[bshimmin]

Sprawl struck me as a curious factor too. I can see it both ways - less sprawl means you don't have to go so far out of the city to get into the countryside; more sprawl means there are potentially affordable suburban areas whence you can easily commute into the city.

London, for instance, is pretty sprawling, but many of the commuter towns or villages are actually very pleasant, desirable places to live (they can also be extremely expensive - though not so bad, of course, as central London, which is prohibitively expensive for anyone who isn't an oil sheikh).

[tormeh]

I view it differently. Sprawl means you're never where things happen. Everything is somewhere else, and you get there in a car. With dense cities, everything is at your doorstep, and that makes it much more likely that you'll actually participate in great and exciting things and events.

[skwirl]

They rated Boston a 5 (worst). Boston is a pretty compact city, and you definitely don't need a car.

[DanBC]

You don't need a car for London sprawl - buses or tube are pretty good.