The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Minnesota Legislature.

Minnesota Information

• 1000 Friends of Minnesota - Concerns include urban sprawl, transportation alternatives, and effective community planning and zoning.
• Embrace Open Space - A partnership among local nonprofit organizations to protect open space in the Twin Cities region.
• Metropolitan Council - Several reports on land use planning and development are in the Resources, Reports, and Data section.
• Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy - The group address land use and transportation issues.
• Minnesota Environmental Quality Board - Many EQB reports touch on land use issues, particularly in their Sustainable Development Initiative section.
• Minnesota Land Trust - A private nonprofit organization working with landowners and communities to protect Minnesota's land and water resources.
• Minnesota chapter, American Planning Association - A non-profit statewide organization involved in planning-related activities on behalf of state and regional agencies, counties, cities, towns, educational institutions and the private sector.
• Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation - A group concerned about noise, fumes, and danger to others created by snowmobiles, high-powered watercraft, and off-highway vehicles on public lands.
• Sensible Land Use Coalition - The group includes builders, utilities, developers, engineers. It fosters a balanced approach toward issues affecting land use, development, and the environment in Minnesota, with a special focus on the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
• Sierra Club, Minnesota North Star Chapter - Includes the Citizen's Guide to Local Land Use Planning, part of their Open Space section.
• Transportation and Regional Growth Study - The University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies undertakes research into regional growth patterns and the transportation infrastructure.

Growth Management and Urban Sprawl

• Demographia - A site by consultant Wendell Cox. His philosophy is 'pro-choice' with respect to urban development. "People should have the freedom to live and work where and how they like."
• Heritage Foundation - Includes a Transportation and Smart Growth section.
• Smart Communities Network - From the U.S. Department of Energy. Choose the Land Use Planning section for sprawl materials.
• SmartGrowth Online - A coalition of private sector, public sector, and non-profit partners seeking to encourage better development decisions.
• Smart Growth/Sprawl - From the Natural Resources Defense Council; includes several online reports in their In Depth section.
• Sprawl City - Analysis of U.S. government data to show contributing factors in the sprawl of individual urban areas, states, bio-regions and the nation as a whole.
  
• Sprawl & Growth - From Plannersweb.com. Articles from the Planning Commissioner's Journal.
• Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse - Information and advice on sprawl issues; a project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
• Stopping Sprawl - Fact sheets and reports from the Sierra Club.

Property Rights and Takings Issues

• American Land Rights Association - This national political group advocates for private property rights.
• Eminent Domain - The National Conference of State Legislatures gathers background on the issue, including state statues and state case law.
• Eminent Domain - A section of the Reason Foundation website; it includes proposed state legislation restricting eminent domain.
• Institute for Justice - A libertarian public law firm. Their Castle Coalition includes a legislative center that includes proposed federal and state legislation. Their Minnesota Chapter is one of three state chapters.
• Minnesota Landowner's Rights Association - "MLRA is the united voice of Minnesota landowners."

Other Information

• Brownfields - The Northeast-Midwest Institute has published several reports on state efforts to redevelop contaminated industrial sites.
• Brownfields - Information gathered by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
• Land Use Law - From the Cornell Legal Information Institute.
• Land Trust Alliance - The group focuses on private voluntary land conservation programs.
• Scenic America - A group concerned with protecting landscapes.
• Trust for Public Land - A land conservation organization; use the sidebar to get to a page on Minnesota.