Resolving the Sprawl vs Traffic Debate? Not really.

"...The classic theories of urban structure suggest that people would normally prefer to live near where they work to reduce commute time and cost, but that land markets force a tradeoff in the form of housing costs. Land prices end up reflecting the value of job access; one can better afford a larger house and yard further from central employment locations. People will then choose a commute length that matches their budget and preferences for space.

...Our evidence supports the argument that decentralized employment is associated with shorter commutes on average. This is not to say that commutes are shortening as cities expand their footprint; indeed, they seem to be slowly lengthening. Contrary to some conventional wisdom, however, the marginal effect of job suburbanization appears to be to bring jobs and workers closer.

Even then, there are strong differences by industry. The suburbanization of construction, wholesale, and service employment is associated with shorter commutes, while manufacturing and finance deconcentration (weakly) explain longer commutes. These results may reflect a combination of industry agglomeration effects, differential job location stability by industry, and historical transitions."

Thanks to Randall Crane, via PLANET