Calling urban growth "sprawl" is much like calling citizens "the unwashed masses" - it depends how you view humanity.
Rather than seeing the suburbs as a bunch of houses - I prefer to think of them a homes for a whole lot of families, each with their own hopes, dreams, disappointment and passions.
Often the people who call it sprawl are the same ones who happily live in the sprawl of 30 years ago. Think of Happy Valley and Reynella.