Suburban Sprawl

Birds-eye view of Atlanta skyline and highway running through the middle of it.

Atlanta: An Urban Planner's Guide to the City

The nation’s first majority-Black city, Atlanta, has a rich identity steeped in African American culture and a sprawling footprint shaped by a complex history of the enterprising ‘Atlanta spirit,’ race relations, and segregation.

September 19, 2024 - Mary Hammon

Sprawling warehouses and agricultural landscapes mix with low-rise residential developments in the Arizona desert.

Arizona Tapping Groundwater to Fuel Suburban Growth

Critics say Arizona’s growth patterns are unsustainable and dangerous, given the depleted Colorado River and the state’s deepening reliance on groundwater.

December 28, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

California Sprawl

What Is Sprawl?

Sprawl is one of the most common terms used to describe built environments in the United States and the world. It can be applied to urban, suburban, and exurban settings, and it's almost never a compliment.

June 17, 2021 - James Brasuell

Houston Sprawl

How to Fix Racist Housing Policies: Sue the Suburbs

Strengthening U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's civil rights enforcement could send a powerful signal to communities resistant to changing discriminatory housing rules.

February 25, 2021 - Vox

Subdivision

CNU Report Outlines Incremental Steps for More Walkable Suburbs

Transforming suburban sprawl is a massive undertaking, but these small steps can help communities understand their needs and assets and develop clear, actionable goals for the future.

January 21, 2021 - CNU

Single-Family Homes

The Problems With Suburbs Are Numerous. Is a Change of Course Possible?

American suburbs are growing, and understanding the evolution of suburban sprawl is a useful guide for the future.

November 17, 2018 - Public Square: A CNU Journal

Google Self-Driving Car Again

Maintaining Walkability as Autonomous Vehicles Become a Reality

Integrating autonomous vehicles into cities will require effectively managing city streets and suburban sprawl.

October 16, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Trolley Map

Trolley System Thrives in Houston Suburb

As ridership soars, the "urban circulator" in the Woodlands Township is getting longer routes and more frequent service.

November 27, 2017 - Houston Chronicle

Austin Texas

Census Data: Growth Trends Favor Sunbelt Cities

Although city growth continues to outpace the suburbs, the nation's three largest cities are experiencing a growth slowdown. Sunbelt cities like Austin and Orlando are picking up the slack.

June 6, 2015 - Brookings

French Suburb

Renzo Piano on the Potential of Suburbs

In an interview, architect Renzo Piano says European suburbs are not desolate. He argues they shouldn't be treated as such in the quest for cohesive cities.

March 12, 2015 - WNYC

Denver's Building Boom Happening on the Fringes

According to a Denver Post article, the Denver metropolitan area has 31,000 homes in the development pipeline. All but 2,600 of those homes would be built in suburban counties surrounding Denver.

March 12, 2015 - Denver Post

MARTA to Expand into Suburban Clayton County

After a ballot measure approved the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) expansion into a suburban county outside of Atlanta, the transit agency could set precedent on how to effectively adapt to sprawling suburbs.

November 7, 2014 - The Week

pallets of green oil barrels stacked

How Cities Save Nature

According to Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resource Defense Council, the best way to save our natural wonders is by living and investing in cities.

September 15, 2014 - NRDC Switchboard

California Urbanists Grappling with Infrastructure Post-Redevelopment

An overview of how urbanists in California have shifted their thinking about repairing urban cores. The article is by Howard Blackson III, an urban designer.

August 2, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Leave it to beaver house

How Does Social Status Drive Transit Opposition?

A new book explains how suburban dwellers have built "zoning rules, housing covenants and other mechanisms" to protect "their privileged place in the residential pecking order."

May 7, 2014 - The Washington Post

A Community of Brick Suburban Homes on a cloudy summer day

Why Suburban Sprawl is the Worst Idea America Has Ever Had

In a recent "TED Talk", Jeff Speck makes the case for creating a more walkable America based not on design arguments, but rather on the potential to create a more economically resilient, healthier, and environmentally sustainable country.

October 16, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Is Sprawl Dead or Just Hibernating?

If the small city of Otsego, located 30 miles from Minneapolis, is a guide, sprawl may be poised to make a comeback as the housing market roars back to life. But larger indicators point to a withdrawal from sprawl.

September 16, 2013 - The New York Times

It May Be Choking Our Environment and Economy, but Sprawl Sure is Pretty

German photographer Christoph Gielen has trained his artistic eye on America's suburbs, capturing aerial images of sprawl "in all its geometric glory" in order to "startle the viewers," reports Ariel Schwartz.

September 9, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Is Density Inherently Desirable?

Kaid Benfield wades into the density debate by pointing out that density and sprawl can go hand in hand.

August 6, 2012 - Switchboard

The Housing Market Revolution

Haya El Nasser describes the housing market's fundamental structural changes as the housing industry rethinks what type of housing to build and where to build it.

May 17, 2012 - USA Today

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.