Among the issues the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (TMAPC) had dealt with since the early 1970s, when the Comprehensive Plan was reworked, was urban sprawl. Measures to counteract and/or avoid sprawl were incorporated into the adopted Metropolitan Development Guidelines, which are the basis for each of the District Plans.

The land area of the City of Tulsa is largely developed, with only limited undeveloped areas available for development. To encourage further development within these boundaries, the City has adopted several approaches. The zoning requirements for single-family residential uses have historically encouraged smaller lots, with 60'-75' lots being the most prevalent. Thus Tulsa's development pattern and housing densities are higher than many other communities. Within the past decade, an RS-4 zoning category, requiring 50' lots, has been adopted. These smaller lots accommodate both the older (1920's and 1930's platted) lots, but also the more recently platted subdivisions featuring smaller lots.

The Comprehensive Plan, and the Metropolitan Development Guidelines upon which it is based, have combated sprawl by specifying medium intensity development (primarily lower-intensity commercial, office and some multifamily) at the intersections of arterials, leaving the remainders of the square miles for low intensity single-family residential use. Strip zoning, except where previously approved and in place, is eschewed and spot zoning is almost never allowed.

The Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay zone allows developers more flexibility in site design, which also encourages more environmentally-sensitive use of the many floodplains and topographically challenging sites in the city. The PUD, while voluntary, allows the TMAPC to place conditions on uses and site design. Its use has resulted in more effective clustering of development and preservation of open space and natural vegetation.

The City's landscape ordinance ensures that "seas of asphalt" around commercial and office centers are not allowed in new developments. The Zoning Code specifies street-frontage planting, parking lot island landscaping and irrigation methods. In many of the approved PUD's, landscaping requirements have been increased in exchange for more intense development and variations in setback requirements, so that the developments are more aesthetically pleasing and positively impact adjacent developments.

With development largely constrained by city limits and boundaries of adjacent communities, the TMAPC and City undertook an Infill Development Study five years ago to examine existing development patterns and make recommendations regarding future growth. That study determined that infill development was desirable in many areas and that with various safeguards for existing development, was much preferred to "leapfrog" development into other communities. The City followed this study up by commissioning three pilot neighborhoods for infill development studies. Two of these have been completed to date and a third is pending. A number of infill development projects have been approved and are now either complete or under construction in the City.

With the update of the City of Tulsa Comprehensive Plan, existing zoning, land use, and transportation systems will be evaluated and updated to diversify the residential options for the Tulsa community. By allowing and offering higher density infill development and transit oriented development in targeted locations, the City can help enable residents to live in more walkable and accessible neighborhood environments. These types of initiatives have been used to combat sprawl in other communities across the country.