由於缺乏規劃的都市蔓延發展型態對於全球環境產生重大衝擊，例如都市化地區的機動車輛和營建工程都是人為排放CO2的主要來源，而CO2的大量排放則是造成溫室效應的主因。觀察台灣地區的都市化歷程可知，都會區發展在其中居於關鍵地位。因此在本研究應用中幅方法分析台灣地區七個都會區的發展型態，希望能夠透過對於台灣地區個別都會區發展特性的瞭解，提出配合都會發展特質的因應策略，不但能夠同時推動都會的有效率發展的需要，同時又能達成減少環境衝擊程度的目標，例如對於降低人為CO2的排放量有所助益。

Unplanned urban sprawl is a major cause of environmental deterioration globally, i.e. global warming by anthropogenic emissions of CO2, in which the principal pollutant originates from transportation and construction in urban areas. An analysis of urbanization processes is fundamental to the understanding of the development of the metropolitan areas in Taiwan. This study analyzes the spatial development patterns of the seven metropolitan areas in Taiwan using centrographic methods.
While attempting to shed light on metropolitan development in Taiwan, this study serves as a valuable reference for developing metropolitan planning strategies to achieve the goals of efficient metropolitan development patterns and of environmental conservation by reducing the amount of anthropogenic emissions of CO2 from metropolitan areas.