Sydney’s urban sprawl grew along rail lines similar to way cancer spreads, researchers say

New academic paper finds rail system drives urban changes ‘similar to the process by which malignant tumours form’

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Sydney is renowned for its sprawl. Its geographical size is on par with Mexico City (population 20 million), Paris (10.4 million) and Bangkok (14.6 million), but Sydney’s population of 5.3 million pales in comparison.

Now researchers have developed a model of how it spread out, likening the city’s sprawl to how cancer spreads through a human body.