Mapping America's future-Georgia growth projections to 2030 (Atlanta, Savannah: calculation, maintenance, living)

[Airforceguy]

This thread was inspired by one I saw in the South Carolina forum. The Urban Institute recently put out an interactive map that shows census projections from 2010 to 2020 and from 2010 to 2030 with adjustable keys pertaining to birth, death and migration rates, as well as race and age. The map is broken down roughly by metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's), but actually by commuting zones. As usual Atlanta has the lion's share of the growth, but Savannah, Athens, Gainesville, Rome, Macon and Augusta will all see healthy gains.
Mapping America?s Futures

[aries4118]

I like this.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Good Golly Miss Molly! Nearly THREE MILLION new residents??? Georgia best get busy with a regional rail system and fast. How is the country as a whole going to support all these new people with crumbling infrastructure??? We're woefully behind as it is. It will be all the harder when millions more people are driving on it day and night.

I guess our (costly) foreign adventures in spreading democracy will have to be curtailed...

[aries4118]

It seems like Atlanta is projected to be the fastest growing major city.


Faster than Dal and Hou...

[skbl17]

Aside from the usual disclaimer that these are estimates and that anything can happen between now and 2030, all I have to say is:

"Hooray!" and "Crap."

On one hand, it's nice to see Atlanta continue to grow like this; it's a sign of a healthy metro area. It would be nice to see CoA trends vs. the rest of the metro, though.

On the other hand, AtlantaisHot makes a great point. Assuming that a very significant chunk of this growth happens in the city of Atlanta and in the norther suburbs, our traffic situation will deteriorate even further. Hopefully, people are sending this kinds of studies and links to GDOT, MARTA, and the Governor, because we'll need not only further investment in roads, but significant investment in mass transit.

- skbl17

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by aries4118

It seems like Atlanta is projected to be the fastest growing major city.


Faster than Dal and Hou...

Totally mind boggling growth..

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by bigstick

Totally mind boggling growth..

Yes.

[Born 2 Roll]

What is interesting from those census projections are the projected racial demographics.

In 2000, racial and ethnic minorities only made up about 37% of the population of the state of Georgia.

By 2030, racial and ethnic minorities are projected to make up about 57% of the population of the state of Georgia.

That type of massive demographic shift from a majority non-Hispanic white population to a majority-minority population has all kinds of implications for Georgia's state political scene....In a way that is similar to how that kind of ongoing massive demographic shift has already had major implications for the state's social and cultural scenes.

To contrast where the state of Georgia is now demographically with where the state is going in the future and where and what the state was in its past, just consider the demographic breakdown of the state's population in 1980 when racial and ethnic minorities only made up about 28% of Georgia's population.

To illustrate just what kind of impact that kind of demographic shift can have on a state's political, social and cultural scenes, take a look at California where racial and ethnic minorities were only 33% of the state's population in 1980 but now make up 61% of the state's population.

[hautemomma]

That's a lot of new people in just 15 years. I imagine most of the growth, as usual, will remain outside the CoA (likely much in Gwinnett and Cobb counties), as this calculation is for the Metro Area wholistically. As someone else mentioned, this will have grave implications for infrastructure and transportation - new approaches, continued needs, ongoing maintenance and anticipated upgrades will be necessary.

How old will some of you be in 15 years? Do these projections make you think about where you will be in life at that juncture, and how your needs, preferences and lifestyle could be impacted by these estimates and the associated factors (cost of living, competition for housing, transportation, proximity to relatives, etc.)?

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

What is interesting from those census projections are the projected racial demographics.

In 2000, racial and ethnic minorities only made up about 37% of the population of the state of Georgia.

By 2030, racial and ethnic minorities are projected to make up about 57% of the population of the state of Georgia.

That type of massive demographic shift from a majority non-Hispanic white population to a majority-minority population has all kinds of implications for Georgia's state political scene....In a way that is similar to how that kind of ongoing massive demographic shift has already had major implications for the state's social and cultural scenes.

To contrast where the state of Georgia is now demographically with where the state is going in the future and where and what the state was in its past, just consider the demographic breakdown of the state's population in 1980 when racial and ethnic minorities only made up about 28% of Georgia's population.

To illustrate just what kind of impact that kind of demographic shift can have on a state's political, social and cultural scenes, take a look at California where racial and ethnic minorities were only 33% of the state's population in 1980 but now make up 61% of the state's population.

You're saying Georgia could start looking like California politically?

...that's depressing