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50 Years of Sprawl Forecast for Western States

BOULDER, CO-A University of Colorado at Boulder study predicts 48 million new people in the 11 Western states by 2050, with 26 million acres to be developed as a result of that population growth.

By John Rebchook | Updated on June 27, 2001

BOULDER, CO-Sprawl, sprawl and more sprawl. That’s what the University of Colorado at Boulder predicts in 11 Western states. The UC study’s crystal ball is looking out over the next 50 years. By 2050, the total number of developed acres in the contiguous states is expected to grow by more than 26 million acres as the population surges by 48 million, according to geography professor and project leader William Riebsame Travis.

“The pattern of growth is as important as the population involved,” Travis says. “We’re spreading out more and more. The next 50 years will be more sprawling than the last 50 because we find that low-density development grows faster than does population.”

The projections are based on US Census data, which forecasts population through the year 2025. The research team extrapolated those figures through 2050.

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