The research study is aimed at understanding what factors really do contribute to “sustainability” in an urban/suburban context.

Though the belief in the sustainability benefits of "dense" versus "dispersed" is driving the development of cities over the world, the principal has never actually been examined at a detailed level. This study is thus focused on demystifying the myths on both sides of the density vs. sprawl debate. The fundamental objectives of this research project are two-fold; (i) to investigate the true sustainability aspects of people’s lifestyle through a comparison of Chicago downtown high-rise and suburban low-rise living, and (ii) to develop a methodology for this evaluation for the benefit of other cities globally.