Urban sprawl and the politics of land use planning in urban Taiwan

Urban sprawl has become a subject of global interest, but attention has primarily focused on its measurement, economic causes, impacts and related policy implications. The local political processes in which the development of sprawl is embedded are relatively ignored in the debate. In response to this omission, this article draws on a case study of Taiwan to investigate sprawl issues by looking at the interactive relation between the local politics of land use planning and sprawl development. It explores how the oversupply of serviced land and associated urban sprawl generate an inefficient spatial pattern of urbanisation, with a wide range of impacts on urban and regional developments. The article suggests that urban sprawl in Taiwan is caused by economic growth, but aggravated by politically motivated decisions by those with responsibility for land use management.