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Charlotte’s population is now where Atlanta was in the 70s.
It’s growth rate is likely to follow Atlanta and Dallas etc, but the city really, really needs to make the hard decisions now to avoid becoming the mess of that Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Phoenix are. It should just focus on smart growth, which would make it a much better city to live in than its bigger peers.
That's what I would like to see myself! I know the suburban counties will probably still sprawl, but as long as Charlotte and Mecklenburg County does a better job of densifying and building high density, I would be happy with that! I think overall, that is what Charlotte wants to do anyway, building up the Uptown area and the areas surrounding Uptown with high density, mixed use development! People seem to underestimate Charlotte and it seems like ATL posters always want to come onto Charlotte threads and pick a fight with the Charlotte folks! Atlanta was in the same position as Charlotte over 30 years ago, look @ where it is now, why can't the same thing happen to Charlotte in 20-30 years? If anyone knows anything about Charlotte's history, they would know that Charlotte is a resilient city that always adjust to different changes, like a struggling economy, shifting from a manufacturing based economy to a financial, energy and research based economy, and so forth! Charlotte is beginning to show signs of recovery, it might not be as fast as most would like, but it is taking place right now! I saw a report on News 14 over the weekend in which it said that NC's housing market is outpacing the rest of the country in terms of recovering housing market, with RDU ranking #1 overall and Charlotte and Wilmington areas also in the top 20! It is not out of the realm of possibility that in 20-30 years, the Charlotte area will have a population similar in size as metro Atlanta, Charlotte proper will have already eclipse the 1 million mark by then, but anything can happen between now and by 2035!
Who knows. Few can imagine the type of economic hardship we are about to go through. By 2020 we will have seen economic catastrophe that makes Americans look back at the Great Depression longingly. We will have a very different country by then so its really impossible to predict.
Who cares, it'll all be over Dec. 21, 2012.....only the bustling metropolis of Mt. Airy (Mayberry) will remain.
I think one thing people are forgetting is that Dallas and Atlanta MSA/CSA are huge. Southbound295 brings up a good point in looking at what counties are considered part of MSA threshold. Are all of the counties in present day Atlanta there in 1960? Idk, but that would be an interesting metric. As Charlotte grows so does its influence. As I have stated before, if the Energy Hub takes off, and it's centered in Union County, then Anson County will experience growth as well. Even Lancaster might grow, which is also growing due to Ballantyne. Another thing to look at is the NC Research Center in Kannapolis. Rowan and Cabarrus are practically like Mecklenburg and Gaston county, joined at the hip. If that center takes off expect to see Cabarrus and Rowan grow. Someone already mentioned Iredell.
Which means here are the following counties most likely to be included in the MSA:
Rowan
Iredell
Lancaster
Lincolton
Some other counties to watch are Cleveland, Chester, and Chesterfield. I think eventually all of these counties will be a part of the MSA. When this happens the core counties, as in the most dense and most urban counties, will be Mecklenburg, York, Gaston, and Cabarrus. Any county that touches one of them at that time will be either an MSA or CSA county. I did not include Union because this will be Mecklenburg's Cary.
On a side note, I think Charlotte will hit 1 million before the metro hits 5 million. I say Charlotte hits 1 million at 2021. Hits 5 million 2035. I give it 20-30 years due to more counties being added to the MSA. Another thing to watch is Hickory MSA being merged with Charlotte's in the future. That too is something worth considering.
I don't see it. There is no job growth in this area. Employment is actually going down. Without jobs, people go elsewhere.
No doubt the recession has hurt Charlotte substantially. But if you haven't noticed jobs are starting to grow. I see you also forget that this city and metro was built on entrprenuers. The banks here are homegrown. The textiles were homegrown. Everything going on with the Energy Center is also homegrown. Plus you should know that the backbone of this country is actually small businesses.
. But if you haven't noticed jobs are starting to grow. ....
But they haven't. Not only is the official workforce smaller in the area, but so are the number of employed. Job growth is a prerequisite for population growth.
But they haven't. Not only is the official workforce smaller in the area, but so are the number of employed. Job growth is a prerequisite for population growth.
Look at the numbers since the recovery has started. The job loss has either declined or steadily improved. This is the time for the entrprenuer honestly.
Man it sure is good to see the folks from Atlanta come in here and keep us in check. That never happens. Took them record time to get in on this one, too.
But they haven't. Not only is the official workforce smaller in the area, but so are the number of employed. Job growth is a prerequisite for population growth.
Well then how do you explain the areas high growth rates from 2007 to 2010?
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