• Home
  • About
  • Consulting
  • Papers and Articles

LegalTowns

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Hammurabi’s Building Code
Cease and Desist? »

A New Look at American Migration Patterns

November 23, 2013 by Honey Berk

Restless America, by Chris Walker at Vizynary.

A snapshot of Restless America, by Chris Walker at Vizynary.

Chris Walker at Vizynary has a very interesting project, Restless America, that shows the migration pattens between American states. It looks like Florida and Texas are still the main destinations for domestic migration. It’s interesting that both states have a lot of buildable land around their economic centers; and the largest city in Texas — Houston — even lacks formal zoning laws. I’m fairly sure that the lower cost of living in those states has been a major factor in people’s relocation decisions. And, of course, better climates.

I’d like to see a version that also includes net immigration, by state. Immigration accounts for the lion’s share of population growth in the states that are losing US-born residents, but still growing, overall. My guess is that as people from certain countries settle in particular regions, those regions become magnets for new migrants from the same places, bringing new waves of residents who seek out familiar people, customs, and languages, in their new country. But this new concentration of people who live in, say, New Jersey by choice drives up the generic cost of living here beyond what the native-born locals think is fair. So, a lot of US-born residents respond to migration-driven growth by relocating to states that have a lower cost of living, as well as what they perceive (or hope) to be more familiar cultural surroundings.

I think the interplay between land use policy and migration is the major factor that determines a region’s housing costs: Land use policies largely determine a region’s real estate supply, and migration patterns (including the purchasing power of those who come or go) largely determine regional demand. I think it’s strange that planning discussions tend to spend very little time on the nexus (and contrast) between semi-permanent land use patterns and the very fluid migration patterns of places like North America and Western Europe. I can’t think of any part of the real estate equation that’s more central to questions about sustainability, affordable housing, and infrastructure than this dynamic. The more we can learn about who is going where, and why, the more intelligently we can address the whole host of land use planning topics. Restless America is a good start.

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Euclidean Zoning, Housing / Limited Equity, Planning Theory |

  • Archives

    • September 2017 (5)
    • August 2017 (4)
    • July 2017 (1)
    • June 2017 (2)
    • March 2017 (1)
    • February 2017 (1)
    • January 2017 (2)
    • December 2016 (1)
    • November 2016 (1)
    • October 2016 (2)
    • August 2016 (4)
    • July 2016 (5)
    • June 2016 (3)
    • April 2016 (5)
    • January 2016 (2)
    • December 2015 (1)
    • November 2015 (3)
    • October 2015 (3)
    • September 2015 (2)
    • June 2015 (3)
    • May 2015 (2)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (3)
    • January 2015 (1)
    • September 2014 (1)
    • August 2014 (2)
    • July 2014 (1)
    • June 2014 (1)
    • May 2014 (8)
    • April 2014 (7)
    • March 2014 (3)
    • December 2013 (1)
    • November 2013 (4)
    • October 2013 (9)
    • September 2013 (1)
    • August 2013 (6)
    • July 2013 (5)
    • June 2013 (4)
    • May 2013 (5)
    • April 2013 (3)
    • March 2013 (6)
    • February 2013 (14)
    • January 2013 (19)
    • December 2012 (7)
    • November 2012 (3)
    • October 2012 (4)
    • September 2012 (2)
    • August 2012 (8)
    • July 2012 (5)
    • June 2012 (4)
    • May 2012 (11)
    • April 2012 (4)
    • March 2012 (3)
    • February 2012 (9)
    • January 2012 (6)
    • December 2011 (6)
    • November 2011 (5)
    • October 2011 (8)
    • September 2011 (3)
    • August 2011 (5)
    • July 2011 (5)
    • June 2011 (4)
    • May 2011 (8)
    • April 2011 (6)
    • March 2011 (2)
    • February 2011 (4)
    • January 2011 (4)
    • November 2010 (4)
    • October 2010 (1)
    • September 2010 (2)
    • August 2010 (3)
  • Categories

    • Art (53)
    • Books & Articles (24)
    • Building Codes (25)
    • Classic Cases (3)
    • Classical World (11)
    • Common Law Urbanism (49)
    • Courtyards and Alleys (6)
    • Dystopia (10)
    • Eminent Domain (7)
    • Euclidean Zoning (40)
    • Federalism (7)
    • Housing / Limited Equity (28)
    • Individual Rights (25)
    • Israel (4)
    • Land Surveying (7)
    • Late Victorian (35)
    • Law (26)
    • Leases (2)
    • Lower Manhattan (19)
    • Maps (10)
    • Mood Zoning (1)
    • Mortgages & Notes (7)
    • New Jersey Law (22)
    • Planning Theory (38)
    • Procedure (1)
    • Rail & T.O.D. (17)
    • Spotlights (44)
    • The Bronx (14)
    • Town Greens (15)
    • Trusts & Estates (9)
    • Uncategorized (36)
  • Pages

    • About
    • Consulting
    • Papers and Articles

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: