Over-Built, Under-built - Breathing Space Blog

From an article nine years ago:

Buildings go up like never before. Haya El Nasser, writing in USA TODAY, reports that “residential and commercial development in the next quarter-century will eclipse anything seen in previous generations as the nation moves to accommodate rapid population growth.” This is based on a report from the Brookings Institution. Other findings:

* About half the homes, office buildings, stores and factories that will be needed by 2030 don't exist today.

* The U.S. population is expected to increase 33% to 376 million by 2030, 76 million more people than today.

* To serve that population, almost millions of new housing units will have to be built.

* About 20 million of these units will replace destroyed or aging homes.

“For generations, Americans favored single-family homes on larger lots. Development spread to where land is cheaper but within commuting distance to jobs. Communities must decide if they "want to develop policies consistent with those preferences or constrain them," says John Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "Sprawl is a choice."