Colorado Census 2010 (Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: lofts, how much, airport)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

I predict that a lover of a certain kind of music will curse you and all of the cities with a population increase.

He would have, but Bob beat him to the punch.

[Mike from back east]

Back to the Census. Yes, we'll fill out our form and we hope everyone else does too for the sake of having valid new stats which WILL give us some meaty topics all over City-Data in the next year or so. Apparently, despite the unemployment rate, I deduce they are having a time filling the jobs; based on a guy handing out flyers seeking census workers while at a recent parade I attended.

[DOUBLE H]

A couple of my neighbors sure are! Part of the oil field workers who have been on layoff since last March, they are wanting to get out and do something, anything. At the least they are conserving their UI benefits so they can draw that benefit later on this year. And those are the ones that can still draw a benefit! It is a fairly sure bet that this years employment situation with Halliburton won't improve very much, if at all.

[5thIndian]

Good video - felt like I could feel the pain of the students as the prof kept saying, this is simple... It ended just as the professor was explaining what Boulder did with the exponential growth concept--I am suspecting that Boulder saw what was coming-growth wise and this is why they have more growth curbing that most places? Am I right in saying that?

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Your figures are correct but your theory has a flaw. Pueblo and Colorado will not grow at the same rate for a extended period of time, just look at the history of the growth in Pueblo and Colorado. If, and if is the key word, the Pueblo MSA would grow to 250,000 people by 2020 there is little chance it would reach 500,000 people by 2030 but more then likely it would take decades for that to occur.

A review of population dynamics in the last century shows that Colorado (and Pueblo) population growth is accelerating, not diminishing. On what fairy tale beliefs do you base your assumption that an addiction to growth just stops when population gets to where YOU think it should be? In virtually all cases, growth continues far past the carrying capacity of the land. It is our nature, and more so with cheerleading morons chanting "growth is good, growth is good, growth is good" right up to the point where it collapses under it own weight.

A look at the major metroplexes in the US shows nothing to support this fantasy of yours. The one good example of what the sudden stop at the end of a period of rampant excessive growth looks like is the literal implosion of the Detroit metro area. I can foresee Pueblo looking just like Detroit in the aftermath of a few years of dependence on unsustainable government-subsidized manufacturing of unprofitable alternative-energy products that is virtually guaranteed to evaporate the minute the government spending binge comes to a screeching halt (as I assure you it must and will).

In fact the more I think of it, the more I like that analogy. From now on I will refer to Pueblo as "the Detroit of the West." Pueblo...coming soon as the new western anchor of the high-unemployment American misery zone known as The Rust Belt.

[Bideshi]

I hope Bob's dark vision of new Detroits is not an actual prophecy! I don't know what will happen when the UI completely runs out and Medicaid and other services end; the states and fed are broke.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Bideshi

I hope Bob's dark vision of new Detroits is not an actual prophecy! I don't know what will happen when the UI completely runs out and Medicaid and other services end; the states and fed are broke.

I guess folks will have to do what the millions of illegal immigrants have done here for years; show up for work every day, on time, to do roofing, drywall, painting, carpentry, wiring, stucco, concrete, landscaping, driving, and kitchen work. I like the immigrants, most of them are good church-going family types who work work work and don't gripe gripe gripe. I guess not having a safety net does that to folks, eh, like our fathers and grandfathers.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Bob from down south

A review of population dynamics in the last century shows that Colorado (and Pueblo) population growth is accelerating, not diminishing. On what fairy tale beliefs do you base your assumption that an addiction to growth just stops when population gets to where YOU think it should be? In virtually all cases, growth continues far past the carrying capacity of the land. It is our nature, and more so with cheerleading morons chanting "growth is good, growth is good, growth is good" right up to the point where it collapses under it own weight.

A look at the major metroplexes in the US shows nothing to support this fantasy of yours. The one good example of what the sudden stop at the end of a period of rampant excessive growth looks like is the literal implosion of the Detroit metro area. I can foresee Pueblo looking just like Detroit in the aftermath of a few years of dependence on unsustainable government-subsidized manufacturing of unprofitable alternative-energy products that is virtually guaranteed to evaporate the minute the government spending binge comes to a screeching halt (as I assure you it must and will).

In fact the more I think of it, the more I like that analogy. From now on I will refer to Pueblo as "the Detroit of the West." Pueblo...coming soon as the new western anchor of the high-unemployment American misery zone known as The Rust Belt.

Most of this is off topic but I will say that Pueblo is known as "the Pittsburgh of the west" because of our steel mill and they are redeveloping their urban core, just like Pueblo, so that is a better example.

As far as growth I always see posts in here where people ask about moving to a smaller town, even Pueblo, but are told that if they want a job they should move the large urban centers like Colorado Springs or Denver. Then when cities like Pueblo try to be the next large urban center where people can move to and find a job we are told "you are growing to fast" and "the growth will ruin your lifestyle". What is it? Should we try to grow and provide more jobs or stay the same and not have enough jobs? Just asking.

One last thing since you talked about Pueblo is at least we can say to the new people moving in "We'll leave the light on for you" much like the old commerical.

[tfox]

I'm surprised that the city of Denver is among the faster growing cities in the state. The city of Denver grew numerically just as much as Colorado Springs and almost as much as Aurora, this despite the fact that the city of Denver is landlocked with few places to expand, outside of redevelopment.

This is IMHO a good thing, regardless of where you live. A strong, growing central city is good and healthy for a metro region. Also, those who lament sprawl and the loss of open lands should be pleased to see growth happening in the city center, much of which is infill development and re-development.

[iknowftbll]

TFOX is right about the infill in Denver, but don't forget that large 50-something square mile patch of land that the city annexed for the airport. Most of that is used by the airport complex itself, but there is a lot of undeveloped land out there that is starting to fill up, adding to the city's population, which is higher now than it ever has been. The city experienced a declining trend from the 1970s through early 1990s, but is now on a steady climb.