With the increasing awareness on the importance of growth management and the need for cities to revive their downtowns many people are beginning to see urban revitalization as an effective tool for growth management. Cases such as Portland, Oregon are being used as examples of cases in which urban revitalization is effective as a growth management tool. However, Portland, Oregon also implements a stringent urban growth boundary. What happens in cities that do not have urban growth boundaries or urban services boundaries, yet also have successful urban revitalization programs? Can urban revitalization cause or contribute to fringe growth or even urban sprawl? This research is important because many communities may see urban revitalization as a way to combat fringe growth or urban sprawl, when it indeed may encourage it.;I think it is important for communities that are initializing urban revitalization plans to understand the affects that such programs may have on the community as a whole. The results of this case study show that in Dubuque, Iowa strong infill development and urban revitalization programs can indeed cause urban sprawl. The correlation among urban sprawl factors such as changes in density annexations, and new construction and those of infill development and urban revitalization, such as the improvement of buildings within the downtown area and the redevelopment of underused land show that a definite relationship exists.