Sprawl
What Is a Suburb?
Another term lacking a consensus definition in the field of planning, "suburb" is usually deployed to describe residential communities outside central urban areas.
What Is Greenfield Development?
Greenfield land has remained untouched by previous development. Some definitions of greenfield land also include agricultural land. Thus, greenfield development encroaches on the natural environment to expand the built environment.
Getting to Work: New Commute Duration Heatmaps
The Mineta Transportation Institute's new interactive website produces heatmaps that illustrate commute duration—the number of minutes that workers spend traveling to their jobs—plus related information, for most U.S. communities.
Census Data Reveal Increasing Density in the U.S.—Reversing a Two-Decade Trend
The New York Times is calling 2010 to 2020 the "Downtown Decade."
Report: D.C. Housing Too Decentralized
Over the last three decades, the D.C. region has seen the most development in far-flung exurbs disconnected from area jobs and transit networks.
Can Houston Rein In Its Famous Sprawl?
The city's unabated growth has made it a bustling hub of industry and commerce, but can it sustain its unmitigated outward sprawl?
Pew: More Americans Prefer Big Homes, Longer Distances to Retail and Amenities
The pandemic has resulted in an an increasing preference for sprawl among Americans, according to the findings of a recent Pew Research Center "American Trends Panel."
What Are Master Planned Communities?
Now frequently associated with retirees and sprawling developments in the U.S. Sun Belt, master planned communities, also known as new towns or planned communities, were invented as an escape from the haphazard growth of urban areas in the mid-20th century.
Cities Are Back (At Least They Were Before COVID)
The 2020 Census results show that central cities were gaining population to a much greater extent than earlier Census estimates had suggested.
Cities in the South and West Keep Sprawling
New suburbs continue to expand into previously undeveloped areas, putting strain on local resources.
What Are Exurbs?
Farther out than suburbs but still connected to a major urban center, exurbs lie at the ever-shifting border between urban and rural spaces and are defined by economic ties to a city, low density housing, and high population growth.
What Is Sprawl?
Sprawl is one of the most common terms used to describe built environments in the United States and the world. It can be applied to urban, suburban, and exurban settings, and it's almost never a compliment.
Unsustainable Sprawl Testing Water Supplies in the Valley of the Sun
As more and more people move to the suburbs blossoming in the Phoenix metro area, local water officials are increasingly concerned about the region's ability to keep up with demand.
On the Essential Role of Land Use in the Fight Against Climate Change
The country cannot hope to achieve its goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions without fundamentally rethinking its land use and development patterns, according to this article.
California's Fastest Growing City: Paradise
Paradise, California—devastated by the deadly Camp Fire of 2018—is attracting new and returning residents as the city rebuilds its housing stock.
Los Angeles' Merchant of Sprawl
Los Angeles is mourning the death of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad. For all of Broad's many civic contributions, he made his fortune in a decidedly anti-urban way.
6 Principles to Manage Wildfire Risk With Effective Housing Policy
The connection between housing policy and climate change is made clear by the increasing damage of wildfires in California.
Massive Tejon Ranch Development Paused; Judge Cites Wildfire, Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In the works since 1999, the Centennial Project by Tejon Ranch Co. seemed to have cleared its final hurdle in 2018, but a Los Angeles County court ruling has created another hurdle for the sprawling development.
Predicting a Comeback for Cities
An argument for the long-term cultural and economic viability of the city, even after the pandemic.
Warehouse Sprawl Prompts Calls for Regional Planning
As e-commerce giants like Amazon build more and more facilities, advocates say a regional approach is needed to prevent sprawl and look beyond local benefits.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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.
