Even as more people and companies flock to the state for its climate and economic opportunities, Arizona's water supplies are facing historic shortages.

"Arizona’s annual gross domestic product, nearing $380 billion, has more than doubled since 2000. New solar installations, electric vehicle makers, computer chip manufacturers, data centers, and corporate farming companies are piling into the state." Meanwhile, Phoenix is now the fifth largest city in the country. But as Keith Schneider writes, the state's booming growth is threatened by strained water supplies and dire projections for the future.
Climate change is disrupting the rules of the development game. Drought and extreme heat are emptying rivers and reservoirs, fallowing tens of thousands of acres of farmland, forcing thousands of homeowners to secure water from trucks and not their dead wells, and pushing Arizona ever closer to the precipice of peril.
The Colorado River, which provides over a third of the state's water supply, is 20 percent lower now than two decades ago. And, as we have covered in Planetizen previously, the two largest reservoirs in the country, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both bordering Arizona, "now hold less water than at any time since soon after they were opened" at 30 percent capacity.
According to the article, the state is starting to take a harder look at ways to reduce its water usage and conserve for the future, but housing construction continues even as Arizona farmers face water shortages, some forced to reduce the amount of crops they grow.
FULL STORY: At Peak of Its Wealth and Influence, Arizona’s Desert Civilization Confronts A Reckoning Over Water

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals
Last year, the city permitted just 30 percent of the number of housing units needed to meet a growing need.

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home
Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade
To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions