I hate surburban sprawl because I moved to the edge of the 'burbs to be away from the city, and it moved out here to meet me, and then pass me. I want to be able to get the hell away from the city on a moment's notice, in case there's ever an urgent need to do so, and you sure as hell can't do that if the city has grown up 10 miles past where you live.
Some enterprising individuals get rich by buying in the path of progress. When the sprawl reaches your doorstep, sell your land for many times what you paid for it and then go buy yourself another property a few more miles out where you can live comfortably until the sprawl reaches your doorstep again. REPEAT.
It's like washing your hair. Lather, rinse REPEAT.
A friend of mine has something he calls "the one full tank of gas" theory. To wit, when the real crisis comes, one will need to be far enough away from any urban/suburban center so that it would take more than one tank of gas to drive there. (He alos speculates that in a real crisis, fuel distribution will would be cut off, leaving people trapped within cities and suburbs that shall descend into chaos.)
Having said that, I believe the only way to truly escape suburban sprawl for the long-term (notice that I did not say "forever", but merely for the long-term, that being at least the remainder of my own life) is to locate to some rural area or small town that is indeed too far to reach from any major city or suburban area on that one tank of gas.
- John