The local development plan is looking at how the area will grow after 2016 and the potential for 14,000 new jobs being created.
Consultation is expected to start in December on 100 sites which could be earmarked for development.
However, final details will not be decided until Spring 2015.
The plan proposes development areas:
Developments in the past have involved transforming the maritime quarter, the docklands for the SA1 housing and the lower Swansea valley.
But the council admits that regenerating existing sites would not provide for all the city's future needs and it will need "significant additional - primarily greenfield - land for development".
As well as "strategic" development sites for more than 500 homes and in some cases up to 1,000 homes, some existing housing areas will be expanded with up to 400 new homes.
The city currently has a population of around 240,500 supporting 107,000 jobs.
It expects over the next 10 years to be the economic hub and main driver of the new Swansea Bay City Region, which held its first meeting this week.
Robert Francis Davies, cabinet member for enterprise, development and regeneration, said: "Swansea is a city which is constantly developing.
"We know that the population will increase significantly in the coming years and we need to ensure that this city can develop in the right way, providing adequate space for housing and for economic growth."
Councillors will be asked to put the next stage of the Local Development Plan (LDP) out to a month-long consultation.

Castell Henllys Iron Age Village, near Crymych, needs people to support the prehistoric site, which is owned and run by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.
It would involve practical tasks such as maintaining the herb garden and supporting events.
An open afternoon for those interested was held on Saturday afternoon.

Orla Galton, from Blackmill, Bridgend county, was diagnosed with leukaemia at three and blood transfusions helped save her life.
She endured them for years, but her mother, Sharon, said they were a lifeline.
The Welsh Blood Service wants 200,000 more donors to replenish stocks.
"When Orla was having chemotherapy her bloods hit so low that she became anaemic, she would have no white blood cells so she couldn't fight any infection," she said told BBC Radio Wales.
"It's quite a dangerous time as while their bloods are going down, they can't carry on with the treatment. Orla needed blood transfusions so she could keep having the chemotherapy."
Orla, who has now been given the all clear, paid tribute to the donors who helped her.
"I would just like to say thank you," she said.
"I can't thank you more."
The Welsh Blood Service said:
Residents in Swansea are to be given their say on plans for more than 17,000 new homes across the city.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Volunteers are being sought to help look after a heritage site in Pembrokeshire.
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A 12-year-old cancer survivor has urged more people to give blood, as the number of new donors has dropped by 40% over the past decade.