The problems of urban sprawl have long
been recognized. The classic response to
sprawl has been compact settlements of
one form or another. Yet the profession’s
modern origins stem from responses to
overcrowding. Relieving crowding by letting
in more light and air led to less compact
urban form. This paradox remains
unresolved despite recent compact city,
smart growth, healthy community, and
new urbanist efforts. This article reviews
empirical data of whether compact cities
are sustainable. Then, after reviewing current
debates on sprawl and the compact
city, it outlines the intellectual origins of
sustainability and analyzes whether its theory
supports the compact city hypothesis:
compact is more sustainable than sprawl.
It concludes that conceiving the city in
terms of form is neither necessary nor sufficient
to achieve the goals ascribed to the
compact city. Instead, conceiving the city
in terms of process holds more promise in
attaining the elusive goal of a sustainable
city.