The Bright Side of California's Growth Slowdown

According to a just-released report from USC, CA's population, currently 37.5 million, will reach 50 million in the year 2046, a full 14 years later than the 2007 Dept. of Finance projection, due to the major growth slowdown shown in 2010 Census.

1 minute read

April 27, 2012, 8:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


California's growth slowdown has previously been reported by Planetizen, but this is the first projection based on the 2010 Census data. Co-author Dowell Myers, a professor of urban planning and demography with the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy, provides a positive interpretation of the new figures.

"This is surely good news for local governments and taxpayers who are struggling to keep up with the costs of growth," Myers said. "These projections suggest there is more time to plan a much better future for California."

"The report, published by the Population Dynamics Research Group at University of Southern California, contains California's first population projection that includes results from the 2010 census. John Pitkin, a senior research associate in the Research Group is lead author of the report."

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters also reports on the new USC population report in the blog, Capitol Alert: "USC demographers see much slower California population growth": "The state Department of Finance currently projects that California will add roughly 5 million persons each decade to its population through 2050, but those numbers are five years old and the department is now upgrading its calculations in response to the 2010 census."

Thanks to Patricia Matachek

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 in Science Daily

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