With sprawl proceeding largely unchecked in North California, residents who fled the city for more rural areas now find that urbanization has encroached their once sleepy communities.
"Fed up with the encroaching sprawl, Linda Jimenez fled Silicon Valley for Tracy in 1990 in search of more affordable housing and the small-town way of life of her Santa Clara County youth. Eventually, the sprawl caught up.
In 1990, Tracy, a friendly agricultural community separated from the Bay Area by the Altamont Pass, had fewer than 34,000 residents. Today, the mushrooming town, located at the western gateway to the Central Valley, has a population nearing 81,000.
The town sits as a symbol of the quest by working- and middle-class Bay Area residents to find housing they can afford - a pursuit that often draws them further from the traditional job centers in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
The result: A swath of residential and retail development that reaches toward the Sierra foothills, into the agricultural heartland of the Central Valley and south toward Salinas on land once reserved for ranching, farming and recreation.
The migration comes at costs to the environment: loss of natural habitat, increased greenhouse gases and a growing strain on the watershed."
FULL STORY: Creeping sprawl overtakes refugees from cities
How Autonomous Cars Can Induce Sprawl and Sabotage Climate Goals
Robotaxis can lead to longer, more frequent trips and are projected to increase VMT by as much as 83 percent.
Commentary: We Need a Return to the Adaptability of Traditional Urban Form
How the rigidity of modern suburban development fails to prepare cities for the future.
Research: Sprawl Linked to Poverty
Low-income families living in high-sprawl neighborhoods are limited in their access to education, jobs, and other amenities, often trapping them in a cycle of poverty.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
Montreal’s Gorilla Park Repurposes Defunct Railway Track
The park is part of a global movement to build public spaces that connect neighbors and work with local elements to serve as key parts of a city’s green infrastructure.
Safe Parking Programs Help People Access Housing
The safety and stability offered by Safe Parking sites have helped 40 percent of unhoused San Diego residents who accessed these programs get into permanent housing.
Study: Single-Staircase Buildings Pose No Additional Risks
Zoning codes have long prohibited single-stair residential buildings due to safety concerns, but changing that could lower the cost of construction and allow for more flexible housing designs.
Forest Service Rescinds Tree Planting Grants
The $75 million program fell victim to the federal government’s purge of ‘DEI’-related projects.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research