The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "rural sprawl" ...
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Rural water
Rapid, largely unregulated growth in rural Arizona threatens to overwhelm limited water resources, exposing entire communities to shortages and leaving thousands of homeowners with no guarantee of a stable water supply. The risk stems in part from a finite resource that is already overtaxed, but the real danger arises from the inability of the state and local governments to manage water and growth together.
Tags: growth; rural Arizona; water resources; urban sprawl; water supply; state government; local government
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Just Deserts? Arizona's Rural Sprawl: Fast Growth Spans Wildcat' Subdivisions
The Wall Street Journal reports on rural sprawl in neighborhoods near Tucson, Arizona. The areas are known as 'wildcat' subdivisions-"sprawling tracts of land divided by a succession of owners in a way that leaves them exempt from basic county building requirements, such as putting in roads, sewers, and sidewalks . . . The problem has spread like cancer through Arizona, largely because of the tremendous demand for land here, and state law that prevents county officials from clamping down on wildcat growth." In addition, "while wildcat residents pay the same property tax rate as others in the county, the per-capita revenue from wildcat areas is far lower " due to the value of lots and the inequality of mobile homes versus Tucson houses. County officials in the area say that "bringing wildcat subdivisions up to code, including land surveys, roads, sewers and all the rest, could cost as much as $55 million a year. . . money the county doesn't have."
Tags: rural sprawl; subdivisions; neighborhoods; lot-splitting; homeowners; county requirements; developers
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Population Shifts Making Kansas More Urban
The Star, using the 2000 census found that "across the state, Kansas continued its inexorable shift from rural to urban. In fact in 2000 the five largest and most urban counties combined for half of the state's 2.688 million population for the first time ever." Star reporters examine the population differences in this state over the last decade and interpret their effects in areas who have gained or lost citizens.
Tags: population; census figures; urban; growth management; urban sprawl
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The Low Road
The St. Louis Riverfront Times reports how "Hazelwood officials cast their lot with the developer of a controversial project in the flood-prone Missouri Bottoms. Their gamble is tearing the North County community apart. In 1992, Hazelwood officials could see the future and in 1995 moved quickly to seize the land and reap the rewards of annexation. But their efforts have met with resistance; some landowners have banded together to fight the development with the same determination they would a flood. Others have opted to pursue their own interests. Arguments over the proposed development have caused neighbors to hurl insults and family members to quit speaking to each other."