American exurbs growing again, after brief period of urbanization.
The great recession hurt many distant suburbs. The last year of census data shows that trend is long over and many are coming back. "The new numbers leave little doubt that suburbanization is on the rise, after a decided lull in the first part of the decade," William H. Frey writes for the Brookings Institute. A pattern of moving from large metro areas to more suburban areas characterized the 90s and early 2000s, and that trend has returned.
"Kaufman County in suburban Dallas, Pinal County in suburban Phoenix, and Toole County in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah were among those registering highest growth. In contrast, core urban counties in the Snow Belt, including Cook Co., Ill., Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and Allegheny Co., Pa. showed some of the greatest numeric population losses," Frey reports.
If this return to '90s-style suburbanization continues, it will have big implications for transport the largest contributor to CO2 emissions.
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