Arizona

The desert city of Tucson, Arizona, recently decided to halt the expansion of its municipal water system. This decision has been taken as an oppotunity by planners to discuss the city's future growth.

The seven western states dependent on the Colorado River for their water are on the verge of coming to an agreement on a management plan to ensure a steady supply of water from the increasingly stressed source. But some say the plan won't do enough.

Plans are bubbling for a "solar city" in the Arizona desert -- a new town for more than 300,000 people that will be largely powered by solar panels.

In the arid and frequently drought-stricken southwestern city of Phoenix, plans are moving forward to build a 125 acre water park.

Business owners in Mesa, Arizona are worried that a planned light rail extension will harm their businesses if it passes through their street -- a plan they have been vocal in opposing.

City officials in Tucson, Arizona, have called off plans to implement a citywide Wi-Fi system, opting instead to build access points only in those parts of the well-connected city where rates of access to the internet are low.

An 'urban heat island' effect, fed by the city's growth, is trapping heat and making temperatures soar.

Civic leaders and city officials in Tucson recently traveled to Portland to get advice about how to improve their city while dealing with an expected population boom. The trip highlighted the big differences between the two cities.

In sun-drenched Arizona, researchers are working on developing new types of pavement that can counter the warming effect of urban heat islands.

Municipal officials, real estate professionals, and neighborhood residents are struggling with the new suburban phenomenon of home abandonment.

The once "model city" that promised good jobs and inexpensive housing now offers clog roads, poor schools and rising crime.

Preservationists have successfully moved over one hundred homes out of the path of the city's downtown redevelopment.

A trip to Baja California -- with its ubiquitous taco stands -- inspires one resident of a New Urbanist community to deal with his neighborhood's lack of eateries by developing a plan for a taco stand.

The city may be notorious as one of the fastest-growing and car-dependent urban places in the nations, but as a long-time Phoenix architect points out, the city is rich with history and architecture.

The U.S. Census released its new population estimates as of 7/1/06 showing that southern and western cities continued their rapid population growth. However, the city that added the most population since 2000 was NYC with a gain of 205,750 residents.

Mayors in Arizona are voicing concerns over the state's growth and are calling for rapid development of commuter rail in the Tempe region to help handle the rising population's strain on transportation infrastructure.

Arizona legislators have passed a bill limiting urban and rural growth in areas where water is in low supply. Final approval is expected from the governor.

A planner's perspective on the wisdom of infill development can change when the lot next door is under construction.

Lawmakers in Arizona are hoping to get two land-use measures on the ballot that would allow the state to sell off trust land to conservationists, and make right-of-way lands available for road construction.