Development inside Urban Growth Boundaries: Oregon's Empirical Evidence of Contiguous Urban Form

Abstract

Both popular and professional literatures have expounded on the problems (and sometimes the benefits) of urban sprawl. We all know it when we see it, but defining it in ways that facilitate measurement can be difficult. One part of the definition that can be measured is the degree to which development touches other development. Discontiguous development in urban areas suggests sprawl; contiguous development suggests a more compact urban form. This article reports evidence on whether and to what extent development inside urban growth boundaries (UGBs) of three Oregon communities is contiguous or dispersed. The case study method it uses provides a logical and replicable means for describing and quantifying urban development patterns. Data from the three UGB case studies are evaluated within a framework based on Oregon's land use policies. The article concludes that recent development inside UGBs tends to be contiguous to the urban core rather than dispersed, consistent with Oregon's policies for urban form, but that urban development patterns can be improved by applying additional urban growth management tools now being developed for inclusion in Oregon's planning program.