Question

Why are the Southern cities in the US growing so fast? Besides, what might be some other potential causes for the rapid development of Southern States and Cities in the United States? Is this trend going to continue in the following 10 years/20 years and Why? (2-3 paragraphs)

Answer 1

U.S. Census numbers released recently show a shift in America's population to the Sunbelt, with states such as Texas, Utah, Florida, Colorado and Nevada showing double-digit growth in population from July 2010 to July 2017, with Southern and Western states such as Arizona, California, Georgia and the Carolinas growing at a rate faster than the 5.3 percent national average

People move for myriad reasons, experts note. The job market is a key driver, with people (especially more mobile younger workers) gravitating to places where they can find work. Housing costs both attract and repel would-be residents. And retirement has older people looking at places to spend their golden years – often in sunnier states

What's affecting all of those categories now, population analysts say, is the end of the Great Recession. Young people, burdened with student debt and unable to find jobs tended to stay put during the economic downturn (perhaps very local, as in their parents' basements). But now they are able to move for job opportunities, notes Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the Carsey School of Public Policy and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. Retirees were also economically hamstrung, their 401(k)s suffering and with little ability to get a part-time job to supplement their retirement incomes.

The booming economy and strong housing market has released that pent-up demand, Johnson says. The current trends "reflect the start of a return to the migration patterns that were common before the Great Recession. The flow to the South had been fairly noticeable prior to the recession, and slowed down" during it,

he United Nations in 2009 and the International Organization for Migration estimated that around 3 million people are moving to cities every week. Approximately 54% of people worldwide now live in cities, up from 30% in 1950. Sources estimate this will grow to 2/3 of world population in the next 15-30 years. More than half of urban dwellers live in the 1,022 cities with greater than 500,000 inhabitants. There are currently 29 megacities with populations of over 10 million, up from 2 in 1950 and projected to grow to between 41 and 53 by 2030. Additionally, there are 468 cities with a population of over 1 million, up from 83 in 1950

One obvious driver is the agricultural revolution and increasing mechanization, automation, and innovation in the agriculture sector. Sophisticated agriculture methods and machinery decrease the number of workers required to sustain agricultural production. This currently drives a greater velocity of migration in developing nations that are just now transitioning to more efficient and mechanized agriculture techniques.