Americans fled cities in waves during the pandemic, right? Not to so fast.
Writing for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Riordan Frost presents the latest change-of-address data from the United States Postal Service to shed a little more light on one of the dominant narratives of the pandemic: that Americans moved en masse away from cities during the pandemic.
According to Frost, "change-of-address requests submitted to the US Postal Service (USPS) indicate that while an unusually large number of people did move early in the pandemic and again in late 2020, there has not been a significant change from prior years in the total number of moves since the pandemic began."
"The data, moreover, show notable increases in the number of individuals who moved but decreases in the number of families that moved," adds Frost.
The amount of moving during the pandemic is even compared to a low bar: "the share of Americans moving each year has been falling for several decades," notes Frost.
A lot more detail on the methodology and findings of this data analysis are available in the source article below.
FULL STORY: HAVE MORE PEOPLE MOVED DURING THE PANDEMIC?
Measuring the Urban Exodus
New data reveals truths about one of the biggest questions to emerge from the pandemic: Did the public health risks and economic disruptions of 2020 and 2021 spur an urban exodus away from the urban cores of large metropolitan areas?
The Demographics of San Francisco’s Pandemic Urban Exodus
New Census data break down San Francisco’s population losses during the first year-plus of the pandemic by race and age.
Americans Are Moving, but Staying Close to Home
Despite fears of a mass exodus, most cities are seeing only modest population losses, with the majority of movers staying in the same metro area.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?
Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont