CNN tackles the question of urban sprawl in Colorado, mainly the "exburbia" phenomenon.

Using satellite photos of nighttime lights to measure sprawl, [Sutton] has concluded that his family, and a third of all Americans, are living in "exurbia" -- places just beyond the suburbs where the country looks like country again, beyond the limits of most studies of urban growth.

Sprawl is a hot-button topic Albuquerque. Subdivisions (like the one we live in, she admits shamefacedly) back up against the Petroglyph National Monument while large tracts of land remain undeveloped in the older parts of the city. Court battles over infrastructure have been drawn out for 20 + years. Some growth proponents have been touting the simpler life in outlying communities as a option instead of buying into the western expansion. It's cheaper, with cleaner air, out in the country. Yeah. A commuter rail service is being set to start operations later this year. Proponents tout it as a way of providing people with rural life while still keeping their city careers and making a minimal impact on the environment.

We'll see how it goes.