Sprawl

Wise County, Texas

$3.5 Billion Development With Room for 10,000 Homes Planned Near Forth Worth

When complete, the Rolling V Ranch will be one of the largest residential developments in the state of Texas.

November 23, 2019 - The Dallas Morning News

Highway Construction

$900 Million in BUILD Transportation Grants Announced

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week announced $900 million in BUILD grant funding for transportation projects around the country, supporting a similar focus on rural and highway projects as in previous rounds of spending.

November 13, 2019 - Engineering News-Record

Treasure Valley

The Forgotten Treasure in Western Land

Will the arid West’s farms and settlements thrive for another century? Better conservation policy should take a longer view.

November 10, 2019 - The American Conservative

Boise, Idaho

Study: Sprawl Costs Local Governments More

Even when fewer people live in sprawling suburban communities than dense urban communities, one of these settlement types has the benefit of being much cheaper to serve.

October 23, 2019 - LSE US Centre

Caltrans Freeway Planning

Freeway Project, Previously Named as a 'Boondoggle,' Defeated by Environmental Lawsuit

What could have been the first new freeway for Los Angeles County in decades might now only mark the end of an era.

October 8, 2019 - Streetsblog LA

Single Family Residential Construction

Not Enough Housing, Or Too Much of the Wrong Kind

Permits for new housing continue to lag despite a long economic boom. For coastal metros, it's a familiar story of job growth outpacing new construction. In some Sun Belt cities, sprawl is the bigger concern.

September 27, 2019 - CityLab

Fresno Sprawl

A New City of 100,000-Plus People Rises in California's Central Valley

Numerous master planned communities are popping at a quick rate in the Central Valley outside the city of Fresno, but just across the line in Madera County. A new city is envisioned.

September 27, 2019 - Fresno Bee

Exurban Development

Exurban Sprawl Picking Up Where the Great Recession Left Off

Despite the environmental effects of exurban sprawl, Northern California's housing shortage is being alleviated on the extreme edges of the San Francisco Bay Area.

September 24, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

The San Pedro River where it passes through Saint David, south of Benson, Arizona.

Clean Water Rule's Repeal Could Have Consequences for Sprawling Development in Arizona

A recent decision by the Trump administration regarding the Waters of the United States Rule is changing the legal calculus of a plan to add 28,000 homes in the city of Benson, located southwest of Tucson.

September 24, 2019 - Arizona Republic

Natural Fort, Colorado

As Community's Colorado's Front Range Grows, Road Planning Follows

Transportation planners are creating extra road capacity to keep up with sprawling development in the I-25 corridor in Colorado's Northern Front Range.

September 19, 2019 - The Denver Post

San Luis Valley, Colorado

Imported Water Needed to Fuel Colorado Sprawl

An old-fashioned story of wealthy developers coming for the water supply of low-income farming communities is being reprised in Colorado.

September 18, 2019 - The Denver Post

The Uplands

150 Acres of Undeveloped Land to Become 2,350 Homes Outside Denver

The church that owns a unique parcel of agricultural land in the middle of the Denver metropolitan area is prepared to sell to a developer that plans to build a mixed-use, master planned community.

September 11, 2019 - The Denver Post

Arizona

28,000 Homes Planned for Desert Southeast of Tucson

A master planned community would add 70,000 new residents to a city of 5,000 located southeast of Tucson, Arizona. Local and regional environmental groups don't think the environmental risks of the development have been properly considered.

September 9, 2019 - Arizona Public Media

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon-Adjacent Development Revises Plans to Pave Roads Through National Forest

Developers want to build roads through the Kaibab National Forest to serve a controversial development, including a resort and hundreds of homes, planned for a location just South of the Grand Canyon.

September 7, 2019 - Arizona Republic

Historic Towns

Land Use of 2,200-Acre Site Holds Up 'Livable Frederick' Plan in Western Maryland

City councilmembers are debating the future of a 2,200-acre former aluminum smelting plant in Frederick, Maryland. The debate centers on the viability of the parcel as transit-oriented development.

August 21, 2019 - The Frederick News-Post

Cedar Rapids Floods

Coastal States Are Building in Flood Zones Faster Than Anywhere Else

Here's a trillion dollar real estate market on the coasts of the United States—and it's building itself into rising levels of risk.

August 5, 2019 - The New York Times

Eviction

The Star-Studded Discussion of the National Housing Debate

Residential zoning has long been considered a local issue, but some presidential candidates have started weighing in on zoning and housing. Journalists, pundits, and researchers have plenty of complexity to examine as the debate changes venue.

July 25, 2019 - KCRW

Chicago Train Commute

Planners Can Help Increase Opportunity and Fairness

Transportation and land use planning decisions affect economic opportunity and mobility—the chance that children become more economically successful than their parents. We can help create more equitable communities.

July 24, 2019 - Todd Litman

Autonomous Vehicle

Advocates Press for Harder Questions While Pittsburgh Experiments With Self-Driving Cars

Five self-driving car companies are currently operating in Pittsburgh, without much critical rigor in asking about the consequences of the technology to the city.

July 22, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

New Highways

Kentucky Planning a New Freeway Around Louisville, Raising Alarms

Local news sources are shedding light on planning for a new highway route that could pass through sensitive habitat of endangered that has yet to undertake a formal environmental or public input process.

July 11, 2019 - WFPL

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.