Urban carrying capacity in practice: supporting growth management and climate planning in the United States

This article outlines the various strains of urban planning literature that have sought to develop a framework for urban carrying capacity (UCC) as a means to understand and manage the sustainable growth of the built environment. This article reviews two real-world applications of UCC models in Monroe County, Florida and Arlington, Texas and positions these models within an emerging UCC discourse in coastal Massachusetts, whose jurisdictions are actively under pressure to manage growth and plan for climate change. Interviews with local planners and policymakers provide valuable insight into which types of UCC models might work best and how these models would fit within existing planning and regulatory processes. This article concludes with an outline for a future research agenda for UCC, including the identification of methodologies that may be calibrated to local environments and institutions through stakeholder participation.