Sprawl

Melbourne, Australia, has its own brand of suburban sprawl: suburbia without the space. A new comprehensive plan aims to address the woes of suburban Melbourne, but some say it doesn't go far enough.

This piece from The Cleveland Free Times argues that policy can and does encourage sprawl, and none of the candidates running for president will do anything to combat these policies. Meanwhile, American cities will continue to die off.

The extent of China's embrace of American-style suburbanization is best illustrated by one of its newest gated communities, which is actually called Orange County.

Officials in Melbourne, Australia, are so frustrated with the city's lackluster planning process that they are pushing for the creation of a new planning authority -- one they hope will look at the "big picture".

The Transit Coalition's Bart Reed and USC planning Professor Peter Gordon debate transit and traffic in L.A. in this five-part point-counterpoint series.

Though the state is considered a model for smart planning, Oregon's sprawling landscape shows that the state has much the same problems as the rest of the country.

The downturn in the economy could bring about major changes to the pattern of suburban sprawl development.

While the American Dream Coalition celebrates the 'freedom and affordability' of Houston -- Robert Steuteville wonders why the group ignores the environmental and financial consequences of such an auto-dependent city.

Homes farther out from the central city and with longer commutes are being hit harder by the downturn in the housing market. Those located close to city cores and transit are faring better, according to this report from NPR.

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.

Officials and residents in Snohomish County, Washington, are grappling over proposed changes to their comprehensive plan. A major point of contention is whether "fully contained communities" should be allowed.

Perhaps named as a self-fulfilling prophecy, the last seven years have brought unprecedented residential growth to Homestead, Florida. Commercial development is just trying to keep up.

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

New research suggests that urban sprawl doesn't cause weight gain in residents, though it does attract people who are inclined to be heavy and prefer to move around by car.

Th small town of Golf, Illinois, is likely to stay that way because of barriers at its borders. Its residents couldn't be happier.

New census figures show that suburban growth is slowing down in the Sunbelt cities of California, Nevada and Arizona.

Although Tucson has only about 6 percent of the population of metropolitan Los Angeles, residents of the Arizona city fear California-style sprawl and water problems. So where are Tucson residents looking for answers? That's right, California.