I can't say it any better than Joe the Planner.  Sprawl is the biggest threat to WNY's economy. It matters not if you live inside the city or on an idyllic suburban cul-de-sac.  Sprawl has its evil hand in your pocket big time. It is time for WNY to wake up to the sprawl disaster and start leading the country to a better way.
 
Check it out - Joe the Planner makes the insanity very clear. Here's an excerpt:

As it turns out, the Buffalo Metro area is a nearly ideal case for the study of sprawl and its effects. This is for a couple of reasons: (1) the region has well-established pre-World War II cities and towns, and (2) the metro population has essentially remained unchanged since the end of WWII.

Yep, you read that right. Buffalo's metro population has essentially remained unchanged for the last 60 years. With all the talk about population loss, it seems that many people don't realize this. Buffalo hasn't shrunk; it's just spread-out. This makes the effects of sprawl quite obvious because there's been no significant statistical muddying caused by changes in population.