USATODAY.com - Housing crunch revives old cities
USA Today produces yet another excellent piece on housing trends. This one is co-authored by Haya El Nasser, who is as knowledgeable about housing trends as any journalist in America, and it includes analysis by Bob Lang of Virginia Tech, who is on my short list of A Number One urbanists.
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The quest for affordable housing is fueling the explosive growth of suburban cities in the Sun Belt and even reviving some old industrial cities in the Northeast, according to population estimates out Thursday.Census numbers for 2003 show that cities grow when jobs are plentiful and housing costs are relatively low compared with the rest of their regions. (Related story: Rejuvenated cities capitalize on location) "It's the scramble for value," says Robert Lang, urban expert at Virginia Tech and author of Boomburbs, an upcoming book on large, fast-growing suburbs. "People are finding back doors into the hot places." The hottest places are still concentrated in the Sun Belt. Since 2000, eight of the 10 fastest-growing cities with more than 100,000 people are suburbs of Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas: Gilbert, Chandler and Peoria, Ariz.; Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Irvine, Calif.; and Henderson and North Las Vegas, Nev. The other two are Port St. Lucie and Cape Coral, Fla. The hunt for affordable housing also has helped reverse declines in older cities within commuting range of strong job centers. Cities in New Jersey and Connecticut are enjoying some of the spillover from New York's prosperity. Immigrants who are first-time homebuyers often gravitate toward older areas that offer comparatively cheap housing and good transportation to major job markets.



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This is a good story, and so is the related one about smaller "micrometropolitan" areas taking advantage of these trends. I suggest following the link to the story and reading the whole thing. Thanks to Fred Pilot for sending me this link.