Rio Rancho: Watching A Suburban Transformation

Rio Rancho, a suburb of Albuquerque, is changing sleepy suburb into an urban center that could one day rival Albuquerque in size. This in-depth, multi-part series focuses on the town's potential and growing pains.

1 minute read

December 13, 2005, 5:00 AM PST

By Brenda Meyer

"From a sports arena to new businesses to subdivisions, this booming city says it's poised for greatness. But is it?

...Paradise for next to nothing down beckoned from brochures in the '60s. But what looked woodsy, lush, on paper was just a tumbleweed-slapped nowhere. Yet they came. And still do... Today, this suburban Shangri-La is just a few subdivisions away from becoming the third-largest city in New Mexico, behind Albuquerque and Las Cruces. In a few years, its borders are expected to span a massive 300 to 400 square miles - nearly twice the geographic size of Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined.

...Rio Rancho has gotten good at growing rapidly. But some worry it has yet to grow a culture, infrastructure, soul. The wide expanse of nothingness is too much something, too much everything."

FULL STORY: Rio Rancho: City on the Edge

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 in The Albuquerque Tribune

Community / Economic Development Social / Demographics Urban Development New Mexico

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.