Progress of Studies on Urban Sprawl in the West Since the 1960s

This article reviewed the most important literatures from the 1960s about in the West.It focused on the definition of sprawl,methods of measuring sprawl and the effects caused by sprawl both in positive and negative,the mechanism of sprawl and the policies about controlling and management of sprawl.The contribution and the deficiency of these studies on urban sprawl in the West were appraised after the review.The edifications to the studies in China were discussed at last.