A new study using existing trends over the past 20 years predicts population decline in thousands of American cities over the next 80 years.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago used population projections to find that, by the year 2100, nearly half of the nearly 30,000 cities in the US will experience population decline.
The population decline will represent 12%–23% of the population of these cities, the study said. The impact of such a decline would bring “unprecedented challenges,” the study further explained.
These cities may face losses in basic services such as transit, clean water, electricity and internet access.
Furthermore, the issue of population decline is a “decreasing tax base” which will certainly impact basic city services.
“At the same time, increasing population trends in resource-intensive suburbs and peri-urban cities may eliminate access to much-needed resources in depopulated areas, exacerbating their challenges,” the report said.
Population projections used by the researchers found that nearly half of the nearly 30,000 cities in the US will become “ghost towns.” The Washington Post via Getty Images
It went on to say, “While immigration can play an important role, resource allocation challenges will continue unless a paradigm shift occurs from growth-only planning.”
The study found that urban cities with lower median household incomes in the Northeast and Midwest are more likely to experience depopulation over time than the West and South regions of the US.
The study authors predict Hawaii and the District of Columbia will experience no loss of people at all.
Urban cities with lower median household incomes in the Northeast and Midwest are likely to experience depopulation over time more than the West and South, according to the study.
While depopulation is occurring in many small cities across the country, the phenomenon is occurring in major “metropolitan centers” such as Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis, which is “moderate to slow.”
Although these cities experienced depopulation, the surrounding “suburbs and suburbs” attracted residents.
A similar trend is occurring in southern metropolitan centers such as Columbus, Georgia.; Birmingham, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee.
Cities may face the loss of services such as transit, clean water, electricity and internet access. Getty Images
On the other hand, blue states like California and New York saw population migration to the red states of the South after the COVID-19 outbreak.
The phenomenon, called the “Sun Belt Migration,” is driven by the high cost of living and high taxes, FOX Business previously reported.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
