Evidence of Peak Sprawl in the New York Region

Stephen Miller shares news of a study, "The Receding Metropolitan Perimeter," [pdf] out of Rutgers University. After comparing regional growth between 1950 and 1980 to the most recent available data, which covers 2010 to 2013, study authors (James W. Hughes and Joseph J. Seneca of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy) "say recent shifts may signal the beginning of a long-term change toward more compact growth, while acknowledging that it’s too early to conclusively say so."

Trends since 2000 have nearly reversed the three-decades of growth between 1950 and 1980: "Suburban counties kept growing, but at barely a fifth of the annual rate seen in earlier decades. The highest growth rates were in inner ring locations like Bergen, Westchester, and Fairfield counties. In contrast, there were actual population losses in nearly half of the suburban counties, almost entirely on the fringe of the region, including Putnam, Dutchess, Sullivan, and Ulster counties in New York, and Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey."