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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."

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