Urban sprawl is one of the most important types of land-use changes currently affecting Europe. It increasingly creates major impacts on the environment (via surface sealing, emissions by transport and ecosystem fragmentation); on the social structure of an area (by segregation, lifestyle changes and neglecting urban centres); and on the economy (via distributed production, land prices, and issues of scale).

Urban Sprawl in Europe: landscapes, land-use change & policy explains the nature and dynamics of urban sprawl. The book is written in three parts. Part I considers contemporary definitions, theories and trends in European urban sprawl. In part II authors draw upon experiences from across Europe to consider urban sprawl from a number of perspectives:

• Infrastructure-related sprawl, such as can be seen around Athens;
• Sprawl in the post-socialist city, as typified by Warsaw, Leipzig and Ljubljana;
• Decline and sprawl, where a comparative analysis of Liverpool and Leipzig shows that sprawl is not confined to expanding cities;
• Sprawl based on the development of second homes as found in Sweden, Austria and elsewhere.

In part III a formal qualitative model of sprawl is developed. Policies for the control of urban sprawl and the roles of different stakeholders are considered. Finally, a concluding chapter raises questions about the nature and dynamics of these new urban landscapes and their sustainability.

Chris Couch is Professor of Urban Planning; and Head of Planning and Housing Studies – Liverpool John Mores University.

Dr Lila Leontidou is a Professor of Geography - Hellenic Open University and University of the Aegean.

Dr Gerhard Petschel-Held was formerly based at the Institute of the Sociology of Spatial Planning - Vienna University of Technology.