The Sprawls
A catch-all term that includes Suburban, Exurban, & Rural areas in North America where you need a car for everything.
It includes all places shaped by low-density single-family zoning, car-dependency, & consumerism. It does not include TV-style walkable suburbs like Springfield or rural agrarian areas where everyone grows their own food.
The Sprawls is where a growing majority of Americans actually live but TV refuses to display. Whether you live in a beige McMansion in the suburbs or a trailer home near a cow field, both can say they live in The Sprawls.
Life in the Sprawls is defined by a lack of walkable old-town areas, lack of 3rd places or nightlife, huge parkinglots, LOTS of driving, & hardcore consumerism & commercialism. There's little to do in Sprawl towns other than shopping & driving. Human contact is minimal & transactional. Most of your time will be spent indoors or sitting in traffic.
The Sprawls came to be after WW2 & the rapid expansion of the auto industry & suburbs, especially in real estate landgrabs like in Texas.
Many people are dependent on social media for human interaction since the Sprawls are designed to isolate us. Meeting people requires planning, driving, spending money, & scheduling weeks ahead. Over time life in The Sprawls produces loneliness, boredom, screen addiction, resentment, & the feeling that life is permanently stalled even if you’re “doing everything right.”
It includes all places shaped by low-density single-family zoning, car-dependency, & consumerism. It does not include TV-style walkable suburbs like Springfield or rural agrarian areas where everyone grows their own food.
The Sprawls is where a growing majority of Americans actually live but TV refuses to display. Whether you live in a beige McMansion in the suburbs or a trailer home near a cow field, both can say they live in The Sprawls.
Life in the Sprawls is defined by a lack of walkable old-town areas, lack of 3rd places or nightlife, huge parkinglots, LOTS of driving, & hardcore consumerism & commercialism. There's little to do in Sprawl towns other than shopping & driving. Human contact is minimal & transactional. Most of your time will be spent indoors or sitting in traffic.
The Sprawls came to be after WW2 & the rapid expansion of the auto industry & suburbs, especially in real estate landgrabs like in Texas.
Many people are dependent on social media for human interaction since the Sprawls are designed to isolate us. Meeting people requires planning, driving, spending money, & scheduling weeks ahead. Over time life in The Sprawls produces loneliness, boredom, screen addiction, resentment, & the feeling that life is permanently stalled even if you’re “doing everything right.”
"Just walk outside & talk to someone?! Dude where do you think I live? Fucking Time Square? I live in the Sprawls dude. Aint nobody making friends here, we're just sitting in our cars the whole time we leave home."
Most TV shows & movies take place in a handful of vibrant settings like old city blocks or Rockwell suburbs. But few ever dare to show the Sprawls, for it would be a very isolating depressing setting where everyone has to plan to meet up.
Anyways I live in the Sprawls, so it shouldn't be hard to guess why I rarely get to talk to girls my age.
I was born in the sprawls, so I didnt get to have many friends growing up, didn't go to many parties, get girlfriends, etc. I pretty much grew up on TV cartoons & videogames.
Most TV shows & movies take place in a handful of vibrant settings like old city blocks or Rockwell suburbs. But few ever dare to show the Sprawls, for it would be a very isolating depressing setting where everyone has to plan to meet up.
Anyways I live in the Sprawls, so it shouldn't be hard to guess why I rarely get to talk to girls my age.
I was born in the sprawls, so I didnt get to have many friends growing up, didn't go to many parties, get girlfriends, etc. I pretty much grew up on TV cartoons & videogames.
The Sprawls by Evan Joestar February 3, 2026
Urban Dictionary Merch