expansion of urban areas into the surrounding countryside. This process typically occurs when cities grow outwards, encroaching into rural or undeveloped land without a strategic framework governing land use, infrastructure development, or environmental considerations.

This phenomenon often results in several challenges, such as increased traffic congestion, loss of agricultural land, disparate community planning, and higher infrastructure costs. Sprawl is frequently a result of factors like the desire for larger homes, suburban lifestyles, and automobile-oriented development.

In contrast, the other choices focus on more organized or regulated forms of development. For instance, planned expansion would imply a structured approach to growth that takes into account urban planning principles. Similarly, controlled growth of rural populations or urban growth limits administered by local governments indicate scenarios where there is an effort to manage and sustain growth in a more systematic way, rather than allowing it to happen haphazardly. Thus, the definition of urban sprawl emphatically denotes its nature as unplanned and sprawling into rural areas, which aligns with the selection made.