Over the last 70 years, sprawl has rapidly taken over much of Switzerland, not just in suburban areas around cities, but also in the country's famous Alps.
"Geographers also found that the modern level of sprawl – inefficient, low-density development – in places like the Rhone Valley was proportionately identical to levels around Zurich."
"'There really is no difference,' Christian Schwick, a geographer and co-author of the study, told swissinfo. 'We in Switzerland think of the Alps as being untouched landscape, but we have seen this is not true.'"
"By comparing maps from 1935, 1960, 1980 and 2002, researchers were able to assign a coefficient to sprawl, with lower numbers signifying denser, more efficient communities."
"In 1935 sprawl had a factor of 1.2. By 2002 it had leapt to nearly 2.6."
FULL STORY: Swiss countryside succumbs to urban sprawl
Nearly a third of US housing is in the wildland-urban interface — and at growing risk of wildfire
As suburbs increasingly mingle with undeveloped land, homes face a higher risk from destructive fires.
Congestion Costing Reality Check, Part 2: A congestion costing critique
There are good reasons to be skeptical of highway industry claims that traffic congestion is a growing problem. Their analysis is often incomplete and biased. Let’s pull back the curtain on some major congestion cost studies.
Asheville reconsiders parking minimums as surface parking eats up over a third of downtown real estate
Housing advocates say parking requirements are unnecessary and induce sprawl.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
The company has until Nov. 2 to make a $400 million equity investment into its proposed high-speed rail line.
LA Metro’s ultimatum: no extra buses for LA28 if federal funding isn’t imminently secured
If Metro does not provide additional buses, LA28 organizers will have to find a new way to manage Olympic traffic. LA28’s budget does not include a line item for transit.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association