Too many people, two few affordable homes and not enough land are the primary culprits causing sprawl say Californians.

Residents from the Golden State also blamed developers, urban flight and poor planing among the top reasons for sprawl, according to the latest California Opinion Index, a poll of Golden State attitudes conducted by The Field Institute, a San Francisco-based non-partisan, public policy research organization devoted to the study of public opinion.

In results released May 15, Californians also said the biggest problems associated with sprawl are traffic woes, the loss of open space, too many houses and shopping malls, poor land management and increased costs to suburban governments to provide new sewers, roads, schools and services.

Nevertheless, high percentages of both renters and buyers believe more single-family detached housing should be encouraged -- 68 percent of renters, 54 percent of homeowners and 71 percent of all households earning less than $40,000 said single-family detached housing should be encouraged. Such single-family housing developments, however, especially those most remote from a city's urban core, contribute to sprawl conditions by forcing governments to extend the infrastructure, by forcing residents to endure longer commutes and by removing open space. Those polled were never asked to choose between single-family housing and infill or lower density housing, which can help reduce sprawl, while still encouraging growth.

Revealing contradictions among attitudes of those polled, the findings of the April 19 – 25, 2002 survey of 510 Californians, including 185 renters and 315 home owners is in line with the findings of the recent "Consumers Survey" by the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Homebuilders. The national survey of some 2,000 home owners only found similar contradictions among the attitudes of those polled.

The California Opinion Index also found: