Bay Area residents have already begun to see the negative effects of inefficient land use patterns. Over-burdened public facilities, degraded air quality and scarce housing are some of the many ills that an increasing number of local residents encounter. If not addressed, the "business-as-usual" approach to accomodating growth will degrade the Bay Area's quality of life.

Recent studies suggest that sprawl-pattern development has contributed to problems in a wide range of issue areas beyond the obvious ones typically discussed by smart growth advocates. Here is a sampling of such studies.