Growth Management

A look back at Washington, D.C.'s most recent Comprehensive Plan reveals lessons for how the city should plan for the future next time it undertakes a comprehensive planning process.

July 15, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

The Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve a new Comprehensive Plan.

June 20, 2016 - The Oregonian

Too many city plans represent business-as-usual, sit on a shelf collecting dust, or miss the chance to reflect a truly game-changing moment in the direction of a city. Want your new city plan process to result in a great plan? Consider these 10 keys.

September 1, 2015 - Brent Toderian

Can cities stop growth? is there an ideal size for a city-region? What really matters is HOW a city grows big, not how big a city grows. Design matters. When people suggest a city is getting too big, shift the conversation from quantity to quality.

June 16, 2015 - Brent Toderian

As increasing density and increasing housing costs raise temperatures all over Seattle, residents and planners are engaging in a comprehensive plan that will determine how the city grows over the next 20 years.

June 5, 2015 - Crosscut

The Seattle 2035 will manage growth for one of the fastest growing cities in the country. But shouldn't it also mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions of this famously eco-conscious city?

May 28, 2015 - Publicola

After opposition from environmental groups and the Florida Association of Counties, SB 372 by Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) will have to try again next year.

April 25, 2014 - The Florida Current

Noting the Bay Area's relatively slow growth rate over the past two decades, Timothy B. Lee argues that the area's "bad housing policies" are harming business growth and investment opportunities in Silicon Valley.

May 16, 2012 - Forbes

The Senate passed two bills late last week that essentially killed growth management in Florida, eliminating the Dept. of Community Affairs and repealing a law from 1985 that required developers to assess impacts.

May 10, 2011 - The St. Petersburg Times

Aaron M. Renn dissects the "Venus-Mars" split between the high quality and high quantity model and argues that "an hourglass America is not one most of us want to live in for the long term."

July 23, 2010 - New Geography

Who should pay for growth? In the crunchy enclave of Bolinas California, newcomers pay a steep entrance fee. Fair or not, it's a good anecdote to share among planners and budget analysts.

April 15, 2010 - New York Times

Several communities in South Florida are suing the state government over the recent passage of a law that allows exurban development to occur even if there is no adequate transportation infrastructure in place.

July 10, 2009 - The Miami Herald

Computer modeling predicts sea levels rising 55 inches by 2100, and a recent report from California's interagency Climate Action Team is calling for a radical reorganization of the state's coastal development and infrastructure to avoid disaster.

March 13, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

State legislators have proposed a plan to break up a state agency in charge of managing growth. The move is one of a host of measures proposed by lawmakers to stimulate the state's economy.

March 10, 2009 - St. Petersburg Times

 As the economy continues to lumber through the most protracted period of recession since the early 1980s, the financial sector has received the brunt of the blame. It’s been easy for the planning profession to distance themselves from what seem at first to be macroeconomic trends. That view, however, is becoming increasingly difficult to uphold.

March 7, 2009 - Samuel Staley

Middlebury College students have been commissioned to simply get to know Starksboro, Vermont for a semester. The hope is that their findings will help develop a plan that embraces growth while upholding the things unique to the small town.

December 5, 2008 - The New York Times

Calgary is poised to make itself into a city that encourages density without sacrificing too much of the leg room currently offered by existing suburbs.

November 18, 2008 - Calgary Herald

Recently approved legislation tying land use planning to greenhouse gas emissions is being sold as critically important by both detractors and supporters. But Bill Fulton argues that SB 375 provides only one step in an ongoing evolution.

October 30, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

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.

March 20, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

After spending more than two decades in local government before my eight years as Governor of Maryland, I came to realize how the state was contributing to the spread of sprawl by funding infrastructure improvements, school construction, and transportation investments, among many other things. When we began to utilize the entire state budget as a tool for smarter growth, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. Leading the way is certainly an adventure, but it also comes with the unenviable task of not having someone who has gone before to help navigate the journey.

August 3, 2007 - Anonymous