Wildfires tend to start at the Wildland-Urban Interface: those border zones between cities and the open land surrounding them. Keeping the lid on sprawl, it can be argued, would tame the inferno.
As another summer of wildfires blazes on, it's hard not to notice the types of neighborhoods they regularly threaten. Adam Rogers writes, "The key to how we think about fire's severity [...] is not the number of fires, or even their magnitude, but where they are—and what's near them."
In fire-prone states like California, Texas, and Colorado, suburban sprawl often occupies the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) where wildfires often start. "Humans set most wildfires—95 percent of them, according to CalFire. That's a real problem when, as of 2004 in the continental US, the WUI was almost 278,000 square miles and contained 44.8 million housing units."
In a sense, the urban housing crisis exacerbates our risk from fire, and those affected are those priced out. "At a time when cities all over the country are experiencing housing crises, unable or unwilling to build enough units to accommodate growing populations, the greatest expansion of houses is on previously unbuilt spaces at the edges of cities."
Read the full story: The West Is on Fire. Blame the Housing Crisis
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.
Home Insurers Are Fleeing California
Homeowners in the state are finding it increasingly difficult to secure insurance policies thanks to the growing risks of wildfire, drought, and other climate threats.
As Central Texas Population Grows, So Does Fire Risk
Sprawl in and around Austin is contributing to growing wildfire risks, and local officials worry about a lack of public awareness of the issue.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority