Canadian cities are characterized by urban sprawl; segregated land use patterns that separate home, work, shopping and recreational facilities. Urban sprawl can lead to increased motorized travel distances than would otherwise be unnecessary in more compact, mixed use land developments. Low-density development patterns promotes the use of the personal vehicle due to greater distances and can discourage more healthy forms of transportation such as walking and bicycling. In most situations, public transit requires high-density and more compact land use to be cost-effective. The decrease in public transit ridership and the decrease in the use of active forms of transportation increases the demand for road transportation and its associated infrastructure. This demand for automobile usage and road transportation leads to increased traffic congestion, thereby increasing travel time, minimizing fuel efficiency and increasing vehicular emissions.

Transportation infrastructure can lead to a loss in biological diversity as habitats are fragmented and eliminated, loss of undeveloped land, and to a loss of prime agricultural land.