Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl: A Review Petricia Gilbert Purdue University Environmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl The term sprawl was first coined by Earle Draper in 1937. Earle Draper was one of the pioneers in planning in Southeastern states of America. Since then, the term ‘sprawl’ has diversified its meaning. When the World War II ended, several themes developed which outlines the modern argument over sprawl and its relationship with development (Nechyba & Walsh, 2004). Urban sprawl has grown to be a serious threat to environmental and social capital. The challenges of Urban Sprawl to the environment and society needs to be measured and mitigated skillfully with serious and purpose oriented input from planners, government and the community. In metropolitan areas, Urban Growth Management has become a known discipline that is used efficiently to regulate land use. Urban Growth Management attempts to addresses and mitigate the negative repercussions of urban sprawl and it also facilitates in designing future policies to keep urban development sustainable. (Fertner, Jorgensen, Nielsen & Nilsson, 2016). In recent years, policy makers are challenged by the impacts of Urban Sprawl on the community and environment. The growth of cities and metropolitans is encroaching over the natural landscape in an environmentally and aesthetically undesirable manner (Brueckner & Helsley, 2011). According to Brueckner and Helsley (2011), in response to the challenges and