Urban Growth Boundaries

Portland, Oregon is already known for having a strict policy regarding its urban growth boundary. A new 50-year plan designates large rural reserves, while also holding large areas as urban reserves for possible future development.

Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb of Portland, is an ambitious town on the urban growth boundary that is eager to expand into the farmland next door. How will Portland's system of growth-slowing government respond?

The three counties in the Portland Metropolitan area are at odds about what parts of the region should and should not be protected by urban growth boundaries.

Officials from three counties in the Portland region are trying to work together to decide where to locate regional urban reserves of land for future development and rural reserves for preservation.

Residents in the Seattle region are calling on officials to expand the area's urban growth boundary to allow denser development in what is currently outside the border.

A new report praises Ontario's greenbelt - 11 times the size of Toronto - as a model for urban growth control.

Oregon's property rights issues should serve as a cautionary tale for the rest of the country, according to this article from Metropolis.