Having sprawled for the past few decades, the Las Vegas region is bumping up against undevelopable federal lands. Those limits give it the chance to consider a denser, more urban future.

“At 5,046 residents per square mile, the City of Las Vegas is not exactly Hoboken, but it’s denser than you'd imagine,” writes Josh Stephens in the California Planning & Development Report. “It has plenty of small houses on small lots (making it relatively inexpensive on a per-unit basis), and it has its share of small apartment buildings. Many residents commute to one of the greatest concentrations of employment (especially blue-collar employment) in the country: the Las Vegas Strip. So, there are gravitational forces keeping residents in the city.”
“To its credit, Las Vegas wants to grow. It wants none of the slow-growth paralysis that has hobbled too many parts of California. Unfortunately, Lombardo's plea indicates that he wants Las Vegas to continue to sprawl, presumably by continuing to build inexpensive single-family homes, parking-heavy apartment complexes, and whatever inconsequential commercial developments are needed to keep suburbanites fed, fit, and fueled up.”
“Gov. Lombardo has said that provision of housing 'begins with eliminating governmental barriers to development.' Sure, but it doesn't have to be the federal government that does the eliminating.”
“Back in 1972, architects Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steve Izenour famously celebrated Las Vegas’s design sensibilities. They reveled in the superficiality of signage and simulacra. Now, Las Vegas — not the Strip, but the actual city — faces the opportunity to get real.”
FULL STORY: Las Vegas' Opportunity to Learn from California

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Placekeeping: Setting a New Precedent for City Planners
How a preservation-based approach to redevelopment and urban design can prevent displacement and honor legacy communities.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Washington State Plans Ambitious ‘Cycle Highway’ Network
The state is directing funding to close gaps in its existing bike network and make long-distance trips more accessible.

Homeowners Blame PG&E for Delays in ADU Permits
The utility says it has dramatically reduced its backlog, but applicants say they still face months-long delays for approvals for new electrical work.

Rethinking Wildfire Defense: How a Landscape Approach Can Protect Neighborhoods
Post-fire analysis of the Eaton Fire reveals that a landscape approach — including fire-resistant vegetation, home hardening, and strategic planning — can help reduce wildfire risk, challenging assumptions that trees and plants are primary fire hazards.
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