For the last five years, our team has been studying the planning and development challenges of small towns and cities near national parks, public lands, and other natural amenities. Our prior and ongoing NITC funded research shows that these “gateway communities”–which comprise a significant portion of the rural West, constituting about 31% of all communities in the U.S. Mountain West and more than 60% of those under 25,000 people–are experiencing rapid growth and increased tourism. This has… Read More

For the past century, mobility in the United States has been dictated by cars. Furthermore, cars—and even more so, the storage of cars—have dictated urban form. With cities dedicating more space to parking than even streets and roads, parking has become baked into city land use, regulations, codes, ordinances, master plans, and even finances. What happens when a car trip no longer ends in a parking space? Both transportation network companies (TNCs) and, eventually, autonomous vehicles (AVs),… Read More