The U.S. birth rate is now at the lowest recorded level ever - or at least since record-keeping began in 1920. Births were increasing but plunged after the 2007 recession. The biggest decrease is among immigrant groups, particularly Mexican women.
Gretchen Livingston and D’Vera Cohn, senior researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center and Senior Writer at the Pew Research Center, respectively, write on Pew's new findings captured in their Nov. 29 report, "U.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants" (PDF).
"The overall U.S. birth rate, which is the annual number of births per 1,000 women in the prime childbearing ages of 15 to 44, declined 8% from 2007 to 2010.
Final 2011 data are not available, but according to preliminary data from the National Center for Health Statistics (a division of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention), the overall birth rate in 2011 was 63.2 per 1,000 women of childbearing age. That rate is the lowest since at least 1920, the earliest year for which there are reliable numbers.
In addition to the birth rate decline, the number of U.S. births, which had been rising since 2002, fell abruptly after 2007 — a decrease also led by immigrant groups. The birth rate for U.S.-born women decreased 6% during these years, but the birth rate for foreign-born women plunged 14%—more than it had declined over the entire 1990-2007 period. The birth rate for Mexican immigrant women fell even more, by 23%."
New York Times columnist, Ross Douthat, writes that the birth rate plunge will cause the U.S. to lose its demographic edge over its competitors.
"Today’s babies are tomorrow’s taxpayers and workers and entrepreneurs, and relatively youthful populations speed economic growth and keep spending commitments affordable. Thanks to our relative demographic dynamism, the America of 50 years hence may not only have more workers per retiree than countries like Japan and Germany, but also have more than emerging powers like China and Brazil."
Douthat bemoans the findings of the Pew Research Center, and suggests a way to boost fertility.
"For the first time in recent memory, Americans are having fewer babies than the French or British. Government’s power over fertility rates is limited, but not nonexistent. America has no real family policy to speak of at the moment, and the evidence from countries like Sweden and France suggests that reducing the ever-rising cost of having kids can help fertility rates rebound. Whether this means a more family-friendly tax code, a push for more flexible work hours, or an effort to reduce the cost of college, there’s clearly room for creative policy to make some difference."
FULL STORY: U.S. Birth Rate Falls to a Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie