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.