The Washington Post recently published an analysis of data released this summer by the U.S. Geological Survey highlighting where most development has taken place across the country. The survey shows that suburbs are continuing to grow in the South and West.
It also shows that between 2001 and 2019, building in America, including buildings, roads and other structures, have expanded into previously undeveloped areas, adding more than 14,000 square miles of new development across the United States.
In the Metro East, this development has been in places like Godfrey, Glen Carbon, O'Fallon and Fairview Heights, with development also popping up in Bethalto, Wood River, South Roxana, Mitchell, Edwardsville, Troy, Granite City and East St. Louis.
James Hanlon, an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Southern Illinois University and the program coordinator for the Urban Studies minor, said the Washington Post map shows the expansion of commercial and industrial land uses, and the Metro East's location along major transportation corridors has contributed to these categories of growth (like with the Gateway Commerce Center). That job increase has also increased housing demand.
"In most cases residential growth is driven primarily by job availability, and to a lesser extent school quality, cost of living, and people’s perceptions of overall quality of life," Hanlon wrote in an email. "Outlying suburban areas of the Metro East have seen such growth for these reasons."
The Washington Post found that uneven development across the country has been driven in large part by rising housing costs.
"What explains the divergence in urban growth in the last 20, 30 years is really the housing market," Albert Saiz, an associate professor at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, told the Washington Post. "As cities on the coasts have become more and more expensive, there has been an influx of people and industries into other parts of the country, creating the perfect conditions for rapid sprawl into available land in the South and West."
Additional growth can strain resources, infrastructure and ecosystems, Hanlon said. That strain is reduced by the fact that the amount of expansion in the Metro East has been relatively modest compared to other parts of the country.
"We are starting to see more higher density and mixed-use development in the area," Hanlon wrote. "For example, the Whispering Heights development has a much smaller footprint than the same type of development built at one or two stories and relies on existing infrastructure (though perhaps not without some upgrading). This kind of development can also potentially reduce automobile dependency, to a small degree at least."
Hanlon said that if local governments in the region continue to encourage more sustainable urban growth, the impacts of growth on area resources, infrastructure and ecosystems can be reduced significantly compared to the same amount of development in "traditional suburban sprawl."
"Any growth can negatively impact the environment, but what is important is the kind of growth that takes place," Hanlon wrote. "Building at higher densities, mixed-use development, and infill development will reduce environmental impacts. Encouraging increased sustainability across the existing built environment is also vitally important. Edwardsville’s efforts to adopt a sustainability plan is a good example of this."
This urban development in the area is coming at the same time as people are leaving the area. The Census shows that the counties around the Metro East are shrinking, as just 15 counties in Illinois grew from 2010 to 2020 and the others all shrank in population. However, Hanlon said people are continuing to move into the Metro East, just not in large enough numbers to offset departures.
Midwestern states and urban areas are growing very slowly, if at all. Most of the migrants to the South and West parts of the U.S. are from the interior of the country and the Midwest, and without a significant influx of new arrivals, departures can bring an area's net population change down to or below zero.
Parts of the Metro East are shrinking faster than others, according to Hanlon. Those areas include where some of the urban construction growth has happened, including Alton, Granite City, East St. Louis, and potentially Belleville. Other areas have continued to see growth, including O'Fallon and Edwardsville. This is a trend not just seen in the Metro East, but in many older suburban areas, as people move to outlying suburban areas.
"What it will mean for the region depends on the path we take going forward," Hanlon wrote. "Sustainable growth is vitally important for balancing the economic benefits of that growth (such as increased job opportunities and stronger tax bases) with the need to maintain healthy ecosystems and not overburden our resources and infrastructure.
"Another important strategy for continued growth will be to reinvest in the Metro East’s older urban areas and try to mitigate their population losses," Hanlon continued. "Creating good jobs, building new housing, and improving educational opportunities can help to capitalize on their existing advantages of centrality and underutilized infrastructure. This would not only improve the outlook of these areas of the Metro East but also increase the sustainability of the region as a whole."
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What continued urban development means for the Metro East - The Edwardsville Intelligencer
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