Urban sprawl has become an issue of worldwide interest,
mainly because of its alleged negative impacts on the built-up and open
environment. The purpose of this research is to measure and analyze urban
sprawl in Israel during the last two decades from a landscape perspective. Urban
land-use survey was performed in 78 Jewish urban settlements over the course of
15 years. Thirteen measures of sprawl were calculated at each settlement and
then weighted into one integrated sprawl index through factor analysis. Multiple
regression models were employed to analyze the relation between sprawl indices and
spatial and socio-economical variables. The results of this study show that urban
sprawl is a multidimensional phenomenon that is better quantified by various
measures, and therefore cannot be quantified by only density or growth rates,
as often is done in many urban studies. Most urban settlements in Israel have
become less sprawling during the past two decades. However, some settlements,
especially quasi-rural ones, were found more sprawling than others. We also
found, that higher sprawl rates are correlated with higher population and land
consumption growth rates, middle and upper-class population and increasing
rates of car-owning and commuting. These findings imply higher consumer
preferences to reside in more sprawling patterns, as well as various possible
impacts of different patterns of sprawl on society. Concomitantly, we expect
sprawl rates in Israel to increase due to the continuation of quality of life
increase.
