It's at Albuquerque's edge, it's the size of Manhattan, and it's happening, despite drought, recession and tightening state budgets. An annotation of Mesa del Sol's master plan explains how and why.
Mesa del Sol broke, ground last month on its first neighborhood. The Peter Calthorpe-designed development is supposed to eventually house 100,000 people on 12,900 acres.
"In this uncertain economy, nowhere else in the West is a New Urbanist project of this scale moving forward. And yet, this March, Forest City broke ground on Mesa del Sol's first neighborhood. The developer's persistence is thanks in large part to its unusually close alliance with local government. But to understand that, it's best to take a tour."
High Country News features a spread on Mesa del Sol illustrating the plan.
Thanks to Stan Alcorn
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City of Albany
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