[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I don't think Danbury will ever see 111k. It's a zoning issue. There's not much left to develop there without seriously changing zoning. It is a mostly suburban town with an urban center.

Stamford at 148k would be detrimental for the city, IMO. It would mean a significant increase in density, change of character, and added congestion. Since so much of the town is zoned for single family homes, you'd be jamming an awful lot of high rises into downtown. I could see it hit 135k-140k though. But I guess a lot could change at 2030. Stamford really benefits from NYC proximity, but with a trend back to Manhattan in a very big way - it'll have to continue to fight to keep that economic base.

Bridgeport will definitely not hit 160k unless there's a drastic change for the better there. Your Bridgeport population increase since the 1990's has been largely fueled by immigrants and those displaced from now wealthier areas, including Stamford/Norwalk.

Good points, but I do digress w/r/t Danbury. There is significant undeveloped land on the NY border, particularly north of I-84. That coupled with mid to high rise apartments across several neighborhoods could easily push the population north of 100,000. I'm also pretty sure Stamford could easily support above 150,000 just developing south of Metro North.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I wholeheartedly agree... However I also believe that the other considerations ARE reflected in the 1995-2013 growth rates. That is why you see declines for Hartford over this timeframe, during which the city suffered from the effects of corruption, failing education and mismanaged finances. Eventually the population will reflect unattractive variables.

What is most interesting (IMHO) is that Bridgeport had a higher annual growth rate compared to NH for just the 2000-2013 timeframe, despite considerable gentrification and urban renewal in the Elm City. Also I am quite surprised to see Branford losing population as an affordable shoreline town with favorable attributes. Danbury is running away as the fastest growing formal "city" in Connecticut while Newtown, Mansfield, Hamden and Glastonbury saw large spikes in terms of larger towns.

Bridgeport saw population increase because of immigration, low income/lower middle income from Stamford, NYC, South Norwalk. Alot of people migrants from Latin America/Caribbean

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Good points, but I do digress w/r/t Danbury. There is significant undeveloped land on the NY border, particularly north of I-84. That coupled with mid to high rise apartments across several neighborhoods could easily push the population north of 100,000. I'm also pretty sure Stamford could easily support above 150,000 just developing south of Metro North.

The trend in Western Danbury is SFH subdivisions and townhouse communities, so we'll see. It is a growing area, but 111k would be a huge increase.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I don't think Danbury will ever see 111k. It's a zoning issue. There's not much left to develop there without seriously changing zoning. It is a mostly suburban town with an urban center.

Stamford at 148k would be detrimental for the city, IMO. It would mean a significant increase in density, change of character, and added congestion. Since so much of the town is zoned for single family homes, you'd be jamming an awful lot of high rises into downtown. I could see it hit 135k-140k though. But I guess a lot could change at 2030. Stamford really benefits from NYC proximity, but with a trend back to Manhattan in a very big way - it'll have to continue to fight to keep that economic base.

Bridgeport will definitely not hit 160k unless there's a drastic change for the better there. Your Bridgeport population increase since the 1990's has been largely fueled by immigrants and those displaced from now wealthier areas, including Stamford/Norwalk.

In Bridgeport they will just squeeze more people into the multifamilies.
Some of the other towns like Fairfield I don't know where 12000-15000 more people would go though.