How can a city best plan for the future? Urban growth—the expansion of a metropolitan region—is one of the greatest challenges facing the West today. In many places, the potential for growth seems limitless. This unit explores urban growth in three western metropolitan regions: Phoenix, Arizona, Calgary, Alberta, and the Bay Area, California. Each of these metropolitan regions is a product of its particular history, its environment, its industries, and its policies. The Urban Growth unit teaches students that the West is a complex, vibrant, and dynamic region.