The paper presents a method for solving the classical equations of scalars plus gravity in five dimensions, inspired by gauged supergravity but not requiring supersymmetry. The method is applied to two main applications: first, a nonlinear treatment of a stabilization mechanism for inter-brane spacing, where the spacing is uniquely determined after fine-tuning to achieve zero four-dimensional cosmological constant. If the fine-tuning is imperfect, solutions exist where the four-dimensional branes are de Sitter or anti-de Sitter spacetimes. Second, the construction of smooth domain wall solutions that approach any desired array of sharply localized positive-tension branes. The paper also discusses the fluctuation equations in these models, showing that all models with an effectively compact fifth dimension contain a massless graviton, which is the constant mode in the fifth dimension. The graviton wave-function is the supersymmetric ground state, and there are no tachyons.The paper presents a method for solving the classical equations of scalars plus gravity in five dimensions, inspired by gauged supergravity but not requiring supersymmetry. The method is applied to two main applications: first, a nonlinear treatment of a stabilization mechanism for inter-brane spacing, where the spacing is uniquely determined after fine-tuning to achieve zero four-dimensional cosmological constant. If the fine-tuning is imperfect, solutions exist where the four-dimensional branes are de Sitter or anti-de Sitter spacetimes. Second, the construction of smooth domain wall solutions that approach any desired array of sharply localized positive-tension branes. The paper also discusses the fluctuation equations in these models, showing that all models with an effectively compact fifth dimension contain a massless graviton, which is the constant mode in the fifth dimension. The graviton wave-function is the supersymmetric ground state, and there are no tachyons.