Ghost Towns on the Increase as Rural America Accounts for Just 16% of Population
Vast swathes of the U.S. countryside are emptying and communities becoming ghost towns as rural America now only accounts for just 16 per cent of the population. The 2010 census results suggest that by 2050 many of these areas could shrink to virtually nothing as businesses collapse and schools close. This dramatic population implosion is the culmination of a century of migration to cities, as in 1910 the share of rural America was at 72 per cent. In 1950 the countryside remained home to a majority of Americans, amid post-World War II economic expansion and the baby boom. However, once busy areas have been abandoned, in South Dakota for example, the town of Scenic is up for sale for $799,000 as today just eight people live there. Overall the share of people in rural areas over the past decade fell to 16 percent, passing the previous low of 20 percent in 2000, and is expected to drop further because of the economic crisis. But in contrast American cities are booming and will continue to swallow suburban communities, producing a virtual mega-city stretching through Boston, Massachusetts, through New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland and ending in the capital Washington, D.C. 'Some of the most isolated rural areas face a major uphill battle, with a broad area of the country emptying out,' said Mark Mather, associate vice president of the Population Reference Bureau, a research group in Washington, D.C. 'Many rural areas can't attract workers because there aren't any jobs, and businesses won't relocate there because there aren't enough qualified workers. So they are caught in a downward spiral.' The rural share is expected to drop further as the U.S. population balloons from 309 million to 400 million by 2050, leading even more people to crowd cities and suburbs and fill in the land around them. In 2010, the census found cities grew overall by 11 percent with the biggest gains in suburbs or small- or medium-sized cities. In fact, of the 10 fastest-growing places, all were small cities incorporated into the suburbs of expanding metro areas, mostly in California, Arizona and Texas. In all, the
share of Americans living in suburbs has climbed to an all-time
high of 51 percent. July 29, 2011 Copyright © 2011 Daily Mail
|
