When City and Country Collide
Managing Growth In The Metropolitan Fringe
Strips of urban and suburban "fabric" have extended into the countryside, creating a ragged settlement pattern that blurs the distinction between rural, urban, and suburban. As traditional rural industries like farming, forestry, and mining rapidly give way to residential and commercial development, the land at the edges of developed areas -- the rural-urban fringe -- is becoming the middle landscape between city and countryside that the suburbs once were.
When City and Country Collide examines the fringe phenomenon and presents a workable approach to fostering more compact development and better, more sustainable communities in those areas. It provides viable alternatives to traditional land use and development practices, and offers a solid framework and rational perspective for wider adoption of growth management techniques.
The author:
- reviews growth management techniques and obstacles to growth management
- examines the impact of federal spending programs and regulations on growth management
- presents a comprehensive planning process for communities and counties
- discusses state-level spending programs and regulations
- illustrates design principles for new development
- looks at regional planning efforts and regional governments
- discusses ways to protect farmland, forestland, and natural areas to help control sprawl
The book also features a series of case studies -- including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Larimer County, Colorado; Chittenden County, Vermont; and others -- that evaluate the success of efforts to control both the size of the fringe and growth within the fringe. It ends with a discussion of possible futures for fringe areas.
When City and Country Collide is an important guide for planners and students of planning, policymakers, elected officials, and citizens working to minimize sprawl.
Contents
List of Figures, Tables, and Photos xi
Preface xiii
Chapter 1: The Metropolitan Fringe: America's Premier Land-Use Battleground 1
Chapter 2: How the Fringe Came to Be 19
Chapter 3: Obstacles to Managing Growth in the Fringe 43
Chapter 4: Growth Management Strategies and the Law of the Fringe 65
Chapter 5: Designing the Fringe: Joining Appearance and Performance 87
Chapter 6: Changing Federal Programs That Promote Sprawl in the Fringe 107
Chapter 7: Divided We Sprawl: The Role of State and Local Governments 135
Chapter 8: Blending Regulations and Incentives to Manage Fringe Growth 159
Chapter 9: Regional Planning: Making the City, Suburb, and Fringe Connection 185
Chapter 10: Managing Growth in the Fringe Countryside 211
Chapter 11: Growth Management Case Studies: Common Problems, Different Solutions 239
Chapter 12: The Promised Land: The Future of the Fringe 261
Appendix 1: A Warning About Living in the Rural-Urban Fringe 275
Appendix 2: Sample On-Lot Septic System Ordinance 281
Appendix 3: Telecommunications Tower and Antenna Ordinance 291
Appendix 4: Model County or Municipal Steep-Slope Overlay Zone 297
Appendix 5: Model Intergovernmental Agreement Between a County and a City or Village 305
Appendix 6: Model Transfer-of-Development-Rights Ordinance 309
Contacts 315
Notes 319
Bibliography 335
About the Author 341
Index 343"
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