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Out of curiosity, what makes people think that so many of these Sunbelt cities (Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc.) will continue to grow the next decades? They have an extreme amount of sprawl and very few densely populated and urban communities compared to "older" cities like NYC, Chicago, Boston, Philly, San Fran, Baltimore and DC. The suburbs around these cities will eventually be built to capacity with few public transportation options and heavy traffic. I wonder if this will stunt some of these Southern cities' growth in the future.
somebody from the south answer this. i've wondered this as well??
somebody from the south answer this. i've wondered this as well??
Well LA would be an example of a very mature version of this type of development, though a bit more dense overall when compared to the newer growth sunbelters, but I do agree, at some point these places will develop to the point where traffic becomes rediculous and/or the distance from the core is less desirable
I feel the growth will slow over the next decade and prices closer to the cores will continue to increase. Plus they need to find 50% more jobs to support the growth
It may be some next level metros that become the new Dallas/Houston/Atlanta by 2020
Pretty true and I know what you're trying to say too. So +1 from my Chicagoan side (it appears I cannot rep right now), but now from my Houstonian side those stats are going to need a quick fix.
8.2% unemployment rate Houston vs. 10.4% unemployment rate Chicago, Chicago's got the larger economy 500+ billion vs. Houston's 400+ billion.
Chicago also has a larger "workforce population" compared to Houston for sure.
Now for MSA:
Houston MSA: 6,022,719
Chicago MSA: 9,641,146
Total difference: 3,618,427
Lol, the difference is a lot but not "double" just 33% more.
Lol sorry about that, I like math and getting any chance to apply it.
And does it have an impact? Only to the losers, I cant imagine what kind of geeks drool over population numbers and things like that... LOL whatever.
Just cause I'm an accountant, but I don't think it's 33%.
These cities developed and grew in different times. That is why they are different and the downtown's developed differently. Cities like Chicago and NYC, northern cities in general had large population growth before cars were widely used. The fathers of these cities had transit issues and trains ( subway, elevated etc.) were one of the only ways to solve these problems. The side effect was more dense urban population, especially along the rail lines. The sunbelt cities (Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, LA even) have had their population growth mainly after wide use of cars. This option of car use made the development more sprawled due to the fact that people could drive to and from work and other activities. Rail as a solution to transit issues was also slowed down in these cities by Auto/Oil interests. Today all these sunbelt cities are working on rail as another option for commuters. The LA giant freeway systems is not sustainable and everyone sees this now. Anything over 1 hr commute is not attractive to people moving to these cities. With the developement of rail systems in the sunbelt cities, we will see urban residential (high rise) options near rail and this in turn will cause more dense population within the beltways of these cities. I see growth in these cities tied to better commuter options.
Last edited by Spacecityroller; 08-11-2010 at 01:34 PM..
Reason: typo
I understand where you are coming from on this one. Everyday, somebody from Houston has to defend the city they love because it is constantly bashed. Then those same bashers come back and repeat the same things that they were corrected on. It becomes frustrating and tired. But that's what city vs city does.
As for this thread. These are two of my favorite cities in the nation. They have alot going for each other. Houston to me is like a younger more spread out version of Chicago. It's demographics nearly mirror each other. I don't think the population decrease for the city will continue and it would not surprise me if Chicago isn't above 3 million come 2020. Houston is working to improve itself. Not to become the 3rd largest city in the nation.
My prediction is that if Houston passes up Chicago, it will be because of a surge of people moving closer into the core. Therefore, I think Houston will become more dense. This means that NE people will like Houston more, and the people that defend Houston now will want out.
In any event, I don't care. Houston's fine, but population numbers don't mean anything....just look at any historically vibrant city throughout history (Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona). There's a point where the numbers don't matter, and Chicago's already passed that line in the US.
My prediction is that if Houston passes up Chicago, it will be because of a surge of people moving closer into the core. Therefore, I think Houston will become more dense. This means that NE people will like Houston more, and the people that defend Houston now will want out.
In any event, I don't care. Houston's fine, but population numbers don't mean anything....just look at any historically vibrant city throughout history (Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona). There's a point where the numbers don't matter, and Chicago's already passed that line in the US.
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