Study: There's a Lot of Vacant Land in Texas Cities

All that empty acreage means that these big, rapidly developing cities don’t really have to sprawl.

1 minute read

June 11, 2018, 8:00 AM PDT

By Katharine Jose


Texas Suburb

SoleilC / Shutterstock

In a recent survey, CommercialCafe attempted to quantify how much undeveloped land remains in the central business districts of a number of U.S. cities; the answer, in short, is a lot, but not where you might expect.

Dallas came in first, with Austin and San Antonio also in the top five (as well as Las Vegas and Phoenix), though it’s worth noting that Dallas developed more than 8.5 million square feet in the last five years, second only to New York.

From the report:

While it is not surprising that these cities have utilized the advantages of spacious geography to expand their boundaries outward, it invites the obvious question: why sprawl, if there is still plenty of potential to reinvest in the city core? The answer to that may be more complex than we can approach in this one article, but what we can do is look at the numbers.

CommercialCafe also asked residents of 25 cities what they’d like to see in their downtowns; the most common answer, of course, was housing.


Tuesday, May 15, 2018 in CommercialCafe

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

View of residential street in Los Angeles with palm trees and hazy city in distance.

Rebuilding Smarter: How LA County Is Guiding Fire-Ravaged Communities Toward Resilience

Los Angeles County is leading a coordinated effort to help fire-impacted communities rebuild with resilience by providing recovery resources, promoting fire-wise design, and aligning reconstruction with broader sustainability and climate goals.

April 27 - Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office

Entrance sign for San Jose-Santa Clara Regional wastewater treatment facility.

When Borders Blur: Regional Collaboration in Action

As regional challenges outgrow city boundaries, “When Borders Blur” explores how cross-jurisdictional collaboration can drive smarter, more resilient urban planning, sharing real-world lessons from thriving partnerships across North America.

April 27 - * A Placemaking Journal

Rendering of Penrose Roundabout in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Is Expanding its Network of Roundabouts

Roundabouts are widely shown to decrease traffic speed, reduce congestion, and improve efficiency.

April 27 - WHYY